Defenders of Wildlife Blog

Suzanne Stone, Northern Rockies Representative 

Last weekend, Defenders helped cosponsor the 28th Annual Edmonds Community College PowWow, and I was fortunate to be able to attend. This year, the international tribal gathering honored the “Teachings of the Wolves,” which have renewed importance both for Native American communities and those of us working to restore a gray wolf population to the Pacific Northwest.

Children at the Quileute school especially enjoyed meeting the ambassador wolf (©Joe Whittle)

Defenders recognizes the deep historic cultural ties that many tribal communities have with wolves. Wolves have been demonized by politicians as being uncontrollable threats to livestock over the years and many ranchers have remained resistant to implementing readily available nonlethal tools that can dramatically reduce or prevent livestock losses. Some politicians have used these conflicts as platforms for promoting anti-wolf campaigns in the Pacific Northwest region. Thus, the recent PowWow was a welcome break from the heated rhetoric attacking wolves and provided a rare chance to learn from tribal leaders who have strong cultural ties to wolves.

We have met several times with leaders of the Quileute Tribe, whose reservation is located on the Olympic Peninsula, a key future recovery area for wolves. Just a few years ago, we helped organize a Mission:Wolf ambassador wolf program for the Quileute school and village dance center. Almost all tribal members participated in the event, from the elders to young children, and celebrated by presenting their sacred wolf dance.

When we heard about the Edmonds PowWow event honoring wolves, it was obviously essential to have the Quileute there to share their stories, dance and drumming. The organizers of this event agreed, and our support enabled the Quileute representatives to attend the event.

Participants at the PowWow were especially honored that tribal elder Roger Jackson was able to attend the event and even danced their sacred wolf dance. He told stories about the Quileute wolf society and the ceremonies that have been handed down from generation to generation. PowWow participants from several tribes danced while drummers performed a traditional song – listen here:

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Tribal member Marco Black (©Suzanne Stone/Defenders)

Tribal member Marco “Jacob” Black, who was the inspiration for the Jacob Black character in the popular Twilight series, spoke about the tribe’s respect for wolves and told their origin story in which the orca transforms into the wolf on land. He spoke of the importance of honoring the elders and encouraged all the young people to speak in the manner of their grandmothers and grandfathers – with respect. Like wolves, their voices are the voices of their ancestors.

As wolves struggle to disperse and return once more to key parts of their historic range in the west, there is an urgent need for a strong community of support and understanding for this much maligned and often persecuted species. Many Tribal members relate to the plight of the wolf in very personal ways. They want to honor their cultural heritage by sharing their spiritual deep respect for wolves and other native wildlife. As in the teachings of native leaders, their wisdom in regard to our natural world is needed now more than ever.

“Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect.”
- Chief Seattle, Duwamish (1780-1866)

Two great friends of wolves: Quileute tribal elder Roger Jackson and Defenders’ Representative Suzanne Asha Stone

Suzanne Stone, Northern Rockies Representative

OR-14, a wolf from the Umatilla River pack. (c) ODFW

In 1999, a female wolf from Idaho crossed over into central Oregon before the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service tracked her down, darted her, caged her and then returned her to Idaho. She was the first known wolf to return to Oregon since the mid-1930s, when the species was officially eradicated. Her journey set efforts into motion that led to the creation of the Oregon Wolf Conservation and Management Plan. Other legislation, knee-jerk county decrees and countless news stories followed, all speculating on what impact wolves might have as they returned to their historic homeland.

I served on the original team that helped draft the earliest versions of what eventually became the state’s wolf plan. That’s where I met Carl Scheeler, wildlife biologist for the Umatilla tribe in northeast Oregon, who would continue to help the state craft conservation strategies that were adopted in 2005. Carl is a great biologist and also good with people. His sometimes irreverent humor was always well timed to lift discussions that had become muddied or polarized. He seemed to know that, no matter what, things were going to work out. His optimism helped many of us endure the endless (and often thankless) work of forging a plan that would secure the restoration of wolves while meeting the needs of diverse residents.

