How to Count a Wolf
The wolves were supposed to be a short scene in a different film. Over the last year we’ve been working with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife on a story about predator-prey research here in the Methow Valley and northeast Washington. Part of that large study involves wolves, but after one day in the field with the wolf biologists, it was clear there was a second film we had to make first.
After a 75-year absence, wolves are now rapidly recolonizing Washington. WDFW is tasked with managing this recovering population using a variety of high-tech tools, perseverance and hard work. Each year they publish an annual report that updates policymakers and the public on how the wolf population is doing. To compliment that report – and clear up some misconceptions about their work – they asked us to make a film that explains how they know what they know about wolves in Washington.
One of the primary ways to monitor a wolf pack is to attach radio collars to individual animals, and the most efficient way to do that is by helicopter in the winter. But this is exceptionally risky work, both for the biologists and the animals, and there was simply no room in the helicopter for a film crew. Instead, we rigged the helicopter with multiple cameras and gave the team a small camcorder. What they brought back made our jaws drop and the riveting footage anchors much of our new film. We also joined the biologists on snowmobiles for a day to track one of our local wolf packs here in the Methow, sent our friend Tim Matsui up in a plane on an epic aerial survey, and climbed trees to deploy remote audio recorders as part of a study on new monitoring methods.
But from the moment we first met the WDFW wolf team at the Omak airport, it was clear that there was much more to their work (and this story) than just methodology. Ben, Trent and Gabe work tirelessly, and with considerable personal risk and investment, to ensure that gray wolves can become “just another critter on the landscape,” as Ben Maletzke describes his goal. With this new film, our hope is that we all understand just a little more about the work of wolf recovery and what it actually takes to count a wolf.
