Sawtooth Legacy - Winter Issue

WINTER – 2 011 ersary Anniv 15th

Featuring Guest Writer and Contributor niversary (pg 8) Ceiridwen AnTerrill 15th Miyooxat’s Tragic Injury (pg 30) And much more...

Winter 2011 Table of Contents 1 3 7 8

8

28 Fjellene Cellars and Vineyard

19 21 22 26 28 30 33 36

Executive Director’s Letter Ask the Biologist Summer Celebration Registration Feature – Oregon Has a Chance to Get Wolf Recovery Right Three ways to make a difference Adoptions Wolf Behavior 101 Summer Celebration Information Ron “Tex” Carroll Biography Miyooxat’s Tragic Injury Educating 15 Years in Winchester Pack Facts and Fun

Follow WERC on Twitter & Facebook at WolfCenter.org

Special thanks to Fjellene Cellars and Vineyard for their generous support of The Sawtooth Legacy which made the publication of this issue possible. They are also a Summer Celebration Sponsor for 2011, and will be presenting a special wine dedicated to the Wolves of WERC at this years event. Please join us and try a sample of there product or visit them at www.fjellenecellars.com. - See page 35.

The Sawtooth Legacy is a publication of the Wolf Education & Research Center (WERC). The purpose of the magazine is to provide interesting and engaging information to children and adults about the gray wolf species that promotes a broader understanding of wolves, wolf recovery, their place in healthy ecosystems, and the state and federal policies that impact their survival.

Board of Directors

WERC Staff

Sharon Lander, California Dennis Olson, Montana Danielle Hawthorne, Connecticut Jayme Burch, Oregon

Chris Anderson, Executive Director Jeremy Heft, Wildlife Biologist Randy Stewart, Education & Site Operations

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ED Letter

Photo by Jerry Heath

ersary Anniv h t 15

And the question begs to be asked, “Are we really making a difference?”

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Dear Friends of Wolf Recovery, ary

er s Anniv two decades of working in the field of Afterthnearly 15 philanthropy and nonprofit management, there are certain experiences and expressions that stay in the forefront of my mind. I distinctly recall a situation in 1995 when, while advocating for a humanitarian relief agency, a colleague and I were mobilizing resources for a far-away place suffering indescribable atrocities beyond civilized human imagination. And at that time, those of us on the front lines of that mobilization asked the obvious question, “Are we really making a difference?” Standing nearby, the founder of the organization cauterized our hopeless verbal hemorrhage with a profound question, “Do you suppose it matters to that one mother trying to save her child’s life or to the orphan who has no one else to defend them?”

Those questions have guided many of my decisions throughout the years and decisions that followed. The question is an important one. It is a question that should guide each of us in each outpouring of compassion we endeavor to undertake.

As I consider the plight of America’s natural resources and the future, I’m troubled by the imbalance of information and how it guides policy at the Federal and State levels. At times, it seems that those of us who advocate for protections of a species, the symbol of our overall conviction, it too often feels like it’s one step forward and two steps back. For example, we work for decades to re-list the grey wolf only to have it undermined at the State level.

And the question begs to be asked, “Are we really making a difference?”

Recently, as you’ll read later in the Sawtooth Legacy, we nearly lost Miyooxat, our ‘Wise Giant’ of the Owyhee Pack.

By the quick actions of our team, a remarkable network of SL - WINTER 2011 1

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ED Letter

veterinarians and volunteers, and the grace of heaven, we were able to save him from potential death. And a short time later, he is up on three legs, first walking, then running. Still alive.

Does our presence matter? To six wolves who people travel hundreds to thousands of miles each year to see and to learn about? To hundreds of children who experience wilderness through the caring and thoughtful teaching of Randy Stewart? Or the dozens of university students who learn from our resident biologist, the embodiment of a protector and advocate of the species?

As you read this issue, I don’t ask casually that you consider your commitments. Many of you give sacrificially and have time and time again done so. We cannot adequately say thank you for your investment. My sense is that you know the answer to the questions.

If you have yet to consider how you can become involved with WERC in 2011, read on.

In the pages that follow, there are some remarkable opportunities to engage in, whether through a letter writing campaign, adopting Miyooxat during his recovery, or committing to join our family in July at the Summer Celebration.

At the end of this issue, I ask that you commit to making 2011 a year that we do as much as we can to answer this question. There are thousands of wolves in the wild that it matters to.

There are six wolves and three staff members in Winchester who will share your message on your behalf.

Warm Regards, Chris Anderson, Executive Director Wolf Education & Research Center Connect with Chris LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/ccanderson

Facebook: http://facebook.com/WolfCenter

Special Thanks and Recognition to our faithful and generous donors now can be seen on our website!

We have wanted a better way to give recognition to our faithful donors, who with their generous support, keep our mission alive and funded. Without this support, we would not be able to responsibly care for the Wolves needs at the Wolf Center, or give all wolves in the wild a voice of reason and advocacy.

Visit the website at: www.wolfcenter.org, to see your message of support scroll 24-7. Encourage others to join you on the website by donating today and becoming a WERC supporter as well!

Thank you sincerely from all of us at the Wolf Center and Research Center!

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Ask theED Biologist Letter

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By Jeremy Heft WERC’s Wildlife Biologist

1.

escape Do wolves use dens to

the weather?

would make sense question over winter. It This is a commonly asked nter sur vival in nestly ill-prepared for wi ho are ho (w ns ma hu to us shelter from could and should seek s lve wo t tha ) ho Ida Northern feet of snow that ro, winter wind and the the biting, often sub-ze r really seek shelter y. However, wolves neve falls seemingly endlessl sustain cold and are obviously built to ey Th er. ath we y an from ir meadows often remain out in the cks pa the so ns, itio nd snowy co peratures. Ample wfalls and lowest tem during the heaviest sno lter, but again there could be utilized for she trees in both enclosures r. In fact, wolves ns being used for shelte de or se the to rn tte pa is no sent, nor are unless puppies are pre ns de ir the o int go en never ev ppies. I often have ns when there are no pu they defensive of their de nce a wolf den up den so they may experie our interns climb into a ern descend into pack has witnessed an int the er ev en wh d an se, clo we are crazy. around and look at us like r the ga s me eti som y one the wling into a hole derstand why we are cra Likely they just do not un looks they provide rely fit through, but the is in the ground that we ba theless. So, the answer us are quite comical none ns no, wolves do not use de the as a sanctuary from e, nc rie pe ex weather. In my r lte she k wolves never see from the elements.