Carl always looked forward to the day that wolves would be documented on the Umatilla reservation, and would call from time to time with reports of tracks, sightings and other hopeful signs. It wasn’t until last year, however, that his hopes were finally fulfilled. Carl’s department assisted the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) in efforts to confirm the first wolf den site near the reservation. ODFW wolf biologists documented four pups last summer, and Defenders helped the tribe purchase several infrared, motion-detection wildlife cameras to continue monitoring the pack. In the fall, tribal biologists used the cameras we provided to document the alpha male of the pack. Then, just a few weeks ago, they captured this footage of the pack. We don’t know what startles the young wolf during the video, but notice how he submissively wraps his tail under his hindlegs. That’s normally the response of a lower-ranking wolf or pup when frightened.

Last week, Carl and I met with local ranchers and tribal and state wildlife managers to discuss nonlethal strategies for reducing conflicts between livestock and wolves on the reservation. We talked about the use of carcass disposal, increased human presence, fladry and other deterrents to reduce wolf and livestock losses. After the meeting, we followed up on a tip from a wildlife manager of another possible pack near tribal lands. It’s a beautiful national forest area that looks like the expansive valleys and rolling mountains in Yellowstone. There were loads of elk and plenty of deer sign in the large, open meadows and gorgeous red-barked Ponderosa pines towering above us as we drove through the rolling hills. After driving over washboard-pitted dirt roads with a blizzard bearing down on us, we found the spot where the tracks were reported. Tracking conditions were pretty good in the thin blanket of snow that covered most of the ground. Eager to confirm a new pack, we examined the tracks and quickly determined they were canine, but not wolf. Wolves have huge feet and leave a track that typically measures about five inches in length and three to four inches in width. That’s about the size of my hand, which is useful when I don’t have a ruler handy. Unfortunately, these were dog tracks – a big dog to be certain, but not his wild ancestor.

I always welcome the chance to return to the Umatilla country, and it’s even more powerful now with wolves back on the reservation. As one tribal leader assured me, “Wolves are welcome here and we hope to never lose them again.” Defenders will be part of that effort to ensure that wolves have a secure future on their historic homeland that they once again share with the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla.

Suzanne Stone, Northern Rockies Representative

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind for wolf advocates in the West. My colleagues and I have been traveling from city to city and state to state organizing wolf supporters to attend meetings set by state wildlife commissions and agencies. Some of these were set to vote on proposals  that could be particularly dangerous to wolves, while others opened up a broader conversation about wolf management. But for all of these meetings, it was important that people who care about the future of wolves in the region were in attendance to testify, to question, and to learn.

Boise, Idaho
On January 16, the Idaho Fish and Game Commission held a public hearing. There were many important issues on the docket, but we were most concerned about agenda item #6 – a measure to set aside $50,000 exclusively to have the federal government kill more wolves in order to boost elk numbers for hunters. We sounded the alarm to our members in the area, and they answered the call.  I met a group of them at a reception before the meeting, and we talked about the challenges that often come with advocating for wolves in an area where myth and misconceptions about these animals are still widely regarded as fact.

The hearing was amazing. The first hour of public testimony on agenda item #6 was nothing but 100% positive support for wolves.  In fact, everyone who spoke about this issue opposed the measure and supported more protection for wolves. Our members were respectful, eloquent and well-informed, and the commission was visibly blown away by their testimonies. When my turn came, I was able to focus on specific concerns with the measure, including the fact that the proposal could allow for the use of more controversial “management” practices, like aerial gunning. And the fact that lethal control fails to work in the long term – no matter what the reason for wanting more elk, killing wolves is not a solution. I spoke about our Wood River Wolf Project and its success in protecting 27,300 sheep living among three resident wolf packs with only one incident that resulted in the loss of 4 sheep. I asked them to use the $50,000 for nonlethal methods of preventing predation on livestock instead of just continuing this endless and wasteful cycle of loss and killing.

Sadly, when it came to the vote the following morning, the commission approved the proposal. Even though they heard that so many residents were staunchly against it, they still designated $50,000 for federal wolf killing.  Defenders is working to raise twice that amount to put toward protecting wolves and other wildlife in the region. Though the commission approved the proposal, I think our collective testimony surprised them. To have so many people willing to speak out on behalf of wolves here in Boise is unprecedented, and at a public hearing like this one, it showed the decision-makers that the people of Idaho care about how wolves are managed, and we’re watching their actions closely. The days of passing awful management proposals without public opposition is over.

