Wolf Field Work
Helping ranchers and field teams implement practical, non-lethal tools like range riding and proactive livestock management to reduce conflict and support long-term wolf coexistence in Washington’s working landscapes.
Our Approach
Helping ranchers implement practical, field tested tools that reduce livestock losses and build trust in Washington’s wolf country is a cornerstone to coexistence and recovery.
Early investments in Northeast Washington showed that consistent human presence on large, remote allotments through range riding was one of the most effective ways to prevent conflicts. That success catalyzed the creation of nonprofit range riding groups and demonstrated that wolf recovery goals require on the ground engagement.
Today, we continue to strengthen these efforts by advancing funding, improving management frameworks, and supporting producers who want workable solutions. By grounding wolf recovery in real field practices, we help ensure coexistence remains durable, scalable, and rooted in community needs.
Current Focus
Work We’re Doing to Achieve Wolf Field Work Goals
Field Monitoring
Our wolf coexistence fieldwork focuses on practical, non lethal tools that help ranchers reduce conflict with wolves while maintaining healthy, functioning grazing operations.
The core of this work is range riding: consistent human presence on large, remote allotments that deters wolves, monitors herd health, and identifies early signs of conflict before they escalate. Over recent years we have deployed up to 24 individuals for this work. Riders spend long days in rugged terrain checking cattle, documenting wolf activity, removing attractants, and coordinating with producers to adjust grazing patterns when needed.
This steady presence not only reduces depredations but also strengthens communication and trust between ranchers, wildlife managers, and conservation partners.
Conflict Solutions
Alongside riding, we support producers with tailored conflict prevention strategies such as carcass management, fladry, improved herding practices, and attractant removal.
Staff work directly with ranching families to assess vulnerabilities, troubleshoot challenges during the grazing season, and adapt tools to the realities of each operation. Field teams also document outcomes to refine what works and share lessons across the region, helping build a broader culture of coexistence.
Through this combination of riding, technical assistance, and collaborative problem-solving, the program reduces the need for lethal control and demonstrates that livestock production and wolf recovery can successfully coexist on Washington’s working lands.
Impact & Results
A History of Wolf Field Work
Wolf recovery in Washington has been closely tied to early and ongoing efforts to reduce conflict between wolves and livestock. From the beginning, proactive field-based tools and collaboration with ranchers have been essential to supporting coexistence and long-term recovery success.
Early Foundations of Wolf Coexistence and Proactive Conflict Prevention
Launching and Scaling the First Range Rider Program for Field-Based Wolf Management
Expanding Integrated Strategies to Support Long-Term Wolf Recovery
Early Foundations of Wolf Coexistence and Proactive Conflict Prevention
Washington’s wolf recovery began alongside early investment in proactive conflict deterrence, as wolves naturally returned to the state in the late 2000s. Conservation Northwest recognized that reducing livestock conflicts before they occur is essential for maintaining public tolerance and long-term support for wolf recovery.
Launching and Scaling the First Range Rider Program for Field-Based Wolf Management
In 2011, Conservation Northwest launched the state’s first Range Rider Pilot Project, partnering directly with ranchers to place trained riders in areas where wolves and cattle overlap. This field-based approach established a model for consistent human presence, herd monitoring, and rapid response to wolf activity during the grazing season.
Expanding Integrated Strategies to Support Long-Term Wolf Recovery
A broad toolbox of non-lethal deterrence methods now complements range riding, including fladry, guard dogs, carcass management, hazing tools, and improved livestock husbandry. These strategies work together to reduce depredation risk while allowing wolves to persist on working landscapes.
Impact & Results
Our Key Accomplishments for Wolf Field Work
From protecting critical landscapes to advancing collaborative forest restoration, these efforts deliver lasting benefits for wildlife, habitat connectivity, and climate resilience.
Range Rider Program
Launching one of Washington’s first nonprofit range rider programs through a 2011 pilot
Established one of Washington’s first nonprofit supported range rider programs, launching the pilot in 2011 and demonstrating that consistent human presence and proactive livestock monitoring can meaningfully reduce conflicts between ranchers and recovering wolf populations. This work helped build what is now the largest contingent of conflict focused range riders operating anywhere in the western United States.
Coexistence Expansion
Scaling a range rider model across multiple wolf recovery areas in Washington
Scaled a proven coexistence model across multiple wolf recovery areas, expanding from a small pilot into a broader program that now supports riders, livestock producers, and collaborative partnerships across northeast and north central Washington.
Non-Lethal Tools
Advancing field-tested non-lethal tools for wolf coexistence and conflict reduction
Advanced practical, field tested non-lethal deterrence tools, helping deploy and refine strategies such as range riding, fladry, carcass removal, and rapid response to wolf activity—reducing depredation risk while strengthening tolerance for wolf recovery in rural communities.
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