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Ask the Biologist

2.

4

e sky?

Do wolves look into th

awhile back that was posed to me ion est qu ng sti ere int This is an vioral dif ferences s interested in the beha from a supporter who wa sensor y awareness. lves pertaining to their wo d an gs do n ee tw be had noticed that asking individual, they the th wi on ssi cu dis a After nes and to recognize birds or pla sky the o int k loo r ve ne some dogs sy one to answer. the same. This is an ea were curious if wolves did stently recognize k into the sky and consi Yes, absolutely wolves loo een wolves and s. The relationship betw ne pla d an ds bir ck tra and ssion in one a topic of previous discu d an d nte me cu do ll we ravens is the Ow yhee Pack entries. Both Piyip and of my Wolf Behavior 101 ens, magpies, and the skies and spotting rav are constantly watching es. Previous d is within their enclosur foo sh fre er ev en wh s jay gray ke off with an scavengers could ma avi t tha d ve pro RC WE studies at e wolves typically do e of the packs’ food. Th as much as 30 % of som quite defensive to to be stolen, so they are not welcome their food y bird overhead fore, they often track an ere Th d. foo y arb ne ds all bir ditionally, a at it when it lands. Ad run a ke ma to ion rat in prepa n Regional Airport flight paths into Lewisto couple years ago some have 3-5 low-flying d and now we typically were apparently change n of a couple enclosures at an elevatio the er ov tly ec dir fly s jet small ly see very s change, we could on thi e for Be ily. da t fee thousand since the relatively no sound. Thankfully, high-flying aircraft with iet and have never scent they are really qu small planes are on a de erhead (as do they watch them pass ov ll, Sti s. lve wo the d be distur think when er what the passengers nd wo en oft --I stere I) with int of wolves out their y standing among a pack they see some crazy gu dog in the world, k with authority on every window ! I cannot spea not peer into the to believe that dogs do rd ha it d fin uld wo I t bu anyone out interested to hear from be uld wo I s. lve wo skies like o the sky. Please ir dog does not look int there who believes the vior. cuss this interesting beha contact me so we can dis

Ask the Biologist

3.

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s?

Do wolves get parasite

parasites. The most imal, wolves do acquire an ld wi er oth ery ev are transmitted Yes, just like d round worms, which an e tap be uld wo se ects common of the sites, or skin-dwelling ins infected meat. Ectopara of ion est are ing se the the of gh s ou thr example vely prevalent. Common ati rel o als are od, s, blo nid le ch tic and ara sub-cu mange. Ticks feed upon se cau t tha tes mi the ha d causing the ir ticks, fleas, an e affects the hair follicles ng ma d an ls, cel n ski body but fleas feed upon tis, can travel within the cys co sar as h suc s, ite e to fall out. Other paras behaviors to combat som t. Wolves have evolved en trim de ly y on an e se Th cau rarely your dog eat grass? estinal worms. Ever see ey achieve no parasites, especially int t intestinal parasites (th ou ur sco to is ss gra t ea es reason canines se your dog eats grass do grass). Now, just becau the m fro e, lue tiv va nta al ve ion pre trit a nu rms, they often eat it as ur not mean they have wo yo by ed ubt, have your dog check so don’t worry. If in do eral times ts on all our wolves sev vet. We run parasite tes wever, pect an infestation. Ho a year or earlier if we sus almost nt to parasites, so we wolves are very resilie sites ara op any parasite. Ect never need to treat for our to ility (probably due do not exist at our fac the wolves seem to combat cold winters), and the elves. intestinal worms thems

4.

Do our wolves re co

gnize their name s?

No, the Sawtooth and Ow yhee Pack members do not kn or respond to any ow their names verbal communica tion. Responding behavior dogs ha to a name is a ve mastered, how ever wolves have benefit to learn a na no motivation or me. Wolves comm unicate more thro communication, w ugh non-verbal hich is a trait that makes them difficu domestic situatio lt to handle in ns. However, in m y experience the Sa did understand th wtooth Pack e inflection of hu man speaking, ju In other words, I co st not the words. uld say the same phrase in two diffe have two separate rent ways and responses. Wolve s are incredibly in can decipher the telligent and difference betwee n human emotio meanings of the w ns , just not the ords themselves.

5

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Ask the Biologist

5.

Do the wolves eat frozen food in the winter?

When the usual temperatures are hovering around 15-20 degrees (F), nothing remains unfrozen for long. Wolves in the wild may come across a frozen carcass of an elk, deer, or moose that could not survive the harsh winter conditio ns. Protein is protein, even when frozen, so wolves will feed upo n frozen meat. Their superior jaw strength (1,500 psi) easily allows them to cut threw completely frozen, rock-hard flesh with the ease of a hot knife through butter.

We do our best to serve up thawed meat to both packs through the winter, however within a few hours the carcasses are undoubtedly frozen solid. Still, the wolves che w right through the solid meat with ease. Such strong jaw strength is probably a trait evolved for a species that inhabits some of the cold est locations on Earth, where scavenging upon unfrozen food for half of the year is virtually impossible. Fittingly, the packs do not seem to mind frozen food, they eat it just as quickly and efficiently as usual.

If you have any questions pertaining to wolves, etc., please let me know so I include them in future segments. Please email me with future questions/topics at: jeremy.heft@wolfcenter.org ~Jeremy Heft Wildlife Biologist SL - WINTER 2011 6

July 15 – starting at Dusk July 16 – from 1pm to 9pm

RATION EARLY REGIST receive an autographed copy of Register before the end of March and le supplies last.

RR Carroll’s book, “The Big Lost” whi Limited to the first 30 registrations.