Seattle, Washington
Later the same week, I set out for Seattle. After the fiasco with the Wedge Pack last summer, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is making an effort to keep the public better informed about their management methods. We let our members in the area know about this great opportunity to learn more about wolves in their state and to ask questions of the agency in charge of managing them.

The meeting was a bit of a challenge. First, the location of the meeting was moved, so we sent out an update. Then, the new location proved very difficult to find, so we posted signs along the road to point the way. Once WFDW arrived they quickly realized the space was far too small and moved the meeting to a warehouse across the street for the more than 300 people who attended! It was incredible to see so many people interested in wolves in a state that is still welcoming the species back to parts of its native range that have been wolf-free for over a century. Carter Niemeyer, retired wolf recovery coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, was one of the key speakers and did a great job answering questions and providing an expert overview of the challenges and opportunities of restoring wolves in Washington.   Similar meetings took place in Spokane and Olympia, and we were able to have someone from Defenders attend each one.

We have some great supporters here in Idaho, out in Washington, and across the nation who are invested in the future of wolves in the U.S. Wolves are still looking at a tough year ahead, with premature hunting paring down their numbers, and dangerous legislation in most states in the region threatening to strip them of their remaining protections. But it’s encouraging to know that despite the misinformation out there about wolves, and the many industries and agencies interested in halting their recovery, there is still a growing number who want to see these majestic animals protected and restored to their rightful place in the ecosystem. We’re going to have to unite with other like-minded residents in the West and build a great network of activists who will work together to safeguard the future for wolves in the region.

Suzanne Stone, Northern Rockies Representative

Defenders of Wildlife long ago recognized the importance of tribal wildlife programs to a vast number of species across the country, including salmon, grizzly, bison, black-footed ferret and more. In the West, more than 55 million acres are held in trust for tribal reservations, and even more are dedicated as ceded lands, which are held or managed by treaty. When combined with federal lands managed by agencies such as the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management, these lands represent the majority of wildlife habitat in the western United States. But beyond providing significant habitat for wildlife, tribal leaders and scientists have assisted with the restoration of imperiled native species, including the return of wolves to the northern Rockies and Pacific Northwest.

In 1995, when the state of Idaho refused to participate in the restoration of wolves to the region, the Nez Perce tribe offered to take their place. The tribe entered a contract agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and assisted with the reintroduction efforts, then monitored wolf restoration for the next decade. Horace Axtell, now 87 years old and a venerated World War II veteran, is a spiritual leader of the tribe. He and other tribal elders conducted a ceremonial blessing for the wolves before they were set free to repopulate the state. Click here to listen to Horace share the stories passed down from his grandmother, who remembered the bond that the tribe held with wolves before they were eradicated from the region.

Jaime Pinkham, Nez Perce leader and former Defenders of Wildlife board member, explains that the Nez Perce shared a similar fate to wolves as both were driven from their homelands in the region. Wolves, he explains, are a “kind of mirror for Indian people. When the non-Indian settled the West, there were obstacles. The Nez Perce people were one of them: They got in the way, and they were removed. The gray wolf suffered a similar fate. Now, man and animal are each struggling to regain their rightful place.” Nez Perce schoolchildren named one of the reintroduced wolves “Chat Chaaht,” which means “older brother.” Chat Chaaht became an alpha male of his pack and lived to be 13 years of age — one of the oldest documented wolves in the region.

With the help of the Nez Perce and other tribes, wolves are regaining range across much of their historic homeland. Before federal protections were removed from wolves in Idaho, the state’s restored wolf population peaked at nearly 1,000 wolves. Wolves dispersing from Idaho have also now returned to other parts of their traditional homeland in Oregon and Washington. One adventurous, wide-ranging wolf dubbed “Journey” (also known as OR7) is now the first documented wolf to return to California since the early 20th century.

Wolf pups spotted on Umatilla land.

