Q & A with Karin Vardaman “The Wolf Lady”
Karin Vardaman is widely regarded as one of the nations leading experts on Wolves. Through her non-profit group, The Working Circle, she works with ranchers across the United States western regions, mainly in places where wolf and rancher conflicts are high like Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana. Most recently she has been turning her efforts towards Colorado as we prepare to reintroduce wolves back into the wild for the first time in nearly a century. The interview took place over the phone.
Dalton Prejeant:
What made you get into wolf conservation?
Karin Vardaman:
There’s just this one screensaver from Defenders of Wildlife or this Wolf, and I’m like, it’s just an amazing picture. I chose it and for some reason, I just thought you want to read a little bit more about this critter and started to become fascinated and then came across California Wolf Center. I was making the drive twice a week for our round trip and just became fascinated. I went through all the training they offered trying to learn as much as I could on my own. I eventually worked my way up as the director of California Wolf Recovery, when wolves started returning to California. I also spent some time working with the Mexican Gray Wolf Program. Eventually, I moved to Northern California and was on the stakeholder working group for California and the wolves. That was the experience that sparked me to want to work with ranchers. During that experience, I just saw this real disconnect instead of folks really kind of listening to each other, to understand where the other person was coming from. Folks were listening to each other to prepare their arguments. A lot of what they said just kind of rung true, I wanted to learn more. Because in my early, short upbringing in the wolf world, I was kind of under the impression that ranchers were the bad guys when it came to wolves. What I saw is that there just seemed to be a lot more to it and so I started spending time speaking with them, eventually they realized I was sincere. I started getting invited out to ranches, and over some experiences, I felt like this veil was lifted in my understanding of kind of the deeper issues and the bigger picture. So, that’s how I kind of started down this path I’m on now, gosh, 11 years later.
Dalton Prejeant:
We kind of got into talking about why you started the working circle, where has that taken you since you left California?
Karin Vardaman:
Well, it obviously started in California and grew into southern Oregon. Then when I moved here to Colorado, it just kind of was fortuitous because it happened to be at the same time that the Rocky Mountain Wolf Project was really getting going and they were talking about reintroductions. So I actually became involved in those meetings. Here we are 25 to 27 years after the reintroduction in the Greater Yellowstone region, I didn’t feel like we had it figured out yet, we’re missing something. Why is it we’re still in the same place, Why do we see the same repeating patterns, what are we missing? We need to figure this out before we bring wolves back here. Especially when you look at Montana and Idaho, they're regressing big time. What I’ve discovered is that so much of it really does lie with private landowners. Even with their public grazing, it comes down to kind of that ranch resiliency side. Ranchers have so much pressure already, they feel the urban public, the same people that are promoting wolves are the same people that are trying to get them off public lands. It’s really about looking at the reality of today’s world for both ranching and wolf conservation. So landscapes are not the same as it was 10 years to 15 years ago. If we can support ranchers with some of these herd management strategies, longer-term sustainable strategies that not only reduce vulnerability in cattle, to predation but help increase ranch sustainability and viability in terms of economics, you have that Win-Win scenario. We’ve seen it work in California and Southern Oregon. Hilary Anderson, one of our board members and partners made it work. They went from thinking the only solution is to kill wolves to recognize it’s not focused on the wolves, let’s focus on the ranch. She’s one of the innovators of some of these strategies that have been so successful. That’s kind of what led to really where the working circles at. Obviously, we’re very pro-wolf or equally pro-ranch. We do believe that the connectivity that private landowners provide is extremely important. But instead of persecuting this whole culture, let’s support them and help them implement some of these regenerative ag practices and herd management practices. That also helps predators thrive on the landscape.
Dalton Prejeant:
You seem very caring towards both the ranchers and the conservationists. You seemingly hold them as equals in a world where those two groups make it such a black and white argument. How are you able to do this so well?
Karin Vardaman:
Ultimately, we want the same things and ultimately, one depends on the other. If we want to be successful, ranchers need to be successful. Otherwise, we’re gonna be following the same pattern over and over and nothing’s gonna change. The fact is wolves don’t need to exist with the landscape at the expense of ranching and ranching doesn’t have to exist at the expense of wolves. The strategies that we promote, meet both of these goals. One thing we try to get advocates to think about is that when you’re out there bashing ranchers, you’re not helping the cause for wolves. You’re just pissing them off and they’re not gonna want to work together or want to implement changes. Then for the ranchers, if you’re out there saying S.S.S. (Shoot, Shovel, Shut-up) and you’re going to kill them, how are they going to get the urban support? So much of the time the actions that we take and the things that we say are so counterproductive to the cause we’re trying to fight for. It’s not even the middle ground, because the middle ground often means compromising and that is a huge barrier right away. If you have to compromise usually means giving up something of value. What we’re saying is that you don’t have to. These ranchers can be the stewards of these wolves. We’ve seen it in California, some of our partners who have shot a wolf eight years ago are now excited that they’re on their land, they’ve learned to work around them because they understand the wolf and how they work. They’ve adopted these strategies, and they’re making their ranch that much stronger and resilient and they’re not having these issues. People have to be willing to just take a breath and put their egos aside. Whether we like it or not as wolf as advocates, we need to support ranchers and not fight them. Nothing in nature survives unless you can adapt. We can’t make these blanket statements you know that all ranchers are this way or all environmentalists this way. People are people and as much as I’m more of an animal person than a people person, the people part is the key to making this work for wolves. These strategies take more upfront effort and over time they’re very sustainable. Three new wolf packs showed up and they didn’t need anything from us. They’re like “we got it”, they’re reaching out to their neighbors, helping each other and communicating with those new ranchers that haven’t worked with us in the past. They’re teaching them what they’ve learned, you know? It all starts with the conversation and people listening.