Sign me up!

bration. $___ ____ ____ to register for Summer Cele Q Please use my enclosed donation of on. $___ ____ ____ for pack care and educati Q Please use my enclosed donation of ________ ______________________________ Member Number _______________ _________ ______________________________ Name ________________________ __________ ______________________________ School/Business _______________ _______ _____ State _ Zip _______________ City ___________________________ _________ _______ Phone (____) ____________ Email ________________________

g WERC conserve resources. When You can play a valuable role in helpin important updates from our staff. you provide your email, you can get read daily posts, news, and events When you join us on Facebook, you can related to wolf recovery and education.

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They’re here. There will be more.

Two wolf packs have established in eastern Oregon. For now, they’re protected by the federal Endangered Species Act as well as by Oregon law. But the law hasn’t changed attitudes. The same week a revised version of the Oregon Wolf Conservation and Management Plan was approved, a poacher shot a collared two-year-old male.

The Oregon Cattlemen’s Association condemned the killing. They know the importance of tracking wolf movement. They know that collaring wolves is hard work and expensive. It can take months to collar a single animal.

The dead wolf—incidentally, never involved in a livestock attack—could have given ranchers valuable information about den sites and travel patterns.

Where wolf recovery efforts in some states have stalled in conflict, Oregon has a chance to get it right. The state SL - WINTER 2011 8

has only two breeding pairs of wolves in two packs totaling about twenty animals. (Russ Morgan, wolf biologist with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, told me there are probably a few wolves in the Cascades, but no additional breeding pairs have been confirmed.) Before more animals migrate into the state and packs grow, ranchers, managers, and environmentalists have an opportunity to work together, break down barriers to communication, and try new strategies before livestock depredations become an even bigger issue. If we strike the right balance, environmentalists may stop accusing ranchers of being wolf-hating greedhogs, and ranchers and hunters may tear off those bumper stickers reading “WOLVES…Smoke a Pack a Day.” I’d heard environmentalists say that ranchers have been getting a free lunch at the expense of the American taxpayers, grazing each cow-calf pair on public lands for just $1.35 per month. They fear that if given the legal goahead, ranchers will kill wolves with impunity. So I drove

The dead wolf... could have given ranchers valuable information about den sites and travel patterns.

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“There’s a whole lot of conflict and not much resolution.”

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to Bend for the annual meeting of the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association to listen to what ranchers had to say about running their cows in what is fast becoming wolf country. They worry that with less political power than ever, they’ll go out of business if environmentalists use the need for wolf recovery to end grazing on public lands. They complain about lack of compensation, not just for direct livestock kills, but for stress-induced weight loss and injuries. There are hard feelings on both sides. As Association President Bill Hoyt told me: “There’s a whole lot of conflict and not much resolution.”

I didn’t know how ranchers would receive a city person who likes wolves. When I told those at the wolf committee meeting that I respected ranchers who used sustainable practices and as a teacher, I wanted my students to know where their food comes from, I got a big round of applause.

My follow-up comment that I also respected wolves as large carnivores with a place in the ecosystem was greeted with a few dark comments. If more teachers drilled the U.S. Constitution into America’s young people, one woman said, ranchers could defend themselves against government dropping wolves in their back yards. If city people wanted wolves so badly, ranchers would gladly round them up and dump them off in the city parks. One person suggested I

Oregon Has a Chance

cuddle a wolf if I thought they were so warm and fuzzy. (I wanted to say, “Done that. Know better. But I kept quiet.) Someone else suggested that since dogs chase cats, wolves would chase cougars and keep the “exploding” population in check, so why not round up the wolves and dump them on the west side of the state where cougars have been sighted near homes? Two people suggested that wolves in Oregon were an invasive species from Canada.

I was already familiar with that claim. During a recent trip to Joseph, Oregon I’d seen a poster mounted in the window of the Sports Corral announcing “CANADIAN WOLF ALERT.” Depicting a snarling wolf in full color—yellow eyes blazing, fangs gleaming—the poster charged the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service with fraud and claimed that wolves now inhabiting Oregon were not native wolves, but a disease-ridden and dangerous invasive species from Canada threatening to swallow livestock and big game industries. Oregonians for Wolf Free Oregon, the poster’s sponsors, had misappropriated the language of invasive species science to make their argument. Yes, gray wolves living in Canada were used to repopulate the northern Rockies, but they are still Canis lupus. Wolves don’t recognize political or international boundaries. Frankly, scientists don’t take the charge seriously. In a recent Oregonian article Ed Bangs, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s gray wolf recovery coordinator, dismissed the invasive species argument and joked that wolves living in Oregon and the whole Mountain West were Canis lupus irregardless.

Despite comments about tutoring my students in the U.S. Constitution and cuddling wolves,

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...they are still Canis lupus.

Wolves don’t recognize political or international boundaries.

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Oregon Has a Chance

several ranchers shook my hand after the meeting and thanked me for making the drive and caring about them.

They also asked some hard questions. One rancher wondered why Oregon needed wolves. “We were doing fine without them,” he said, and pointed out that monitoring wolves and then killing problem animals was expensive. Why spend all those taxpayer dollars just

... we need wolves in the ecosystem to keep elk on the move, preventing herds from overbrowsing,

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to make an ideological point? A rancher who’d lost several calves to wolves wanted to know why he couldn’t shoot wolves on his own land. Another asked, “What good are wolves anyway?”

I wouldn’t have known what to say if I hadn’t already met Suzanne Fouty, a Forest Service hydrologist in Baker City, and Timmothy Kaminski of the Mountain Livestock Cooperative, who has worked with ranchers in Montana and Alberta to minimize wolf-livestock conflicts. Suzanne, whom I’d met the previous summer while visiting some sheep-rancher friends, invited me to join Kaminski and others on a tour of wolf country and then sit in on Kaminski’s public talk about new strategies for reducing

Oregon Has a Chance

livestock losses. A hydrologist, Suzanne understands the connection between wolves and water. As we gathered windfall peaches in her back yard, she explained that we need wolves in the ecosystem to keep elk on the move, preventing herds from over-browsing, putting them at risk for starvation and disease while eroding stream banks and degrading water quality needed to support both livestock and people. Ranchers need to change their grazing patterns, she told me. They need to keep their cattle traveling the way wolves move elk. When ranchers move their cattle away from fragile stream

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When ranchers move their cattle away from fragile stream areas, riverbanks suffer less trampling...

areas, riverbanks suffer less trampling, allowing shaded and cool streams to maintain oxygen levels, which support the salmon population.

