EXPLORING THE NEW LIVING WITH WOLVES MUSEUM IN KETCHUM, IDAHO.
For nearly 35 years, Jamie and Jim Dutcher have focused on the study and documentation of wolf behavior, including six years living in a tented camp on the edge of Idaho's Sawtooth Wilderness, intimately observing the social hierarchy and behavior of the now famous Sawtooth Wolf Pack.
Their experience with the wolves would form the basis of three successful primetime documentaries, including the groundbreaking, Wolf: Return of A Legend (1994 1993), which captivated an audience of 17 million television viewers and garnered an Emmy Award. The popularity of their films played a significant role in creating a shift in the public’s perception of wolves, a national mood change that led to a federal wolf plan to bring gray wolves back to the United States.
Two of America's most knowledgeable experts on wolves, devoted to the betterment and understanding of this keystone species, the Dutchers founded Living with Wolves, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising broad public awareness of the truth about wolves‑‑their social nature, their importance to healthy ecosystems, and the threats to their survival.
The documentarians long-standing relationship with National Geographic has enabled them to create unique programming, outreach, publications (including study guides and children's books), and educational materials to reach as wide and diverse of an audience as possible. Last year, the organization opened the doors to a Living With Wolves museum in Ketchum, the heart of the state’s wolf country. The response has been overwhelmingly positive — in the first six weeks, over 1800 people entered its doors; over 7,000 since the museum first opened its doors. “We never expected anything like this before. It's created a lot of interest,” says Jim.
The space serves as a permanent home for their National Geographic photography exhibit, features a film viewing area that screens the Dutchers’ films, the PSAs they produce and distribute, and includes multimedia installations that aim to dispel common myths and examine the wide-ranging perceptions surrounding wolves.
Additionally, over 200 hours were spent developing customized curricula, to be used by the growing number of students and educators engaged in spreading the word of the wolf. Twenty-eight student groups visited the museum this year, accounting for just shy of 500 visitors, the majority students, but also including a significant number of teachers and chaperones. The museum has also had the distinct honor and privilege of welcoming visiting dignitaries to the museum, most notably Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia and His Majesty King Abdullah of Jordan.
“Our presence with the museum has allowed us to reach so many people who may not have otherwise learned about the plight of wolves or the work that needs to be done to protect them,” says Terra Jackson, Living With Wolves’s program administrator. “Step by step and one visitor at a time, we are really pleased with the way the museum is helping people to develop a new understanding of wolves.”
Here are some key lessons from the museum exhibit and its corresponding educational materials:
WOLVES ARE SOCIAL
Few species are as intensely social and devoted to family as wolves. Similar to elephants, gorillas, and dolphins, wolves live in family groups, educate their young, and take care of their injured and elderly. Wolves form lifetime friendships, and there is compelling evidence that they suffer and mourn their loss.
WOLVES BOOST ECOSYSTEMS & ECONOMIES
The gray wolf plays an important role in so many ways: as a keystone species, they've proven vital to the health of local ecosystems; as an animal that evolved alongside and in relation to humans for thousand years, they are of great importance to various Native American traditions; and as an animal that captures the interest and imagination of people around the world, they've become a strong contributor to the economic health of the Rocky Mountain region. In fact, an economic report released in June 2022 found that wolf watching tourism generates an annual average of at least $82 million dollars for local gateway communities within the three states around Yellowstone National Park (Montana, Idaho, Wyoming).
WOLVES ARE THREATENED
Wolf management decisions made by state governments and wildlife agencies continue to threaten wolf recovery, especially in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming, where they've implemented especially aggressive anti-wolf policies. In Idaho, they've eliminated restrictions on how many wolves hunters and trappers can kill, and increased the ways in which they can kill them, which includes the shooting of wolves from ATVs and snowmobiles, and the killing of newborns and pups in their den. In 2021, at least 17 pups, ranging from only one to eight weeks old, were killed by hunters, trappers, or government agents.
To visit the Living with Wolves interactive museum or help Living With Wolves expand its educational programs, reach ever wider audiences, and fund forward-thinking scientific research, visit LivingWithWolves.org.
