Category: Mammals

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Hardware Ranch

Hardware Ranch: Elk Herd at Hardware Ranch Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell, Photographer
Elk Herd at Hardware Ranch
Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell, Photographer
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Hardware Wildlife Management Area (WMA) provides refuge for hundreds of elk who congregate each December and hunker down for the duration of the winter.

Hardware Ranch: Riding Out to Feed the Elk Hardware Ranch Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell, Photographer
Riding Out to Feed the Elk
Hardware Ranch
Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell, Photographer

Elk Merge on Dropped Hay Hardware Ranch Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell, Photographer Elk Merge on Dropped Hay
Hardware Ranch
Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell, Photographer

Preparing to Push the Bale Hardware Ranch Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell, Photographer Preparing to Push the Bale
Hardware Ranch
Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell, Photographer

Elk Fed, Riding Back Hardware Ranch Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell, Photographer Elk Fed, Riding Back
Hardware Ranch
Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell, Photographer

Thoughts to Paper Hardware Ranch Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell, Photographer Thoughts to Paper
Hardware Ranch
Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell, Photographer

Documenting the Experience Hardware Ranch Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell, Photographer Documenting the Experience
Hardware Ranch
Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell, Photographer

In 2008, Hardware Education Director Marni Lee and I established a service-learning partnership. Since then, I have ventured up northern Utah’s Blacksmith Fork Canyon with about a thousand 5th and 6th graders—a half-dozen students at a time—to spend the day with DWR biologists and managers. Each morning, we feed roughly 5,000 pounds of hay to wintering elk (about ten pounds of hay per head) and we learn first-hand the details of how biologists monitor and manage wildlife and wildlife habitat.

We typically see bulls sparring or cows boxing over who gets first dibs on the freshly tossed hay. We often observe bald eagles and sometimes golden eagles. We’ve discovered flattened dried-out snakes in the hay bales who were scooped up into the baler the previous summer. We’ve helped relocate wild turkeys. We’ve examined an elk fetus after a cow elk was hit by a vehicle and miscarried on the road. We’ve seen coyote and cougar tracks. We’ve encountered moose, porcupines, beaver, ermine weasels, and snowshoe hares. Many impromptu anatomy lessons have occurred upon discovering deer carcasses—something that always fascinates students. We’ve watched biologists tranquilize wildlife, helped them humanely trap elk so they can test them for disease, measure back fat, and attach GPS tracking collars—all of which enable them to gather data that informs wildlife management decisions.

Throughout the day (and back in the classroom), math, science, and language arts curriculum standards are woven into the experience. This is my kind of school. “Mister Nool’s Schewell,” as one student wrote with a giggle.

Depending on conditions, after lunch we hike, snowshoe, or cross-country ski to various overlooks where students sit down, pull out their field journals, and write. I never check their notebooks for writing conventions—there is plenty of time to polish spelling and grammar in the classroom. The goal here is to capture the magic of mountains.

Here are few recent samples of Edith Bowen Laboratory School 5th graders’ writings recorded in the wild, with the wind in background:

Harper:
“Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be sitting on the top of a mountain with the sun smiling warmly up above on your face and the birds ‘chirpling’ happily with the polka-dotty mountains?”

Macey:
“Hardware Ranch Hike: As I write, I bathe in the sun. I hear the pages turning and I see the lime-green rock and the evergreen trees battling the white snow. As the birds chirp, the breeze makes my hair flow. The light sprinkle of snow gets rushed by the wind. I get a little chilly but the view makes up for it. The gentle curves of the mountain covered in the snow, the dark green mountains surrounding me, and the moss-coved rocks that feel like a pillow.”

Boston:
“Today we went to Hardware Ranch. We went on a great hike to the top of a mountain. I am writing these words on the top of that mountain. The wind up here is whooshing through my ears. On this hike I have collected two things. A hawk feather and an elk tooth.
This fieldtrip to Hardware Ranch was a really great fieldtrip. I hope you get to come here too.”

Mike:
“I have experienced breathtaking views before and I have seen phenomenal creatures, but I’ve never seen so many different kinds on the same day. I could live here. It’s so peaceful. The wind is paralyzing. If you haven’t come here yet, you have to do it now. This place is for wildlife lovers, nature lovers, and if you’re like me, love both. Either way this place is spectacular. I wish that I could stay.”

I do too.

I am Eric Newell,
I am Harper Famer,
I am Macey Hill,
I am Boston Winn,
I am Mike Brandley,
and we are wild about writing in the wild country.