Before a crowd at the Eltrym Theater in Baker City, Kaminski admitted that management agencies had made a serious mistake assuming wolves would kill only wild prey, leaving cattle and sheep alone. They were wrong. When agencies get their science wrong, people get upset and their positions harden. But it’s important to remember that SL - WINTER 2011 13

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Oregon Has a Chance

Wild prey animals that stand their ground against wolves often live.

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wildlife biology became an established field after wolves had been trapped, shot and poisoned out of existence in the West.

Wolves were largely gone from Oregon by the 1920s, and the last wolf bounty was paid out in 1946.

Wolves are large social carnivores, and scientists have been behind the curve in understanding how people can live alongside them. But Kaminski was careful to add that simply killing offending wolves and compensating ranchers for losses hasn’t worked.

Understanding predator-prey behavior and changing grazing practices is part of the solution, he explained. Wolves have a certain kind of martial art. To hunt successfully they need their prey to run. Wild prey animals that stand their ground against wolves often live. Cows tend to scatter, and a lone cow is easy prey. On private land where ranchers feed cattle at night so they’re huddled together during the wolf’s peak hunting hours, the number of livestock kills has gone down, and ranchers are more tolerant of wolves traversing their property.

On public land, when range riders move animals in tight groups, ranchers suffer fewer losses.

Biologists can provide information about wolf-den sites, and directional telemetry can tell range riders where wolves are so they can herd cattle away.

Management agencies need to rethink their

rules. Present grazing allotments are fixed and fenced, but if a rancher grazes cattle on the same allotment at the same time every year, wolves learn the routine and return to places where they found food before, including carcass piles where ranchers dispose of dead stock. We need to bring back the old-fashioned rendering plants or start a mobile rendering service.

After I’d shared some of these ideas with ranchers at the cattlemen’s meeting, a young guy approached and stuck out his hand. He wore a Matt Damon grin, a blazing white cowboy hat and a bright red scarf tied around his neck. His hands were thick and callused from ranch work, his legs bowed from riding. He wanted to connect with urban markets, he said, expressing an interest in “predator-friendly” labeling for beef and lamb, because he thought that city folks would be willing to pay a premium for meat produced with a minimum of wolf deaths.

He was on to something. To fund the strategies Kaminski outlined would cost an estimated $250,000 annually for five years, a hard sell during tough economic times. Who’s going to pay? Rancher can’t shoulder the cost. Perhaps a few big-hearted donors or the citizens of Oregon will step up. Long term, sales of “predatorfriendly” beef could help pay for this program. As the continues on page 18

He wanted to connect with urban markets... expressing an interest in “predator-friendly” labeling for beef and lamb...

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Oregon Has a Chance

Understand predato and chang pra of the SL - WINTER 2011 16

Photo by Jerry Heath

ding or-prey behavior nging grazing actices is part solution SL - WINTER 2011 17

young rancher dug a business card from his wallet, I thought of something Kaminski had said: “Ranchers are like young horses. They see a ghost behind every tree.” But the man handing me his card was proof that ranchers were changing, and he told me there were more like him, the younger generation of ranchers open to resolving conflicts and coming to the table with ideas. “Bring your students to my ranch,” he said. “We can work together. Make a difference.”

“You bet,” I said.

the man handing me his card was proof that ranchers were changing... and there were more like him...

Ceiridwen Terrill is an associate professor of science writing and environmental journalism at Concordia University in Portland, Oregon. Her essays have appeared in Oxford American and Isotope, as well as the anthology What Wildness Is This: Women Write about the Southwest published by the University of Texas Press in 2007. Her first book Unnatural Landscapes: Tracking Invasive Species was published by the University of Arizona Press in 2007. Her second book Part Wild, a memoir in the science of dogs and wolves, is forthcoming from Scribner in October 2011. If you love dogs and wolves now, wait till you read this book!

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Advocac y Imagine if you could raise funds grow awareness for the Wolf Education & Research Center by doing something you already do on a regular—if not daily—basis!

How a simple gesture could translate into year-round donations, year after year, for WERC—providing food, shelter and veterinary care for the Owyhee Pack members and our lone Sawtooth Pack survivor, Piyip. To reach out in kindness to family, friends, neighbors and colleagues—would provide funding for better housing, equipment and resources for our dedicated staff and interns, helping to ensure continued care for our beloved wolves. Well, we’ve got howling good news for you… it’s now possible with just the click of a button!

WERC is excited to announce their partnership with SendOutCards (SOC), ranked one of the “Top 500” fastest growing businesses in the country by Inc. Magazine.

It’s fun, convenient and easy-to-use! Simply go online to SOCRetail.com/WolfCenter to send a beautiful, full-color, printed “Happy Birthday” card to your son or daughter, a “Get Well” card to Aunt Betty, all of your holiday

Three ways you can make a difference in 2011 and special occasion cards—and WERC will receive $1.50 for every card you send! Choose to include something special from the huge selection of gifts and gift cards and WERC will receive a percentage from every sale.

In addition to the 15,000+ card gallery, you can upload your own images and personalize your message. And while you sleep your card is printed, stuffed, stamped (with a real stamp!), and mailed.

By doing something you already do—giving cards and gifts—you’ll not only make someone’s day brighter, you’ll also provide much needed financial support for the protection and care of our precious wolves. Send a card now at SOCRetail.com/ WolfCenter and be sure to share it with everyone you know!

There are more ways you can provide sustained financial support for WERC by sending cards and gifts! Go to SendOutCards.com/WolfCenter to learn more. Or email Chris Anderson at info@ wolfcenter.org or Danielle Hawthorne at daniellehawthorne@gmail.com for more information.

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Three ways to make a difference in 2011

GoodSearch to date Goodsearch.com continues to help WERC identify smaller pieces of our financial puzzle. Thanks to a handful of searchers, their search engine has generated the following results. You can magnify our results by installing their toolbar, searching and shopping from Goodsearch. The GoodSearch Toolbar works with your browser to ensure that your favorite cause earns money every time you shop and search - even if you skip coming to GoodShop or GoodSearch first! Search the web, find coupons, track donation earnings, and more!