As wolves disperse, they are being aided and monitored by tribal wildlife officials. This summer, I was thrilled to hear that the Umatilla tribe in northeastern Oregon had documented the return of the first wolves to their land. The tribal wildlife managers had helped develop the Oregon Wolf Conservation Plan and had waited a long time for wolves to make it back to their homeland. Defenders assisted the tribe with monitoring cameras, and tried to ease the transition with area livestock owners by offering our expert information on nonlethal measures to help wolves avoid conflict with livestock. Carl Scheeler, Umatilla biologist and tribal liaison for the Oregon Wolf management team, said that as wolf range expands in the state, there are still some groups that demonize wolves, while others welcome their return.

“Currently, we’re looking at wolves through a magnifying glass. Every single depredation is elevated in the public eye. Every time a sheep dies by a wolf it makes front page news, but cougars, bears and coyotes still represent the vast majority of depredation losses.” Like the Umatilla elders, he values their return, not just in a cultural sense, but in an ecological way as well.  “I believe wolves fill an apex predatory role in the ecosystem,” he says.

In Washington, more tribal governments are taking an active role in wolf conservation as new packs become established in the state. Among the newest is the Colville nation, which has named its first reestablished pack “Nc’in,” the Okanogan word for wolf. While the tribe has some concerns regarding competition for elk and deer, a main source of sustenance for their community, they are willing to share their land with wolves and welcome their return. Just this fall, Colville tribal biologists documented another new pack, now the ninth documented pack in the state, and named it the Strawberries pack.

High school students perform the Quileute “wolf dance” when an ambassador wolf visits from Mission: Wolf.

Another tribe associated with wolves in Washington is the Quileute Nation, made famous by the popular series Twilight. Like other tribes, the Quileute still have a long and rich cultural tie to wolves, despite the fact that no wolves have yet been restored to their historical coastal range in the Olympic Peninsula west of Seattle. The Quileute celebrate their long-held connection with wolves through special dance and stories, which they often share with visitors. Last year, Defenders helped arrange for the Quileue people to meet ambassador wolves from Mission: Wolf, and study the wolves’ movements to help with their dance techniques. The tribal gathering included the youngest to eldest tribal members, and was a memorable, heartfelt celebration. It is our hope that someday wild wolves will regain their homeland in the Olympic range and fulfill their historic role, not only as a native cultural icon, but as an important carnivore in this spectacular and rich ecosystem.

I’ve had the honor to work with tribal leaders from across our region, and their wisdom guides much of our work today. Perhaps a quote from Chief Dan George of the Tsleil-waututh Nation in Burrard Inlet, British Columbia best sums it up: “If you talk to the animals, they will talk with you and you will know each other. If you do not talk to them, you will not know them, and what you do not know you will fear. What one fears, one destroys.” Our goal in promoting coexistence with wolves is to help people better know and understand wolves as a valuable species, and not one they should fear.

 This post was written by Patrick Graham, a member of the Wood River Wolf Project field crew 

Last month, the Wood River Wolf Project concluded its fifth and arguably most successful season — but it was a roller coaster from the very beginning.

Boise the lost wolf pup

As folks started to pour into the Wood River Valley seeking recreation, a couple of campers nearly drove over a wolf pup! They thought it would be a good idea to capture him and turn him over to the Sheriff, who then brought the pup down to the Sun Valley Animal Center. Field assistant Kyle Coshow happened to be working at the Center when the wolf arrived and knew we had to try to help. This kicked off a furious effort to locate the rendezvous site of the pup’s pack in order to return him to the wild with his family. Sadly, we were unable to locate his pack, so the pup was sent to Busch Gardens in Virginia to be raised with other pups his age.

Luckily, we didn’t have much time to mope around before things got really busy. At the end of June, our project team held a three-day training session and officially kicked off the grazing season when five different bands of sheep trailed onto the Sawtooth National Forest. Then we installed 15 motion-activated cameras along major grazing routes with suspected wolf activity and got pictures almost right away.

We captured our first photo of a wolf on June 24 near Lake Creek, which alerted us to the presence of wolves in the area. Unfortunately, due to a miscommunication, we weren’t able to stop these wolves from killing four sheep over a busy Fourth of July holiday. Our field crew responded right away, however, by establishing a human presence near the sheep band while they were in the general vicinity of the kill site. We spent three full weeks on night watch and were able to deter any further conflicts. Throughout this 21-day stretch, we pulled six more photos of wolves from different cameras around the area, and every one of our field assistants got to hear wolves while they were out!

