Conservation Northwest protects and connects old-growth forests and other wild areas from the Washington Coast to the British Columbia Rockies, vital to a healthy future for us, our children, and wildlife. Since 1989, Conservation Northwest has worke
Issue link: http://conservationnw.uberflip.com/i/395479
Looking forward Keeping the Northwest wild Fall 2014 7 When Washington ranchers turned out their cows and calves for grazing this spring, Conservation Northwest was there to support some extra supervision: range riders. These modern day cowboys and cowgirls keep watch over the herd, sepa- rating them from predators and ensuring livestock can access the best grazing areas in their allotments. is year, we're collab- orating with even more cattle operations in wolf country to protect both livestock and Washington's recovering wolves. Working with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and four ranchers from the Methow and Teanaway valleys, the Wenatchee area, and Stevens County in northeast Washington, we've had six riders patrolling this season. For the first time, they've covered the territory of five confirmed wolf packs on horse, foot, ATV, and even mountain bike to mini- mize predator-livestock conflict. Range riders work long, hard days in tough conditions. ey cover thousands of miles a season to make sure the cattle are calm and healthy and kept away from wolves. Because of the difficult and spe- cialized work, each rider can cost up to $20,000 plus gas and expenses for the five-month grazing season. To sign up with WDFW to participate in the pro- gram, ranchers must typically put up half that cost to receive a state match. at's where Conservation Northwest comes in with contributions of up to $10,000. "We hope this program spurs ranch- ers to do a practice that they did for hundreds of years. But when wolves were gone from the landscape there was less need," said Jay Kehne, Conservation Northwest's Okanogan County outreach associate. "ere are incentives: you're going to keep more weight on the cows and you're going to lose fewer cows. Hav- ing a range rider is worthwhile for the ranchers because it's going to save them money in the end." Even as wolf populations have re- bounded in our state, ranchers involved in our range riders program have report- ed no livestock depredations from wolves during the past three grazing seasons. And the valuable weight on their cows has increased thanks to limited interac- tion with predators and more stress-free time spent resting and feeding. What's more, with the range riders' work re- sulting in wolves causing less problems for cattlemen, there's less call to resolve wolf-livestock conflicts using lethal management. e cows haven't come home from the 2014 season yet, but we're hopeful the accomplishments of this program so far speak to a future of successful coex- istence between ranchers, livestock, and Washington's wolves. an update from the range raNGe rIDerS GeT reSulTS Chase Gunnell Communications manager, chase@conservationnw.org The Dawson family and their herding dog at work in eastern Washington. Photo: Chase Gunnell For several years now, John, Melva, Jeff and lisa Dawson have been strong partners in our range riders program. These Colville area cattle ranchers have shown an inspiring commitment to sound livestock management, a passion for public rangelands and a pro- ranching partner wins national award gressive approach to new chal- lenges facing their herd, including the return of wolves to the region. This summer the Dawson fam- ily was awarded the u.S. Forest Service National external range Management award, recognizing their collaborative spirit, com- munity leadership and advocacy for both ranching livelihoods and conservation-oriented livestock management solutions. Congrat- ulations Dawson family! Conser- vation Northwest is honored to count you as partners. Looking forward