LIVING WITH WOLVES & THE WORK OF PEACEFULLY COEXISTING WITH AMERICA’S MOST MAJESTIC CANID
When the decision was made in the early ‘90s to reintroduce gray wolves to the Rocky Mountains area, the Dutchers got a few calls. “The people involved in the reintroduction knew about wolves, but I think very few had ever actually seen one,” recalls Jamie Dutcher, sitting adjacent to her husband Jim in their home in Ketchum, Idaho.
The Dutchers, on the other hand, had been living in the central Idaho wilderness among the now famous Sawtooth Wolf Pack for over six years. There, the filmmakers patiently observed and documented the pack (consisting of wolves they’d raised), in the hopes that what they learned could provide actionable insight into the true nature of these complex animals. Their experience with the wolves would form the basis of three successful primetime documentaries, including the groundbreaking, Wolf: Return of A Legend (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 then-Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt bucking the concerns of ranchers, hunters, and certain agricultural organizations and greenlighting a federal plan to bring gray wolves back to the United States. Early in the project, Jim was asked to serve as a consultant to the Wolf Reintroduction project for the design of Yellowstone’s temporary holding enclosures, and was appointed as a member of Idaho’s wolf reintroduction oversight committee.
From January 1995 to 1996, a total of 66 gray wolves were captured in the Canadian Rockies and transported by helicopter, plane, and truck to central Idaho and Yellowstone National Park—31 to Yellowstone, 35 to Idaho. When the Idaho Legislature opposed state participation in reintroduction efforts, the Nez Perce Tribe, headquartered along the Clearwater River, stepped up to lead wolf monitoring and management in Idaho. And as the animals mounted a steady comeback, they inspired one of the greatest divides between ranchers and environmentalists in recent history; one that has yet to heal.
With wolves still being vilified and persecuted, the Dutchers put down their cameras in 2006 and founded Living with Wolves, a national nonprofit dedicated to raising public awareness of the wolves’ plight. Focused on educational outreach and research, the organization helps raise funds for critical wolf studies, and has produced an array of arts and education materials, including books, films, traveling exhibits, and school curriculum.
After years of successful pack growth, differing ideas regarding their management came to a head in 2020 when the gray wolf was delisted from the Endangered Species Act throughout the lower 48 states. And though last year (2022) a federal district court struck down the 2020 decision, returning federal protections to wolves, the legal process excluded the wolf population of the Northern Rockies which was delisted over a decade ago. This includes the big three: Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming.
In the Dutchers’ home state, drastic measures have since been legalized that allow for the killing of more wolves. On May 11 of this year, Idaho’s Department of Fish and Game adopted a new 6-year wolf management plan in which the goal is to reduce the state’s wolf population from 1,300 to 500 wolves over the next six years.
“Of all the three states, Idaho treats wolves the worst,” says Jim, “even worse than Wyoming. They want to kill over half the population here, that's the state’s plan.”
To do so, they allow for year-round hunting, have eliminated quota limits, have authorized the shooting of wolves from ATVs and snowmobiles, and condone the killing of newborns and pups in their den.
“Another one of their techniques here in Idaho is what they call ‘the Judas wolf,’” adds Jim. “They go in and eliminate a pack of wolves, leaving just one with a radio collar on, so that wolf will lead the [government’s] hunters to the next generation of pups, or to another pack that's trying to catch its breath.”
The so-called management plan is overseen—its cruel tactics encouraged—by the Idaho Fish and Game Department (IDFG), which works in concert with Idaho’s Wolf Depredation Control Board, the only state organization of its kind whose singular mandate is to eliminate wolves. To this end, the IDFG and the Wolf Depredation Control Board reimburse hunters and trappers for expenses incurred while pursuing and killing wolves—effectively a modern-day bounty. In specific areas flagged for what they call chronic livestock depredation, which is defined as an area with confirmed livestock kills in 4 out of the past 5 years, hunters and trappers can be granted a whopping $2,000 per wolf kill.
It’s hard not to consider this a cruelly monetized charade, considering fewer livestock animals die as a result of wolf predation than from other natural causes such as storms, injury, or disease. In fact, studies have shown that wolves kill far less than 1% of Idaho’s 2.72 million cattle and sheep and 22% of livestock deaths reported by ranchers in Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho were attributed to weather.
“There is no logical explanation or rationale for it,” says Jamie. “Fish and Game, they know they have the numbers, they're trying to appeal to the hunters and ranchers; it's all about getting elected, and this is what they wanna do.”
Living with Wolves largely serves as an important counterpoint to the misinformation spread by the region’s powerful groups of ranchers, hunters, and trappers, and the politicians that appease them. The organization has recently opened the doors to a museum in Ketchum, the heart of the state’s wolf country. 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.
The response has been overwhelmingly positive; in the six weeks following its opening, over 1800 people have entered its doors. “We never expected anything like this before. It's created a lot of interest,” says Jim.
The Dutchers remain in the thick of it, their museum just one of the many advancements they’ve long been working for. Earlier this year, the results of a groundbreaking study that examined wolf data from five US national parks and preserves were published as, “Human-caused mortality triggers pack instability in gray wolves.” Recognizing the importance of this research, over the last nine years Living with Wolves has worked diligently to generate interest and support for the study.
Meanwhile in Colorado, where the public voted in 2020 to actually reintroduce wolves, one of the many Living with Wolves photography exhibits has been traveling around the state, making stops at Pueblo, Durango, and even the Aspen airport. “They're going about it in a much more civilized way (in Colorado) than when wolves were originally reintroduced,” says Jamie, “because when wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone and central Idaho, there was no education. There was very little comment solicited from the public.”
“At least in Colorado,” she continues, “they've been able to educate people and really start conversations from the get-go, which is a really important step. We've been able to help with that because, basically, it’s what we've had to do since their reintroduction here—try to help people understand about wolves.”
While the states of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming seem determined to diminish wolf populations by any means necessary, Colorado’s new wolf reintroduction plan, the reemergence of packs in new areas of Oregon and Washington, and the appearance of wolves and their pups in the Sequoias of California, are all encouraging glimmers of hope.
“I think people are finally waking up to what's going on with wolves and other animals in the natural world,” says Jamie. “People are upset and angry and want to do something.”