Soon thereafter, the Ketchum Ranger District office received a report from a hiker who saw five wolf pups along a road near Sun Valley. We followed up on this report by placing a camera at a stream crossing where wolves would be likely to stop and take a drink. Not too long after this camera was up, we got two great photos of wolves, one black and one gray.

At that point, our crew hiked up a trail with veteran wolf trapper and project adviser Carter Niemeyer to see if we could find any evidence that wolves were still present. Sure enough, not more than half a mile into our hike we discovered a fresh elk carcass. Then, while we were investigating the kill, we heard howls off in the distance. We immediately pursued the noise of the wolves, had Carter give his best howl, and the whole pack responded! We had discovered the Pioneer Pack.

Gray and black pups of the Pioneer Pack

The Pioneer Pack would prove to occupy most of our energy for the rest of the season, since two sheep bands were using the same area. We accumulated nearly 400 photos from 10 different cameras over a four-week period and determined that six wolves were in this pack — two adults and four pups. The sheep that were grazing on this allotment were scheduled to travel directly through the wolves’ rendezvous site, giving us the perfect opportunity to prove how effective nonlethal deterrents really are. One of our crew members was with the sheep every single night for 24 days total. We hiked hundreds of miles, climbed thousands of vertical feet, and used every deterrent in the book, including a propane cannon provided to us by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. We endured rain, wind and show during our time out in the mountains, and heard wolves nearly every night. But at the end of the long month of October, no sheep were killed while in the Corral Creek Drainage, and only four sheep were taken during the previous four-week period.

Considering more than 27,000 sheep moved through the project area during the summer, I’d consider the season an incredible success. Our feet became sore, and our legs became strong. We saw a lot of progress both on the part of the field crew and the ranching community, and look forward to exploring the future of predator deterrents and livestock management. See you all in the spring!

Guard dogs and people must work together to protect sheep.

Suzanne Asha Stone, Northern Rockies Representative

They said it couldn’t be done. That wolves and sheep together on public lands would never work. And certainly the stories in the news bear out the direst examples to prove their predictions. Regionally, more than 1,600 wolves have been killed in attempts to address losses of approximately 3,000 sheep and 1,500 cattle over the last quarter-century. State governments are driving wolf numbers down through hunting, trapping and snaring in large part to “address conflicts” with livestock. But does it really have to be this way?

The return of the gray wolf (Canis lupus) in the 1990s is one of the most ecologically successful, politically controversial and socially polarized wildlife restoration efforts undertaken in the western United States. Despite socio-political conflicts that remain highly elevated today, a new collaborative project has taken root in central Idaho to mediate wolf and livestock conflicts.

In 2007, the Phantom Hill wolf pack began killing sheep in central Idaho’s “sheep superhighway” on the Sawtooth National Forest during the summer grazing season. The pack was targeted for lethal control — a nicer way of saying that the whole pack would be killed by government agents. But if wolves couldn’t survive in the Sawtooths, one of the most pristine and wild national forests in the country, where could they?

It started with a phone call. Mike Stevens, then president of Lava Lake Lamb, called me to discuss the situation. We had already been working together for several years to help Lava Lake successfully avoid sheep losses to wolves. However, that was one producer with about 4,000 sheep. The conflict this time involved more than 12,000 sheep moving in segmented bands across wide swathes of backcountry forests. It seemed hopeless, especially when the kill order had already been made to remove the whole pack.

Red flags, known as fladry, help keep wolves away from livestock.

I asked Mike what he thought of creating a field team to help the herders protect the sheep. We could test some of the nonlethal measures like turbofladry and alarm systems to see if we could effectively protect the sheep from more predation. The biggest hurdle would be the state and federal agencies, which had already decided to kill the wolves. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service advised the state that the situation was truly hopeless, and that nothing could be done to stop the killings once wolves developed a taste for sheep.

But, to our surprise, the state said they’d be willing to try nonlethal methods if we could stop the depredations. Some expected we would fail, while others — like Rick Williamson from Wildlife Services in Idaho, Carter Niemeyer (former US Fish and Wildlife Service Idaho state wolf manager) and Kurt Nelson from the Sawtooth Forest Ranger District — provided a great deal of advice and field support. Every night our team was in the field guarding the sheep was nerve wracking. If our methods failed, the agencies would remove the pack, and critics of nonlethal methods would point to our failure to justify their reliance on traditional lethal control programs.

