​Earlier this year, Governor Brown signed a bill affirming the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s decision to remove wolves from the state Endangered Species Act and essentially block judicial review. Although the delisting decision and subsequent passage of HB 4040 dealt wolf recovery a blow, the wolf conservation and management plan ultimately determines the fate of this keystone species.
 
Eight years ago there were no wolves in Oregon. Twenty five years ago there were no wolves in the west. There are currently not just wolves in Idaho, Washington, and Oregon, but in Northern California as well. Ecologically wolves have been described as ecosystem engineers, keystone species, and natural “vaccines” for disease spread. Through their predation of deer and elk they decrease browse time which allows appropriate plants to grow, they increase the available scavenger food source for a wide variety of other animals, they decrease the abundance of destructive mesopredators (raccoons, coyotes, skunks, etc), and they thin otherwise healthy herds of elk and deer of chronic wasting disease.  
 
Ecologically, wolf conservation is smart. In extrapolating how much time, energy, and money I spent in the past couple years trying to photograph wolves in the wild, I imagine conserving this species makes economic sense as well. The argument that wolves are devastating livestock operations and harming humans doesn’t stand the test of time. Sure, there are some livestock losses and in those rare instances that they occur, ranchers are compensated.  However the depredation of livestock does not outweigh the benefits wolves bring to our ecosystem.  It’s baffling to me that the “big bad wolf” myth is still perpetuated and ultimately creating more fear and anger.
 
The modern human and wolf interaction is novel. With the policies we enact and the support or opposition we provide we collectively decide how we want to live with other species and within our ecosystem. Wolf protection and management is an experiment for future large carnivore recovery in this country and globally. For the last ten thousand years humans have done a terrific job of killing the monsters of our nightmares: saber-tooth cats, mastodons, short-face bears, and American lions -- all the way up to the wolves. I’m pleased to see that as a society we’re investing in wildlife and fostering recovery for the many predator species we nearly wiped out: grizzly bears, wolverines, jaguars, and mountain lions. 
 
We can continue to deny protection or we can use these interactions as opportunities to learn how to cohabitate better. Wolves embody not just the image of wilderness but the definition of a natural system working. If we make decisions that give them that chance, we are not only supporting the natural resources of Oregon but also contributing to the legacy of our state. The wolf question needs to be answered but constructive and mutually beneficial results do not occur from removing their protection and ultimately, the species. 

The stories and videos shown in class ended with: “and that’s how you capture a ram from a helicopter” or: “now remember, a black bear in a tree is in a compromised position and you need to let the animal be your teacher.”  Out of context, these are just great sentences that caught me unawares each time. Within the frame of this course, it still didn't seem exactly normal but it made sense that these are the maxims gathered from a life of experience working with wildlife. That experience has developed something else, something unique. Compassion is intrinsic to Dr. Johnson’s ethic and how to keep your animals and you as optimal as possible while still achieving your tasks is a lesson taught over and over. For example, when trying to draw blood my frustration was mounting because the animal we worked on started to come out of anesthesia. While still sedated and calm, it began to make noise and move and I was ready to give up. Dr. Johnson came over and said: “Now imagine you’ve been searching for this endangered animal for a year and finally have this one chance to collar it and get vital data from it for the survival of the species. Having this wild rare animal in your hands is a wonderful gift! Putting more drug might threaten the animal so what do you do?” That mind game helped focus my attention and I got the work done but it was the sense of wonder that is innate to Dr. Johnson’s methods that captured my attention. He’s right: having these wild animals in our hands is something special and something worth our compassion and diligence.

Our team’s goat, and all of the 5 goats our class worked on, got back in the truck feeling, I’m sure, a little confused but without incident otherwise. It was probably an analogous feeling that I and my classmates felt after the week of studying ketamine doses, ideal dart sizes, optimal pressure on our dart guns, and proper compassionate handling of animals that would rather be running as far away from you as possible or finding your jugular with their canines. We walked out of the class with tons of information in our heads and for me a realization that this is not only a skill that professionals employ for critical research and management but also a philosophy that underlies their motives. The course and the experience once again showed me that those who choose this type of work for their profession are tapping into a different source of inspiration than what motivates many others. Conservation professionals who purposefully choose to utilize Dr. Johnson’s ethic of diligent compassion or those that come by it on their own are implementing their skills in some exciting ways. I am looking forward to putting both the practical and the equally important intangible skills I learned into practice.

You can find Dr. Johnson’s course and company on his website and Facebook:  http://www.wildliferesources.com/ and https://www.facebook.com/wildlifehandling?fref=ts

For more photos of the class, please visit my Flikr page: https://www.flickr.com/photos/118319178@N03/sets/72157649315441424/