Wolf community can continue to grow because of range riders

Your gift helps Conservation Northwest’s Jay and Jasmine work with ranchers in eastern Washington who are learning to live with wolves after a 70-year absence.

Hiring a range rider is one effective tool a rancher can use to decrease the vulnerability of cattle to wolf attack — range riders keep the calves and yearlings gathered in small herds, as opposed to widely dispersed across the range and monitor the wolves in the area. This takes coordination among the ranchers, the managing wildlife agencies, and the range riders.

In Alberta, up to 40 ranchers belong to a cooperative that covers 4,000 square miles. They hire several range riders and have developed a carcass pick-up and composting program. Last year these 40 ranchers lost zero cattle, even with many wolf packs living in the region. In the Montana cooperative similar results are being reported. They also do a community winter wolf tracking effort that accurately determines the number of packs and wolves they need to plan for the next grazing season.

Thank you, Maarten, for helping farmers and wolves live together in a safe and positive manner!