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SRI and its partners deploy innovative and time-tested techniques to minimize livestock-predator conflicts. We pursue coexistence with integrity and transparency so that others may understand and improve upon our work.
The recovery of gray wolves in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, beginning with the animals' reintroduction in 1995, has rightly been heralded as a conservation success. Nevertheless, the rebounding populations of Canus lupus have challenged livestock producers in the region. Often operating at the margins of profitability, ranchers have had to resort to new practices to maintain their operations' viability while allowing the gray wolf to meet its biological needs.
SRI values ranchers who protect open space, provide ecosystem services on the range, contribute to local economies, and maintain the vital culture of the American West. Thus, we support the sustainability of ranching as well as a healthy, intact ecosystem that includes top predators - such as grizzly bears, mountain lions, coyotes, and wolves.
Wolves offer particular challenges: they are very intelligent, adaptable, and effective predators. Their virtual absence from the American West over the past decades means that ranching has evolved without having to accommodate wolves. Coexistence in the 21st century demands creativity, experimentation, and a lot of hard work. It demands openness both to new ideas and sharing experiences.
SRI helps develop robust coexistence plans that create the best possible outcomes for predators, livestock, and people. We focus on bringing new resources to meet these challenges. Our work includes building relationships and partnerships, developing effective techniques, and disseminating information about our partners' efforts. The process begins with defining success for each ranch; it continues with experimentation and documentation of the work; and it eventually disseminates data and results. The process never actually concludes; instead, it continually evolves as we learn and animals adapt.
Beginning with our work on the Sun Ranch and its history of coexistence efforts, SRI is expanding coexistence planning to the Madison Valley and beyond. Coexistence experimentation, in a traditional scientific sense with controls and peer review, remains difficult on a working ranch. Nevertheless, the Institute and its partners operate as systematically and openly as possible, contributing to a growing body of knowledge and practice in this important but challenging realm.
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