The NCTC Conservation Lecture Series Presents: “Wonderland: A Yellowstone Story” with author Jeff Groff

On Thursday August 20, 2026, at 7:00 pm author Jeff Groff will present his new book “The Rocinante in Wonderland: A Yellowstone Story” at the National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, WV.

Yellowstone is a place of boiling mud, shooting water, and thundering bison—a landscape so extraordinary that nineteenth-century visitors simply called it Wonderland. In Jeff Groff’s new book, two professors and a group of college students spend six nights exploring that landscape aboard a well-worn van named Rocinante.

Join them as they uncover the super volcano beneath the geysers, trace the ecology of wildfires, explore our relationship with wildlife—and learn about the history of the Indigenous peoples who have called this place home for millennia.

Along the way, the book follows the arc of the national park idea itself: from the expeditions that first captured the public imagination to the ongoing struggles for preservation and restoration that define Yellowstone today. Part travel narrative, part natural history, part philosophical reflection — the Yellowstone story like you’ve never heard it before.

Jeff Groff is a professor of physics and environmental science at Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. He developed the interdisciplinary Yellowstone National Park field course on which this book is based and has led students into the field there for years. He holds a PhD in applied science from the College of William & Mary. As founder of Starlight Studio, Jeff is committed to making experiential, place-based education accessible to students who might not otherwise have the opportunity.

This event is free and open to the public. To register, please email:
NCTC-Lecture-Series@fws.gov
Include the program date, the names of adults attending, and any questions.

Doors open at 6:30 PM.
Program begins at 7:00 PM.

This lecture will be recorded and available online September 3 at 2:00 pm ET
at https://www.youtube.com/@usfws/streams

Hosted by The National Conservation Training Center. The NCTC Conservation Lecture Series is co-sponsored by The Friends of the NCTC – http://www.friendsofnctc.org

Organizer: National Conservation Training Center

Location: NCTC 698 Conservation Way, Shepherdstown, Wv 25443

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