Ranching With Wolves Without Collars

Ranching With Wolves Without Collars

Susan Allen
Susan Allen
Welcome I'm Susan Allen. Sam Kaiser is the first Central Washington cattle producer to lose calves to wolves, and it is finally receiving some attention from the Westside. KING 5 TV's environmental reporter Alison Munroe did a short segment that aired June 30th and it's posted on the Ag Information Network's Facebook page. So check it out it's received over 4,000 hits. Alison rode along with Sam as he moved his herd through the Teanaway and also interviewed range rider Bill Johnson, who expressed frustration over the fact the wolf pack no longer wears GPS collars, so he has no method to monitor their movement remotely. Here a clip with Johnson:

Johnson: If I don't know where the wolves are I could be driving the cattle, the young calves into the jaws of wolves..

Bill's job is to keep the cattle away from the wolves as they move through their summer range, he does that the old fashioned way, horseback covering many miles a day

Johnson: You want to keep the two separate by as much real estate as possible.

If he moves the cattle in the wrong direction it becomes a smorgasbord for the wolves

Johnson: Like putting a plate of candy in front of a kid before dinner!

From the Canadian border to Mt. Spokane, down to Cle Elum Washington and across the state to the Blue's outside of Walla Walla, ranchers like my son and Sam have learned the harsh reality of running cattle with wolves. Now that we are in the radar of the mainstream media, there is also the "reality" of bringing along a camera crew on a cattle drive.

Alison!.......Alison hey watch these!

Obviously, both are challenging.

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