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Montana: August 2005

Wildlife Adventures in Greater Yellowstone

Living in the Northern Rockies means living with wildlife. Being a good neighbor in any context takes purposeful work and understanding; an accommodation to the needs of others who share our space. But even in our homes we often forget to learn about and care for our neighbors. And even in "wild" places like Montana, we can become so absorbed in human concerns that we neglect our relationship with wildlife.

Hoping to introduce young people to the natural 'hood, Ecology Project International started a wildlife field science program in The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem this summer. We found some intrepid high school students from Montana and around the country, identified interested local land managers and wildlife scientists, and wrangled enough gear and food for nine days down to the Northern border of Yellowstone. The adventure began!

For four days we helped Dan Tyers' Forest Service wildlife/trails crew on the Gardiner District of the Gallatin NF. Dan directs an amazing variety of field science investigations during the short summer season! Our students helped with a lynx hair-snag survey, searched for bear and wolf sign on trail transects, called for Northern Goshawks, measured aspen and whitebark pine trees, and built wolverine traps for the coming winter.

Throughout these projects our students were learning field science methods, exploring the natural history of the area, and coming to understand the intricate ecological ties between the animals, plants, landscapes and people of the area. We were all proud to have helped Dan and his crew so many worthy projects and gained so much valuable experience.

Leaving our camp above Gardiner, we headed into Yellowstone National Park. As we drove into the Park, Rick MacIntire, a Park Service wolf expert, called to tell us that we should head up the Lamar Valley right away. We met Rick at a turnout and hiked up the hillside for a vantage point on the whole valley. With spotting scopes we could see a pack of wolves and a grizzly feeding on a bison carcass! The wolves howled and romped in the sunset light, mirroring our group's mood perfectly.

After a starry night in the Park we traveled on through West Yellowstone and into the Madison Valley. We arrived at the Sun Ranch, a large spread that backs up into the Madison Range, and were welcomed by the ranch manager Todd Graham and his crew. They led us up a rough road to a campsite amidst his herd of 800 heifers. There is a wolf den a few miles away from that camp, and those heifers needed some protection−the presence of humans. In a parallel way, the wolves needed our protection as well, because wolves that eat cows don't last long in the Madison Valley. So we spent our nights at the Sun Ranch peacefully snoozing among the cattle, with one ear out for wolf howls.

During our days on the Sun Ranch we met with local ranchers, conservationists, and wildlife scientists. Our students helped test stream water quality with Frances Moore of Montana Watercourse; removed barbed wire fence from a wildlife travel corridor with a Forest Service fire crew and volunteers from the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation; learned about rancher's concerns about wildlife from Lane Alderson of the Madison Valley ranchlands Group; taught ranch staff how to do the aspen survey techniques we learned from the Forest Service in Gardiner, visited the only successful western cutthroat trout hatchery on one of the Sun Ranch's creeks, and learned about local wildlife science investigations with local biologists and graduate students.

By the end our students were tired in body, but energized in mind and spirit. They imagined and planned many ways to apply the knowledge they had gained on the course, some near Yellowstone, and others in home landscapes far away. We all learned a great deal about how to live with wildlife, and we are eagerly anticipating more projects and learning in our great wild commons next summer.