In 2011, the Wolf Education & Research Center earned $204.07 so far from your searches and purchases. Keep up the donatoin going, by searching on GoodSearch.com!

Month

Searches

$ Raised from Searches

$ Raised from Shopping

Total (Estimated)

Total: Year-to-Date Total: Since Inception

2427 12108

$25.19 $137.95

$178.88 $264.30

$204.07 $402.25

Send WERC a donation every time you use your credit card for every day purchases!

Many banks have promotions that allow you to designate a charity that is special to you and each time you use your card, a portion of their earnings are set aside for that qualified charity. Last year alone, Bank of America paid the Wolf Education & Research Center more than $15,000!

That’s putting your purchases to work for wolf recovery and education! For more information, visit our website and find a link on our donation page.

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WOLF CENTER

$60,000

ADOPTION PROGRAM

Caring for six ambassador wolves costs nearly $60,000, including their health and upkeep, food that is not donated, and the maintenance of the Wolf Camp. You can make a significant impact in our programs by adopting one or all of the Wolf Center’s wolves.

Preserve the legacy of the Sawtooth Pack by giving an adoption to someone or a local classroom.

Visit our website to see photographs of each wolf.

Choose from Piyip, the last remaining Sawtooth Pack member, one of the Owyhee Pack, or the Owyhee Pack South.

$30

Yes!

For only $30 per year, WERC will mail you an official adoption certificate and a picture of your new family member.

Adopt today!

$150

$100 Yes!

Yes!

For a limited time and while inventory lasts, for each donation of $100, choose from one or more of the gifts above. Only 1 gift per each $100.

Choices: Scott Doying Limited Edition Print, Sawtooth Legacy Tribute Print (24” x 18”) or RR Carroll’s Autographed Copy of “The Big Lost”

Invite the Owyhee Pack into your classroom to learn about wolves and their place in healthy ecosystems with the Pack Owyhee Classpack, only $150.

Includes: the Lords of Nature DVD, Subscription to the Sawtooth Legacy, and a complete Owyhee Pack Adoption Set (all five wolves and Certificate of Adoption)

See website for mo

re giving

w w w.wolfcen opportunities ! ter.org

Q Please mail the Adoption or Gift Adoption Packet to the following person, business, or school: Member Number ______________________________________________________ Name ________________________________________________________________ School/Business ________________________________________________________ City ________________________________ State _ Zip _______________________ Email _______________________________ Phone (____) ______________________ Please mail completed form with check or money order to: WERC, P.O. Box 12604, Portland, OR 97212 or Visit: www.wolfcenter.org, click on the “Face to Face with Wolves” menu, and choose “Adopt A Wolf”

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Wolf Behavior 101

Lesson 17: Trail Use

by Jeremy Heft

inter is an appropriate season to discuss a common

W behavior among wolves that allows them to navigate

through deep snow while conserving vital energy. When traveling through their territory, wolves tend to walk or trot on the same trail, eventually carving a well-worn path free of vegetation, debris, or snow. Wolves, and many other wildlife species, also commonly use old logging or access roads that run through the forest. By using such trails and roads wolves expend much less energy during their travels, instead of becoming exhausted by bush-wacking their way through the dense understory or plowing through fresh,

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Wolf Behavior 101

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Wolf Behavior 101

Wolves don’t know the difference between livestock and wild animals using game trails in their territory. They just regard the presence of cattle as another food source.

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deep snow. In the wild, survival is directly dependant on energy budgeting. Therefore, any animal must consume at least the same amount of energy as they expend or they will not survive. Trail usage is one tactic used by wolves to conserve important energy reserves.

Many other large animals perform the same behavior, creating a network of trails through the forest. This provides an additional advantage to wolves by providing an opportunity for wolves to easily locate and track prey animals that habitually use trails.

A fascinating aspect of this behavior is how wolves locate these trails to use. First, vision is likely one sense used to locate trails, as most trails are easy for even humans to notice. However, somehow wolves continue to use the exact same path even when a large amount of snow has effectively obscured the location of any trails or landmarks.

During these times, it is likely wolves are using olfaction, or smell, to locate and remain on a given trail. We do know wolves commonly mark their trails with urine and feces, so it is easy to believe olfaction is a key component in trail usage. Then, when arriving at a trail junction, how do wolves know which direction leads to the desired destination?

Wolf Behavior 101

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This part of trail usage is not fully understood yet, but there must be some level of memory involved for wolves to navigate effectively over their large territories. At the minimum, memory must be involved in locating the pack’s den or rendezvous site, but probably is also incorporated for finding prey or water sources. From my personal experiences, I ...there must be can certainly attest that wolves maintain some level of a good memory of certain events, such as social bonding or hierarchical discipline, memory involved for but memory utilized in navigation is yet wolves to navigate to be proven. effectively over their Finally, wolves use trails to help delineate their territory and then help large territories. support the enforcement of the territory borders. Territory patrols are common within a pack to ensure alien canines are not profiting off the packs’ chosen food source within the territory.

Therefore, a perimeter trail circumnavigating the territory is a huge advantage to conserve energy while patrolling the boundaries. Although we do not fully understand how wolves locate trails, it is easy to see how the use of trails is a major benefit to their survival.

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July 15 – starting at Dusk July 16 – from 1pm to 9pm Join the Wolf Education & Research Center and ­ «¬« ¬ ¬ kª y¦¦­ ¤ Summer Celebration.

WERC celebrates 15 years of advocating for education about wolves, predators, and healthy ecosystems.

AY AT THE TWO D INCLUDE : CELEBRATION

EVENTS

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red online with a $25 The two day event can be pre-reg iste er.org/donate or by per person donation at ww w.wolfcent ª¬¤ ¦ d ª §¦ qojijf ¥ ¡¤¡¦ £ ¬§ z§° ijnhl d § n” on both.

Please specify “Summer Celebratio See page 7 for registration form.

ON SPONSOR S SUMMER CELEBRATI

Owlbrand Discovery Kits www.obdk.com

Fjellene Cellars and Vineyard www.fjellenecellars.com

4t2 Brand, LLC www.4t2brand-tex.com

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Ron ‘Tex’ Carroll’s Biography

Summer Celebration Featured Speaker Author, photographer, and Cowboy story teller Ron ‘Tex’ Carroll will be featured at this years Summer Celebration 2011! Below is an excerpt from his book: The Big Lost. Ron will autograph all copies of his book sold at the event as well as entertain all who attend with his colorful stories. Come join “Tex’ and the rest of the crew of WERC for this fun and informative celebration.

