Ned stopped pacing. "It's not the fur they want," he replied. "They want the marmots for pets."

"That's no excuse for taking them out of their natural habitat," Nancy said. "Have you reported this to the park service?"

"Sure," Ned replied. "But without more evidence the park service can't launch a full scale investigation. They just don't have the financial resources to act on our suspicions."

"That's awful," Nancy said.

"My sentiments exactly," Ned agreed. "Of course, the park service did assign a really good ranger named Jack Billings to our project. But his job is to help us, not track down poachers."

"Just what is it you're doing in this project?" Nancy asked, stretching her legs out. "I know you're studying marmots. Are they endangered?"

"No, but their cousins, the Vancouver Island marmots, are," he said. "Professor Trainey's plan is to research the whistling marmots in Yellowstone so we can figure out what conditions marmot’s best thrive in. The information we gather here will be used by biologists to breed Vancouver Island marmots in captivity."

"That's wonderful," Nancy said.

Ned nodded. "From the first moment I heard Professor Trainey talk about the study, I knew I wanted to help. He even got a federal grant to buy a state-of-the-art tracking system."

Nancy cocked her head curiously.

"Imagine a transmitter no bigger than a dime that tells us not only where the animal is," Ned went on, "but its body temperature, blood pressure, eating and sleeping cycles- it's just amazing!"

"And amazingly expensive, I bet," Nancy commented.

Ned nodded his agreement and pulled her to her feet. "Come on, I'll show you around. First stop is our command post."

He led Nancy across the campsite to the tiny cabin she had stopped at earlier. He pulled a key ring from his jeans pocket, undid the padlock, pushed open the door, and switched on the light that dangled from the ceiling.