Credits:
Images: Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell, Photographer. Used with permission of the photographer, students and parents
Featured Audio: Courtesy & © Kevin Colver https://wildstore.wildsanctuary.com/, Courtesy & © Friend Weller, https://www.upr.org/people/friend-weller, Courtesy & Copyright © Anderson, Howe, Wakeman
Text: Eric Newell, Edith Bowen Laboratory School, Utah State University
Additional Reading: Eric Newell

Additional Reading

Wild About Utah Pieces by Eric Newell

Link to Hardware WMA website and information about sleigh rides:

Haviland’s Old West Adventures will offer horse-drawn sleigh and wagon rides* through the elk herd on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from Dec. 6 through Feb. 9. Rides start at 10 a.m. and end at 4:30 p.m. each day. Each ride lasts about 40 minutes. Follow the link for more information, including rates:
https://wildlife.utah.gov/hardware-visit.html

Anderson, Michael, DWR, USU partner to get fifth-graders excited about science, writing, KSL-TV, January 15, 2016, https://www.ksl.com/article/38150310/dwr-usu-partner-to-get-fifth-graders-excited-about-science-writing

Hardware Ranch field experience video (2008), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x46T5jt-CDI

Edith Bowen Laboratory School, edithbowen.usu.edu
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook:
@edithbowenlaboratoryschool
Facebook, Edith Bowen Laboratory School

Mount Logan Middle School Discovery Program (2008-2016), MountLoganDiscovery.org

What is Brucellosis? https://wildlife.utah.gov/brucellosis.html

Gurrister, Tom, Utah elk test clean of brucellosis, unlike Idaho and Wyoming, Gephardt Daily, March 15, 2024, https://gephardtdaily.com/local/utah-elk-test-clean-of-brucellosis-unlike-idaho-and-wyoming-2/

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Goats in the Mountains

Walking to Exercise the Pack Goats Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers, Photographer
Walking to Exercise the Pack Goats
Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers, Photographer
When a family friend recently returned from a big hunting trip, he mentioned he’d taken along his new pack goats.

“Pack goats?” I perked up at the thought of seeing goats on a hiking trail in the mountains.

“They’re very friendly,” he added.

Deviance from Walking to Exercise the Pack Goats Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers, Photographer
Deviance from Walking to Exercise the Pack Goats
Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers, Photographer
A domestic goat is very different from a wild mountain goat. It’s very unlikely a hiker will ever see a wild goat because there are less than 2,000 scattered about in a few small herds in Utah. These herds can be traced back to the forty wild goats brought here from Olympic National Park in Washington beginning in 1967. These mountain goats have 2 distinctive layers of thick white hair and 2 black backward-slanting horns.

Mountain goats keep to the high mountains. If a hiker sees them at all, it’s most likely on a rocky ledge. A mountain goat is a great climber that has been clocked going up 75 vertical feet in 60 seconds. A rocky ledge is a good place to escape predators like bears and wolves. Unfortunately, it’s no defense against eagles, that has been known to swoop down and carry off a small kid.

About 10,000 years ago, villagers in Asia first domesticated the goat. To this day, in some parts of the world, owning a goat can make a big difference for a family. Bernice’s Goat is a beautiful children’s book that tells the true story of a nine-year-old girl in Uganda whose mother receives a gift of a goat from the Heifer International nonprofit. The goat soon gives birth to twins and the milk just flows. There is enough for the baby goats and Bernice’s five younger brothers and sisters…and still enough to sell a little to the neighbors. Her mother can now pay school fees, and Bernice gets her deepest wish. She is able to go to school.

Back in Cache Valley, I wasted no time inviting myself over to meet my friend’s new goats. The goats rushed up to the fence and seemed as curious about me as I was about them.

“Can we go for a walk?” I asked.

Soon we were headed up a nearby trailhead. Pack goats need a lot of exercise to keep in shape. This was just an easy workout. On a hunting trip, the goats wear a pack saddle, and each one will carry about 40 lbs.

By now I was really intrigued and bought a copy of John Mionczynski’s book, The Pack Goat. According to the author, a goat that has been bonded with humans when young will grow into a strong, sure-footed, trustworthy companion in the wilderness. John now runs a pack goat business that accompanies groups on overnight camping trips. His favorite goat is Julio.

Julio will watch everyone bedding down for the night. Then he will saunter over to someone and politely stand next to their sleeping bag. Slowly and gently, he’ll kneel down. Then he’ll lean over until he is comfortably snuggled against the sleeper.

“If you’ve never slept with a goat on a cold night [on a camping trip],” John writes. “You don’t know what you’ve been missing.”

I closed the book and sighed. I had one more thing to add to my bucket list.

This is Mary Heers, and I’m Wild About Utah.