See page 7 for registration form.

On the side of a mountain at a place known as Elkhorn Creek, dusted with an early October snow, lies the horrifically mangled body of a solitary hunter. Wolves had taken advantage of the uncommon feast and moved on. What they had left behind was a bloody mystery and scant evidence by which to solve it.

Chester A. Tilghman, the sheriff of Custer County, stood looking solemnly over the scene of the hunter’s camp. As he surveyed the red mass at his feet, he dreaded the public reaction that would come when the details and circumstances of this man’s death were published in the local newspaper. The rejoinder, he suspected, would be swift and viral; the same reaction the Government biologists received the day they reintroduced the first pack of grey wolves to the remote Big Lost Mountains of Idaho.

From that point on, the people of the region aligned themselves on one side or the other; either in favor or against the wolf. Now, with this tragic death, the two sides would be forming their war camps and bringing out their big guns. One army quick to blame the wolf for the hunter’s demise and clamor for the total and final extermination of these vicious beasts; the other desperate to defend the predator’s tentative place in the natural order of things.

For a rural lawman caught in the middle, the conflation of politics and death would likely produce drastic, if not unlawful, action. Sheriff Tilghman had to solve this case quickly, he had no choice. So along with his Chief Deputy Charlie Two Leaf and a little Chihuahua the sheriff called Hot Sauce, the man with the badge began to follow the twisted trail of the wolf and search for the answer to one man’s lonely death.

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Ron ‘Tex’ Carroll’s Biography

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Bio Ron ‘Tex’ Carroll Born: Dallas, Texas 1942 Current residence: Neosho, Missouri Education: Ph.D., University of Nevada, Reno (Political Science, 1997) M.A. Southwest Texas State University B.A. University of Texas, Arlington Work: Owner, 4T2 Brand, LLC, publishing Email: tex@4t2brand.com Web sites: www.4t2brand-tex.com www.4t2brand.com Current activities/projects: Novels: s !LMOST 'UATEMALA s 4HE "IG ,OST s 0HOTOGRAPHY (see web site 4t2brand-tex.com) s #HILDREN S BOOKS (see web site) Current project: s TH ANNIVERSARY COFFEE table book for Cal Farley’s Boys Ranch, Amarillo, Texas

We want to express our gratitude to Mr. Carroll for graciously allowing us to contribute an “Afterword” to his novel. His dedication to bringing two sides of the issue of grey wolves together is profound and giving exposure and voice to WERC is a profound gesture of support. WERC hopes you will buy this book for yourself or another, thus enjoying a great story, but also supporting our work.

--Chris Anderson SL - WINTER 2011 29

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ED Letter Wolf Update

Miyooxat’s Tragic Injury

The breeding season for wolves is always the most stressful and aggressive time of the year. This winter is no different for the Owyhee Pack. Breeding behaviors were first observed in early January, as usual, but just recently escalated last week (early February). On [Super] Sunday, February 6 the Owyhee Pack suddenly transitioned their female hierarchy without previous indications that a change was imminent.

Xayxayx lost her alpha-female rank in a physical confrontation with both other females, received some minor injuries, and now is relegated to the omega-female rank.

During the altercation, Miyooxat apparently became involved and received a substantial injury to his left front leg caused by multiple bites. This is quite unusual since Miyooxat typically avoided hierarchy SL - WINTER 2011 30

confrontations. By the next day it was clear Miyooxat had sustained a serious injury to his leg and it was confirmed the radius and ulna bones were both fractured. We quickly organized the resources necessary to transport him to Washington State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital for a complete diagnosis and subsequent treatment.

On Tuesday, Miyooxat was darted and placed under anesthesia, then transported to WSU by WERC’s wolf handlers. This is the first ever situation where we needed to transport one of our wolves to the hospital and it was quite complex due to the one and a half hour drive necessary. Miyooxat handled the transport well and we were greeted at the door by a full team of veterinarians and students ready to assist us. Miyooxat was rushed to the Radiology

Wolf Update

Department immediately and the x-rays confirmed he had a major fracture of both radius and ulna of the forelimb, where both bones were protruding out of the skin.

Upon closer examination, bite marks could be found on his leg thus the injury was caused by some aggressive encounter with another pack member.

Unfortunately, major infection had also spread up his leg rapidly, partly caused by the exposed bones. Even if the crushed bone fragments could be mended, the major infection would have likely caused Miyooxat to become septic and slowly die. After consultation, Dr. Nicky Finch, Dr. Lynne Nelson (WERC’s attending veterinarians), Dr. Courtney Watkins (Miyooxat’s surgeon), and myself all agreed

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the best action to save Miyooxat’s life was to amputate his leg. During a two hour surgery, he permanently lost his left front leg. He handled the surgery and transport back to Winchester (under heavy sedation) well. Due to the drastic change in his life, Miyooxat cannot be placed back with his pack. The probability of the pack mauling or killing him due to the injury is too great to risk.

Miyooxat will now live his life alone in our half-acre enclosure next to Piyip’s twenty-acre enclosure. He is recovering well over the last two days and is surprisingly very mobile on his one front leg. We expect a full recovery and hope he easily adjusts to his new life alone, but close neighbors with Piyip. I anticipate the two will get

Top Left: Miyooxat‘s severly injured forelimb.

Top Right: Thanks to the Winchester Volunteer Fire Department an ambulance was provided to transport the injured wolf to WSU Veterinary Hospital.

Bottom Left: Many volunteers give Miyooxat the best possible care.

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Wolf Update

along just fine and may even grow to be companions.

WERC has always strived to provide the absolute best life for all wolves under our care. Such maintenance and treatments are expensive however, so please help us to continue to make each day healthy and happy for our captive ambassadors by supporting our Mission. Your donation of $25, $50, or more seriously impacts our ability to respond efficiently and with confidence when these situations arise.

Because Miyooxat is one of our education ambassadors with Pack Owyhee, this situation could have been potentially disastrous.

