With the delisting of wolves as an endangered species, the prospect of a needless slaughter of an essential link in nature's wildlife ecosystem loomed quickly. The awful spectacle of vengeful gunmen wiping out packs of wolves would have been a national scandal.
That has yet to happen, happily.
Even better news is the sensible model of cooperation being charted in the Wood River Valley by sheepherders, pro-wolf conservationists and federal and state wildlife experts that understand the self-defeating consequences of a range war over wolves.
As the summer sheep-grazing season is about to begin in areas north of Ketchum, major ranchers have agreed to work with Defenders of Wildlife, the national conservationist organization, and wildlife experts to develop ways of separating wolves from the sheep.
Some of it is high-tech—electronic tracking collars on wolves and electrified movable fences for encampments of sheep at nighttime when they're most vulnerable to attack. And some methods are low-tech—large guard dogs to ward off wolves.
Participants are calling the joint effort "groundbreaking" and "unprecedented."
Indeed. Ranchers, who have the most to lose if this project fails, are to be thoroughly commended for their willingness to participate. Their cooperation in time could be an incentive for a far wider effort throughout the ranching West to hold off on killing while intelligent new methods are developed to prevent predators from damaging ranchers' economic wellbeing.
No less thanks are due Defenders of Wildlife, which is investing in field assistants to work throughout the grazing season to protect herds allocated land in the Sawtooth National Forest.
No one is predicting sure-fire success. In fact, failure is always a possibility when taking on the unknown and untried.
Fortunately, residents of the valley have developed a greater appreciation of sheep and their economic importance over the past few years because of the popular and educational Trailing of the Sheep festival that attracts thousands of attendees.
Groups who are at loggerheads on other environmental disputes--global warming, off-road vehicles on public lands, oil exploration, creating wilderness areas and more--would profit from adopting this working-together method of finding solutions. Engaging in hostile standoffs with competing interests not speaking, except through brittle press releases and lawsuits, rarely leads to any sensible solution.
On the sidelines will be some naysayers who believe the solution lies solely with killing wolves. Their best contribution would be to allow the Wood River Valley wolf project to proceed without distracting or meaningless criticisms.