Dalton Prejeant:
Because of your work through your organization, you have had numerous interactions. What’s the single most impactful experience you’ve had with a rancher that shifted your whole view from it?
Karin Vardaman:
I think it was early on when I got to spend time on a couple of these ranches in California. You know, I remember asking this one rancher, I said “why is it you feel so strongly about wolves this way” and she started crying. She said, “because I can’t stand the fact that I’m going to find one of my cows chewed up, because that’s a horrible way to die.” It just really hit me. It was the first time I realized how much most of them really care for the individual animals. They actually had names for them, you know, their breeding cows. That was a huge thing for me, just realizing that they care on a level that’s not portrayed to the public. Then oftentimes through these conversations, they’ll say “we actually like wolves”, “they’re really cool and amazing.” It isn’t really about the wolf, it's much more about what they represent. It just kind of starts out with that trust and then they share that trust back.
Dalton Prejeant:
On the opposite end of the spectrum, what was the single most impactful experience you’ve had with wolves?
Karin Vardaman:
Oh, wow. It’s hard to pinpoint. Probably one of the greatest ones was not too long ago, last year. That being in the northwest corner here in Colorado. We had been trying to figure out what this pack was doing and that night they started howling. I knew this was the first Wolf Pack in Colorado. Just realizing how close we were to them and hearing that pack howl that was huge. It was just magical.
Dalton Prejeant:
Keeping with Colorado and talking about proposition 114, What’s the best way we move forward with this legislation? Is it important that groups like yours get out there and prepare ranchers before the reintroduction of wolves?
Karin Vardaman:
Well, that’s what we’re trying to do. My frustration as I’ve been finding and talking to certain entities and groups is that it’s kind of deer in the headlights, they’re kind of stuck in the old school ways or they’re talking to folks and these folks may have been involved in the reduction in Yellowstone. They’re not necessarily current with some of the newer strategies that have been discovered over the last several years. Colorado has such an insane opportunity to get it right, to finally demonstrate that we can do this. All eyes are on us. This is so much bigger than Colorado because of the historic nature of the ballot initiative. But we’re not moving in that direction. If we don’t get this right and it turns out to be either the killing field for wolves or the ranchers upset, I think it could cause irreversible damage to wolf conservation. With The Working Circle, we’re gonna keep doing what we do, working to support ranch families, individual ranch families and communities to help prepare them, not just physically but mentally. I just think that we have an opportunity to do this right and change the course for how it’s been done. But I don’t see that we’re heading in that direction so far.
Dalton Prejeant:
This is obviously a major occurrence within the state in its history and we have not heard much of anything since the ballot’s approval. Have you heard anything about what the state’s moving forward with, you were saying that there are three potential spots they could place the wolves? Do you know what the states moving forward with?
Karin Vardaman:
Yes, my understanding is they haven’t decided yet exactly where they’re going to put them. I know right now, they’ve just been kind of focusing on the actual management plan, which again, sounds like it’s very old school, unfortunately. Strong emphasis on compensation, which again is not a long-term solution. I just know it’s gotten very political. It has not gotten very far, just a lot of fighting back and forth. Which is unfortunate because it doesn’t have to be this way it just doesn’t. They’ve done these education series but again, it’s been based on old-school stuff. The stakeholder group meets every month, but they just started three months ago, they’ve only had three maybe four meetings. I do know that CPW (Colorado Parks and Wildlife) is working very closely with CSU (Colorado State University). So, I have my concerns. I don’t have all the inside scoop, we’re just trying to do the best that we can. I try to be more vocal; I was trying to kind of push harder on some demands, but it really wasn’t going anywhere. We’re just going to keep focusing on working with these ranching communities, building that trust.
Dalton Prejeant:
Are you working more with mountainous ranch communities just because of the wolf demographics and where their behavioral patterns take them?
Karin Vardaman:
Well, we’ve been working really in the regions where there are current wolves. Working with some folks in the northwest corner, North Park, a couple of folks down in the Durango area, a couple of ranchers right outside of Aspen, then, of course, the De Beque area where High Lonesome Ranch is in that region. Part of it has just been who we’ve made contact with, but we started in the areas where there are known wolves.
Dalton Prejeant:
You seem pretty good at predicting where these wolves want to be. Where do you think would be the best places to put them and start a successful reintroduction?
Karin Vardaman:
That’s a tough one, I would have to do a lot more surveying. One thing that’s really unfortunate about that northwest corner is it’s just perfect. I mean, it’s a perfect wolf habitat, they are just so vulnerable right on the Wyoming border. So, I would say away from the borders. Obviously, eventually, they’re going to make their way towards you know, Utah and Wyoming, but for now, choose locations that will hopefully give us more time before we run into the border issues. I know that they’re looking at the different areas of what makes the most sense. Hopefully, keeping in mind not just the physical characteristics of the prey, water and terrain, but also the people part.
Karin Vardaman and her organization will be hosting free workshops for livestock producers in Durango on Nov. 2, Montrose on Nov. 3, Craig on Nov. 5 and Walden on Nov. 6.
For more information about Karin Vardaman or the working circle visit their website.
