Wood River Wolf Project

Cindi and Justin monitoring the Phantom Hill wolf pack.

In our first week on the Wood River Wolf Project, our team's efforts have already prevented a train wreck between a new sheep grazing operation and the Phantom Hill wolf pack. A sheep producer who had not planned to use the area this summer had to make last minute changes to his grazing route and unknowingly almost unloaded more than 2000 sheep in the same meadow where the wolves are raising their four young pups. Our team alerted the Forest Service managers who identified an alternative place to unload the sheep - several miles away from the wolves.

The sheep producer was grateful about avoiding the near catastrophe but remained skeptical about trying some of the other nonlethal methods to avoid conflicts with wolves. As his sheep were only a few miles from known wolf activity, our field team worked with him to try out turbofladry night corrals.

Photo of fladry around a sheep pen. Credit: Lava Lake Land and Livestock

Not only did the turbofladry work but just a few nights later, the rancher was with Defenders' field team and the herders when they actually watched a wolf chase a sheep that escaped predation by running inside the turbofladry night pen as the team was setting it up!

Here's an editorial and cartoon the local Idaho Mountain Express newspaper.  It's our hope that this project will serve as a model for other chronic conflict areas.