No one had ever tried to resolve sheep predations on such a large scale before. We started at 120 square miles the first year, and we didn’t lose another sheep to wolves during the run of our project — though just a few weeks after August, when our project had ended and the nonlethal measures were not in place, the pack killed sheep again. It was amazing how successful our work was, but our skeptics said we couldn’t do it again. They thought that our efforts were just a lucky fluke.

Peter and the other field technicians sleep in small tents right near the flocks of sheep to deter wolves from preying on them during the night.

So we decided to create a formal project to test the methods for three more years to see if they were right. The first year of the Wood River Wolf Project, we lost one sheep out of 10,000 to wolf predation. Even our critics started paying attention. In 2009, we lost more than a dozen sheep in one night because of a failure of communication; one band of sheep  was left unguarded by our team due to a misunderstanding of the number of sheep bands in the project area, which now covered nearly 700 square miles. The rancher (and former president of the Idaho Woolgrowers Association) took responsibility for the losses and asked that the wolves not be killed because of the mistake. Our losses remained low and were always a result of human error, and not the failing of the nonlethal deterrents. We were learning how to use them better every year. And we cautiously began talking more about our success publicly to reporters and even filmmakers.

From 2008 to 2010, we lost a total of 16 sheep out of more than 30,000 collectively, and no wolves had been killed as a result of livestock conflicts in the project area. We held a wrap up meeting and celebrated a victory previously unheard of before our project. By now our project partners included ranchers, state and federal wildlife agencies, county commissioners, university researchers, wolf conservation supporters, and a number of field team members from a wide range of backgrounds. The response from our partners? You can’t stop now — we’re just getting started! Let’s see if we can spread these deterrents to private lands and cattle ranches across the county! We began a new site evaluation system to help sheep and cattle producers determine how to address potential predation risks, and we began holding field training in the use of nonlethal deterrents for our team and local ranchers. We even added our first university intern, who became one of our best field technicians to date.

Two weeks ago, we celebrated our best year yet, which culminated in the Trailing of the Sheep parade. There were a total of 27,305 sheep in our project area this year, and we lost only 4 sheep, all in one night when a band bumped into a new pack of wolves that no one knew existed. We responded with the nonlethal deterrents, and didn’t lose another sheep to wolves in the project area — which now covers 1,200 square miles — for the rest of the grazing season. And our ranching partners are reporting that their losses to coyotes, bears and cougars are down as well.

Five years after we began this effort, documented sheep losses to wolves in the project area are 90% lower than Idaho loss rates reported by the USDA National Agriculture Statistics Service (NASS). Specifically, our loss rate averaged 0.014% compared to 0.54% in the NASS state-wide estimates during the same period. Best of all, no wolves within the project area have yet been lethally removed because of depredation conflicts. Benefits of the project include reduced management costs, reduced social conflict, and increased ecological functionality and pack stability of wolves. For example, we don’t need helicopters, sharpshooters, traps or even radio collars  — just some elbow grease, common sense and a few tools to implement our deterrents. And our project is a model for new projects in Oregon, Washington, Montana, Wisconsin, Arizona, New Mexico, Europe and even dingo conservation in Australia.

Are we done? Is the project finished? Not even close. There are other areas in the county that still need to be addressed. And on a broader scale, we believe that our model should be adapted at the national level to reform our federal wildlife agency programs to make them more cost-effective and more humane. Our federal government kills millions of animals every year to “protect” livestock. We believe our model offers a far better solution that significantly reduces both livestock and wildlife losses. As Blaine County Commissioner Larry Schoen says, “Because frankly, if you can prevent depredation in the first place, that’s the least costly alternative, and the safest alternative.”

I hope you’ll consider speaking to your congressional representatives and local wildlife agencies about this model, and help us create a better future for all animals who share our wonderful wildlands. It’s going to take a national effort to change how our nation manages conflicts with wildlife, but we’re making a great first step with the Wood River Wolf Project.

For more on how to use nonlethal methods to protect livestock, read our Livestock and Wolves guide [PDF].