Hello readers. My name is Logan Miller, and I’m the Field Manager for the Wood River Wolf Project this year! I’ll be running around the Valley for the next few months checking in with the shepherds, working with volunteers, and keeping my eyes peeled for wolves.

My first week saw me meeting with various members of the project (while social distancing of course), including local ranchers, concerned members of the community, and dedicated volunteers. There is a such a passion for the project in this area that it is tangible in the air. I feel lucky to be stepping into a project so deeply intertwined with the community.

Fortunately for me, this work isn’t all meetings. I spent a couple days doing what I love: hiking around and looking for the new shepherds on the forest in the hopes of talking to them about the project and introducing them to non-lethal deterrence techniques. After spending a while looking for a reported sheep band up near Greenhorn Gulch, I decided to try my chance a bit further south near Bullion Gulch. I found the sheep and slowly made my way through them and their nervous bleating, careful not to spook them. As I made my way through the crowd, a deep WOOF stopped me in my tracks. The massive head of a Great Pyrenees guard dog raised itself above the flock until the dog stood well above waist height. These dogs grow up with the sheep, so they consider themselves part of the group. They look it too, as their off-white fur makes them practically indistinguishable from their companions at a distance. Like you should with livestock guardian dogs such as this one, I kept a generous space between us. He paid me little attention, and I passed peacefully up the road.

Nearing the crest of the hill, a small figure in the distance began bobbing ever closer into view. A shepherd on horseback! I hurried up the steep road to meet him. I introduced myself to Darío, a herder from Peru. We chatted for a bit and I introduced him to the project, which he had never heard of. He was on his way down to move the sheep around, so I let him get back to work. Onto the fun part: equipment inventory.

Foxlights, radio telemetry, air horns, fladry, spot lights, and much more.

I met back up with Darío the following day to bring him some equipment, including whistles, air horns, and a starter pistol. I ran into his camp tender on my way there, and boy did I feel lucky. The word around town is the ranchers here are harder to find than the wolves themselves. I introduced myself and we talked about his operation and how we could work together this year while waiting for Darío to tie up his horse. While we may have differing points of view regarding wolves, but at the end of the day we both share important core values like coexistence and honesty. With the camp tender around, I showed Darío the starter pistol and air horn, explaining more about the project as we went. He was more than thrilled to have this new gear that could save his sheep from some roaming wolves.

Darío ended up calling me excitedly early the next morning, letting me know I needed to come down and meet the new shepherd on the block. Early Saturday morning I threw on my boots and went to meet Roberto.

Roberto was more than happy learn about the project, the wolves, and how we can work together. It’s a hard, lonely life being a shepherd, moving sheep back and forth across the gruesomely steep mountains around the Big Wood River Valley, and he seemed to enjoy the chance to talk to someone other than his flock. After assuring him the equipment is free and that we only ask that it be returned, a grin spread across his face and asked when I would be stopping by again. We said farewell, and I headed north to try my luck out finding another shepherd.

While I didn’t succeed in tracking the band down around Ketchum, I found some other exciting signs. Looking down at my feet, scat after scat filled with hair and pieces of bone appeared before me. Not wanting to jump to conclusions, I continued down the elk trail looking for prints. Several disappointing moments ensued, followed by a fat pawprint in the middle of the game trail. More and more prints continued until I was sure of it: wolves. After a more than fulfilling day, I headed down the hill content yet ready to get back out there again.

A couple potential wolf tracks found off the beaten path.

This project is complex. We are an unusual assemblage of people from diverse backgrounds, beliefs, and ways of working. We all have our own ideas, worries, and limits. Despite these differences, we know that coexistence is an essential part of the future of ranching and the Big Wood River community. It isn’t an easy road. There will be serious setbacks and obstacles to overcome, but through collaboration, honesty, and a dedication to conflict reduction we can avoid livestock depredations and keep the wolves in this region howling into the night.

Howls to you all,

Logan