When you adopt one of our wolves, the proceeds are used in instances such as this. When you donate outright, 100% of your donation is applied to the cost because we don’t have to mail anything out in exchange for your donation.

WERC would like to thank the many individuals who made Miyooxat’s treatment possible. Dr. Nicky Finch, our vet, who organized the entire transport and treatment with me, then was Miyooxat’s attending vet through the process. All the veterinarians and vet students of the WSU Veterinary Hospital’s Radiology, Anesthesia, Surgical, and Exotic Animal Departments who treated Miyooxat and our crew like gold and went above and beyond ordinary care. Dr. Courtney Watkins, who performed the amputation and remains involved in Miyooxat’s recovery. Dr. Lynne Nelson, our other vet, who consulted on Miyooxat’s injury and remains involved in his recovery.

The Winchester Volunteer Fire Department provided the ambulance to SL - WINTER 2011 32

transport him safely and effectively to WSU and Marshall Meats of Winchester provided the special high protein meals for Miyooxat as he recovers. Idaho Fish and Game also assisted by providing a transport kennel for Miyooxat if we needed.

Due to the drastic change in his life, Miyooxat cannot be placed back with his pack.

Finally, how can we add your name to this list? Miyooxat and WERC need all the help we can get right now, please consider how you can be part of the team. Our team works especially hard to keep finances on hand to pay for emergencies but as with any home, things come up that rob our budget and we again turn to each of you for help.

If you are do not want to make an online donation, please mail a check to WERC, PO Box 12604, Portland, Oregon 97212.

Further updates on Miyooxat will be coming soon as we begin this long road of recovery for our Wise Giant.

Thank you for making our outreach possible and reaching countless people for the purpose of protecting and educating about wolves.

Jeremy, Randy, & Chris Wolf Education & Research Center

ED Letter

A

s the Wolf Education and Research Center enters into its fifteenth year here in Winchester, Idaho, there is reason to reflect on our overall efforts of education.

The wolves have been and our still the center piece of our education efforts. The information that is available from our staff and interns, the Visitor Center, and signs along the trails all support the experience of seeing and learning about Canis lupus, gray wolves.

Off of the 300 acres of Nez Perce land that we lease as the home for the Sawtooth and Owyhee packs, we continue to improve the use of our web-site, emails, Twitter, and Facebook to help keep those who can’t get to Winchester, up to date. On-site, we are creating and/or updating the educational displays in order to provide balanced and factual information. We strive to provide not only an educational experience, but a memorable visit.

The staff and interns that were here at the beginning helped mold the programs that are taught today. Remember when wolves were first introduced into the wild, there wasn’t as much information and research available then as there is now.

That was one of the reasons WERC had high attendance the first few years. Although our attendance is about 2,500/year the last couple of years, our unique location still allows those interested in learning more about wolves to do that.

If we were to compare the program

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presented during a guided tour in the early days compared to now, I believe you would notice improvements in several areas like wolf behavioral interpretation, interaction of wolves within their environment, and of course the political scene regarding the reintroduction of wolves.

WERC having the unique situation of observing for captive-born, captiveraised wolves has been able to evaluate wolf behaviors, often under strenuous conditions, and provide better understanding of several aspects of their lives. For example, just ask past interns and visitors the difference in physical body posturing when a low ranking wolf is in vicinity of an alpha. Many of our visitors are able to identify both high and low ranking wolves, according to the packs social structure, based only on physical posturing of the animals.

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Educating 15 Years in Winchester

Regarding interaction within their environment, many of our visitors have learned why the females of the Sawtooth pack selected the location of the main den site in the 20 acre enclosure. It mimic’s a site that wild wolves would have chosen in that the location has a good field of vision. The den site is also close to water but high on a hill to prevent seasonal flooding. It is also in an area that is fairly easy digging. These finding have been verified with research from wild wolf packs and their selections of their den sites.

The continued and often radical discussion about wolves in the media is no doubt the toughest aspect of education that we face. Often our visitors are confused as to what is factual and what isn’t within those reports. Especially when individuals like Rex Rammell, supports bypassing Federal law and removing all wolves by any and all means available and restoring native elk herds in Idaho County. This was reported on our Facebook on Jan. 20, 2011.

Although his opinion is his opinion and everyone is entitled to theirs, there needs to be reasonable reporting and discussions when addressing any controversial topic including gray wolves.

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Is there too many wolves or not enough wolves? Is there too little elk and deer or too many? Do livestock grazing on public land have additional protection rights against any predator including wolves? These questions and many more continue to headline the news and cause us to question the legal guidelines that were and currently being used to manage wolves in the wild.

The question regarding having wolves or not is often discussed as simply having wolves or not. Under the current Endangered Species Act, wolves will not be removed so those that believe that all wolves should be removed will not get their way. On the other hand, there are those folks that believe that wolves should not be interfered with at all and that is not realistic in today’s society. What is needed is compromise that provides the necessary protection for some number of wolves and for the natural food they seek yet allows for appropriate control if scientifically necessary.

However, there are discussions that the rules used to re-introduce the gray wolf into the wild more than 15 years ago may be changed soon. Without education, I believe poor choices will be made for us by folks like Rex Rammell, not choices that reflect what you or I know to be right. In that vein, WERC will continue to educate and fight for the rights of wolves and their existence in the wild.

Thanks to Fjellene Cellars

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The Wolf Education & Research Center has supporters that come from all walks of life.

What makes our work possible is when those supporters step forward and offer the resources of experience, success, and encouragement to continue on – even in the face of uncertain times.

WERC wants to express our sincere gratitude to Sarah & Matthew Erlandson of Walla Walla, Washington. Their support has made two Sawtooth Legacy magazines possible so that your donations are truly sustaining to our bottom line. Please join me in honoring their generous spirit in two ways: GIVE – When you donate resources as a result of reading this magazine, it says thank you directly to the underwriter of this issue. While they don’t ask for acknowledgement, they hope that their contribution is building up the mission.

BUY – There is an expression I like to share with businesses that support us, “Your success is our success.” Because of the generous spirit of those who support our work, please buy their products.

They not only make a great wine for your table but a great gift to someone you love or care about.

You can learn more about Sarah & Matt and Fjellene Cellars at http://fjellenecellars.com/.

