Trackers are required to complete a research project or significant practicum in wilderness medicine. Past trackers have completed research on acute mountain sickness, rodeo injuries, hypothermia and the injury patterns of visitors to Yellowstone National Park as well as serving as the course director for the WMS elective in wilderness medicine. Resident efforts are supported through ongoing assistance in grant writing and a cadre of enthusiastic research interns.

There is an increasing and compelling need, especially in the sparsely populated, rural and mountainous regions of Montana, for timely, sensible and accurate information in wilderness medicine. Trackers are required to publish at least 2 general interest wilderness medicine articles in local, regional, or national publications and present 6 different wilderness medicine topics to residents, community health providers, students, or the general public. Residents have provided lectures for USFS personnel and local outdoor organizations, spoken on local television and continue to write monthly articles for the local newspaper, the Billings Gazette. Trackers are, as well, encouraged to act as educational liaisons to local EMS groups and other providers of pre-hospital care.