Credits:
Photos: Courtesy Mary Heers,
Featured Audio: Courtesy & Copyright © Friend Weller, Utah Public Radio upr.org, and audio Courtesy & © Anderson, Howe and Wakeman
Text: Mary Heers, https://cca.usu.edu/files/awards/art-and-mary-heers-citation.pdf
Additional Reading: Lyle Bingham, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/

Additional Reading

Wild About Utah, Mary Heers’ Wild About Utah Postings

Mionczynski, John, The Pack Goat, Reavis, January 1, 2004, https://www.amazon.com/Pack-Goat-John-Mionczynski/dp/0976255405

[We oppose introduction of non-native] Mountain Goats in the Bear River Range, Bridgerland Audubon, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/our-projects/advocacy/mountain-goats-in-the-bear-river-range/

McBrier, Page(Author), Lohstoeter, Lori(Illustrator), Beatrice’s Goat, Aladdin, Reprint July 1, 2004, https://www.amazon.com/Beatrices-Goat-Page-McBrier/dp/0689869908

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A Good Shepherd

Early Morning Start from Mantua, UT, Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers, Photographer
Early Morning Start from Mantua, UT
Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers, Photographer

Border Collie Sweeping Behind Sheep, Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers, Photographer Border Collie Sweeping Behind Sheep
Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers, Photographer

Entering Brigham City, UT, Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers, Photographer Entering Brigham City, UT
Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers, Photographer

“Here they come!”

I heard the cry as I was hurrying down the side of the road in Mantua to watch the yearly tailing of the sheep.

The sheep suddenly crested a small hill, and I was face to face with one thousand sheep on the move. I grabbed a nearby mailbox and hung on as the sheep rumbled by on all sides.

The sheep were on their way from the hills above Mantua to their winter home in Bear River City, 23 miles away. For 4 generations, Eph Jensen Livestock has had a dedicated right of way to make this journey, including the mile and a half on US Hwy 89 between Mantua and the Brigham City exit.

By now I had hopped in my car and was following the flock. They were keeping a brisk pace of about 5 mph. There were 6 shepherds jogging alongside. Then, there at the back, I spotted a hard-working Border Collie racing left and then right behind the last of the sheep, making sure they kept up with the big group.

It’s rare these days to see a sheep dog actually at work. But the International Sheep Dog Competition comes to Soldier Hollow every year, and I wouldn’t miss it for the world.

Here you can see teams from as far away as South Africa and New Zealand competing with local teams. Each owner and their Border Collie will step up to a starting pole. When the timer starts, the owner sends the dog up the hill and out of sight to gather up 10 rough range sheep and bring them back through a series of free standing gates.

Now at this competition, the owner then sends the dog up and over another hill, and the dog brings back 10 more sheep wearing bright red collars.

Up until now the owner has been keeping busy at the starting pole, blowing a whistle and yelling commands. But now both the owner and the dog enter a large circle marked off on the grass by a series of knotted red handkerchiefs. The task is to keep 5 sheep with red collars- and only these five sheep -inside the circle. This is no easy task, as sheep never want to be separated from the larger group.

Meanwhile the clock is ticking down. This is where time runs out for most of the teams. But for the few still in the game, there is a tiny box corral close by that the sheep really do not want to enter.

Ironically, the faster the dog moves now, the flightier the sheep become. Nothing but slow steady pressure will get them into the tiny pen.

I find myself holding my breath. This is where this year’s champion will be decided.

Win or lose, there’s much applause for each team. And for me, much gratitude to the men and women whose love and close communication with their dogs have given us a glimpse into the ancient art of being a good shepherd.

This is Mary Heers and I’m Wild About Utah

Credits:

Images Courtesy & Copyright Mary Heers, Photographer
Featured Audio: Courtesy & © Courtesy & Copyright © Anderson, Howe, Wakeman
Text: Mary Heers, https://cca.usu.edu/files/awards/art-and-mary-heers-citation.pdf
Additional Reading: Lyle Bingham, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/

Additional Reading

Wild About Utah Pieces by Mary Heers

Soldier Hollow Classic Sheepdog Championship & Festival, https://soldierhollowclassic.com/

The 2023 Eph Jensen Livestock Sheep Trailing, Bear River Heritage Area, https://youtu.be/4s5gaWNxdpw

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Bear Stories

Bear Stories: Grizzly Bear on Gravel Road in Denali National Park, Courtesy US NPS, Kaitlin Thoresen. Photographer
Grizzly Bear on Gravel Road in Denali National Park
Courtesy US NPS, Kaitlin Thoresen. Photographer
Everyone loves a good bear story, especially around the campfire. I have accumulated many in my years- all personal and factual. I consider bears my spirit animal, as do many indigenous peoples. Bears are close kinfolk given their many human-like attributes. When the news broke that a bruin was sauntering through a Cliffside residence in Logan Utah a few weeks ago, it sparked a flood of bear encounter memories. From early years in the Northwoods of Wisconsin to recent days with my students in Teton and Yellowstone national parks, the stories continue.