And keep your eyes peeled for a 15 Year Anniversary Summer Celebration wine from Fjellene Cellars at the event this summer. – Chris

About Our Sponsor – Fjellene Cellars Fjellene Cellars is dedicated to crafting distinct, varietal-specific wines from Washington State with sustainability in mind. It is our mission to create elegant, approachable, food-friendly wines while delivering back to the earth. Pumice and stems are reduced to compost by local farmers; our lees are recycled into secondary, useable products; local craftsmen transform barrels over six-yearsold into works of art; and natural cork closures are used on all our wines. We are continuing our efforts by actively researching ways to incorporate local, post-consumer glass into our packaging.

We specialize in small, vineyard-designate lots, which allows us to concentrate on quality, terroir, and varietal.

Thank you for drinking Fjellene wines. Skål

Sustainability?

What does it mean to us to be sustainable in the wine industry? It seems that this phrase is over used and often undefined. Although we are not claiming to be sustainable at this time, we are making every effort to minimize our waste while renewing our resources to lessen our impact on the planet.

We believe that sustainability is not something you achieve, but rather a mindset that requires time and long-term goals.

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ED Letter

Noun: Name of a person, place or thing. For example - books, tuna, Dennis, butterfly.

Adjective: Word that describes someone or something. For example - smart, interesting, cold, funny.

Verb: An action word. For examples - sleep, run, hop, skip.

Miyooxat’s Adlib

Adverb: Word that tells how something is done; it modifies a verb, and usually ends in -ly.

For example - include quickly, softly, speedily, carefully.

Instructions: Fill in a word for each numbered space below. Next, write that word on the blank space in the story below making sure to match up the corresponding numbers.

Some words go on multiple lines in the story. Lastly, read your silly story to your friends and have a good laugh! #1 Adjective _____________________ #2 Month _______________________ #3 Adjective ____________________ #4 Verb (ending in ing) ____________ #5 Adjective ____________________ #6 Verb ________________________ #7 Adjective _____________________ #8 Sports related verb ____________ #9 Verb ________________________

#10 Verb ________________________ #11 Adjective ____________________ #12 Adjective ____________________ #13 Adverb _____________________ #14 Verb (ending in ed) ____________ #15 Body part ___________________ #16 Adjective ____________________ #17 Adjective ____________________

One #1_______ day in #2________, there was a #3________ argument between XayXayx and Leq’eyLeq’ey. They were #4________ about who was the #5_______ Wolf.

XayXayx said, I am the #5_________ wolf of this pack. Leq’eyLeq’ey said, I am the #5_________ wolf of this pack. The only way they could decide who was the #5_________ was to #6_________ Miyooxat to decide for them.

Miyooxat said, I don’t feel #7__________ choosing for you, but I do know what you should do. I will #8___________ each of you, whoever #9_________ me, can be the #5_________.

XayXayx said, I will #10_________ first, but she was not #11__________.

Then Leq’eyLeq’ey said I will #10_________ next. She was so #12_________ , she #13_________ #14_________ off Miyooxat’s #15_________ .

Being a #16_________ sport, Miyooxat said, because you are so #17_________ Leq’eyLeq’ey, you are the #5_________ . Asked about his missing #15_________ , Miyooxat responded, three #15_________ (s) are better then none.

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ED Letter

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TRUE or FALSE? 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6)

Canadian Wolves differ from American Rocky Mt. Wolves.

A wolf will aggressively attack if a human enters (its) territory.

Wolves make great pets.

The average wolf weighs 150 lbs.

Wolves congregate in dens when the weather is bad.

Wolves become more aggressive when there is a Full Moon.

1) False.

Wolves found in the Canada, all the way down to Middle America, where wolves have historically inhabited are part of the same species, Canis Lupus, also know as the Grey Wolf. Thirty grey wolves were reintroduced, from Canada, to Yellowstone National Park in the mid-1990’s, however the only distinction to be found with these wolves is a tendency to end each sentence with an “-A?” Does that answer your question-A?

2) False.

If you enter into a wolves territory, the first reaction of the wolf will likely be to withdraw. It would be unwise to purposely harass or engage a wolf in the wild, as they are perfectly capable of opening up a can of “Wildlife Whoop A..’ and spreadin’ it around. As it has been said time and again, “It’s not nice to fool with Mutha’ nature!”

3) False.

Even in the right setting, with the right personnel, the right education, heavy in Biology and Ecology, with enough fenced real estate, connections with meat processors and and the ability to procure dead animals inadvertently splattered on the freeways, and a willingness to work long exhaustive hours, with a knowledge that they will not be trainable or will come running when you call their name; No, wolves do not make good pets. Stick to dogs, and even then, think twice!

4) Plausible.

The average Grey wolf weighs between 100 to 175 lbs. A wolf weighing 150 lbs. would be considered a big wolf with this in mind.

In last years wolf hunt in Idaho, out the 188 wolves killed, the average weight of those wolves was actually under the 100 lb. range, dispelling the rumor that Idaho had extraordinarily large wolves. Who knew?

5) False.

Wolves are built for inclement weather, with their layered fur and tough padded paws. They would be found curled up in a ball next to a tree or cuddled up next to a buddy more than likely. It was rumored that Jeremy walked by a den once and saw flickering firelight coming out and heard “Cumbya” echoing out of the opening; but that was just a rumor!

6) Plausible.

The “Lunar Effect” of a full moon has long been a source of fascination. And though, many studies seems to suggest the pull of the moon, or the abundance of light reflected by the full moon may effect any number of animals, including humans, it by no means proves more aggression from wolves is a certain outcome. You do need to watch out however, for an abundance of creepy shadow sightings and a distinct tingling sensation up your spine if you think there might be vampires in the bushes!

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P.O. Box 12604 Portland, OR 97212

WOLF EDUCATION & RESEARCH CENTER

PAID

WEST PALM BEACH, FL. PERMIT 593

U.S. POSTAGE

NON-PROFIT ORG.

The Wolf Education & Research Center’s mission is to mobilize the public to action by providing informative and engaging outreach about the gray wolf species and its immense value to healthy ecosystems.

15th

ersary Anniv

Get involved today to stop the destruction of another species and the continued imbalance of nature.