Black Bear & Cub in Yellowstone, Courtesy US NPS
Black Bear & Cub in Yellowstone
Courtesy US NPS

2024 Campers, Teton Splendor Field Trip, Courtesy & Copyright Meg Kast, Photographer

2024 Campers
Teton Splendor Field Trip
Courtesy & Copyright Meg Kast, Photographer

Two falls ago, I helped lead 30 USU international students for a weekend campout in the Tetons. We ate our lunch at Hidden Falls behind Jenny Lake, then began hiking out. In a few hundred yards, two black bears were busily gulping mountain ash berries on either side of the trail. Most of the students had never visited a national park, and none had seen a bear outside of a zoo. What to do!

“Don’t run!” I tried to convince them, unless they pretended to be a berry, they were safe. Even as a large crowd assembled, the bears were oblivious, attacking the berries with abandonment. For a good fifteen minutes, the students were helplessly under the spell of these glorious berry eating beings.

While working in Denali National Park, I joined a small group for a back country hike led by a young seasonal ranger. She gave us bear safety training before hitting the trail. Into our second hour, in a thick patch of willows, her near panicked “bear” voice put us on alert. We slowly retreated under her direction. Once at a safe distance, we began breathing again, then scrambled up the opposite slope hoping to get a view of our alarm. There, on a grassy ledge, a large mamma griz was lying on her back sound asleep while two tiny frolicking cubs played on their snoozing mom.

Black Bear Near Lake, Courtesy US NPS, Yellowstone's Photo Collection, Harlan Kredit, Photographer
Black Bear Near Lake
Courtesy US NPS
Yellowstone’s Photo Collection,
Harlan Kredit, Photographer
I’ll conclude with an occurrence from many years back when I worked as a fishing guide on Yellowstone Lake where an adolescent black bear befriended me. It would walk several hundred yards with me from my cabin to the boat dock where I would prepare my boat for a day’s fishing. It would disappear in the forest until I finished mid-afternoon, then return with me to my cabin, where I often gave it a snack from last evening’s dinner. In the mid 1960’s feeding bears was common practice.

I was amazed how gentle and polite it was. My buddy bear learned how to open my latch door lock by lifting it up with its nose, inserting a claw, then pulling the door open. It would enter, sniff the table where tidbits of food might be found, grab the treat and rush out the door, not closing it! If no treat was found, it would amble away without incident. After a week or so, to my disappointment, it disappeared.

I have yet to see a bear in the wilds of Utah. May that day come soon!

Jack Greene for Bridgerland Audubon Society, and I’m wild about Utah’s bears!

Credits:
Image: Courtesy US National Park Service, Rights noted.
2024 Teton Splendor group picture, Courtesy &amp Copyright Meg Kast, Photographer https://www.instagram.com/p/C2C4ZPvsKOH/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Audio: Courtesy & © Courtesy & Copyright © Anderson, Howe, Wakeman
Text: Jack Greene, Bridgerland Audubon, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/
Additional Reading: Lyle W Bingham, Webmaster, Bridgerland Audubon, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/

Additional Reading:

Jack Greene’s Postings on Wild About Utah, https://wildaboututah.org/author/jack/


Bears — A Yellowstone Love Story
Courtesy US NPS, Jennifer Shoemaker, Producer/Videographer/Editor, April 27, 2012

Characteristics of Bears in Yellowstone, National Park Service (NPS), https://www.nps.gov/articles/yell-wildlife-bear-differences.htm
Heers, Mary, A Mendon Bear Story, Wild About Utah, July 24, 2023, https://wildaboututah.org/a-mendon-bear-story/

Kelly, Patrick, In the Eyes of a Bear, Wild About Utah, July 27, 2020, https://wildaboututah.org/in-the-eyes-of-a-bear/

Heers, Mary, Black Bear Country, Wild About Utah, May 18, 2020, https://wildaboututah.org/black-bear-country/

Greene, Jack, Bears, Wild About Utah, October 22, 2018, https://wildaboututah.org/bears/

Boling, Josh, Old Ephraim, The Infamous Northern Utah Grizzly, Wild About Utah, August 7, 2017, https://wildaboututah.org/old-ephraim-the-infamous-northern-utah-grizzly/

Leavitt, Shauna, Orphaned Cub Rehabilitation, Wild About Utah, January 23, 2017, https://wildaboututah.org/orphaned-cub-rehabilitation/

Larese-Casanova, Mark, Sleeping the Winter Away, Wild About Utah, February 23, 2012, https://wildaboututah.org/sleeping-the-winter-away/

Larese-Casanova, Mark, Blackbears, Wild About Utah, June 23, 2011, https://wildaboututah.org/blackbears/

Liberatore, Andrea, Sleeping Winter Away, Wild About Utah, January 20, 2011, https://wildaboututah.org/sleeping-winter-away/

Strand, Holly, The Bear Facts Old Ephriam, Wild About Utah, June 17, 2008, https://wildaboututah.org/the-bear-facts-old-ephriam/