Electrified, flagged fencing installed to deter wolves

Conservationists, agencies, and some ranchers begin expanding efforts to prevent conflict with wolves in Wallowa County

FLADRY FENCE:USFWS & Wallowa Resources are joining efforts to install fladry, electrified, flagged fencing around calving areas in the Wallowa Valley. These calves belong to Justin Nedrow, who leases part of the Buckhorn Ranch east of Enterprise.

As the conditions in which we live constantly change, so must our vocabulary. Fladry, a non-lethal wolf-deterring fence, is quickly becoming a common part of the Wallowa County rancher’s lexicon.

According to the Keystone Conservation website, fladry is a Polish word that means a line of flags on a rope. For local ranchers it is another tool to protect their livestock from wolf predation.

A combined effort among Defenders of Wildlife, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Wallowa Resources is on the ground this week at Wallowa Valley ranches. The main focus is private land along the Imnaha wolf pack’s regular route from the forest to the Zumwalt Prairie.

John Stephenson of USFW talked with ranchers and Mark Porter of Wallowa Resources nearly three weeks ago about getting the fladry installed, expecting that they were ahead of the curve of seasonal wolf depredation.

Unfortunately, the ways of wolves is unpredictable. Last week, wolves killed two of Karl and Karen Pattons’ bred cows, just three weeks before they were due to calve. The Pattons are now on the list to have fladry fencing encircle their calving area.

“We’ll keep trying stuff and hope it works,” Karl Patton said. “Hopefully I’m not too late.”

ODFW installed a radio-activated guard — or RAG — box on the Pattons’ ranch in hopes to scare away wolves. However, the RAG boxes only work when a collared wolf is present.

Patton said he’s been informed that the wolves are several miles from his ranch now, but until a couple of days ago, he found signs of wolves on the back of his property where the cows were killed. He even found a coyote near the site that appeared to have been killed by wolves.

Marlyn Riggs, USDA Wildlife Services agent, and Stephenson agreed that the Pattons’ cows were killed by wolves, but USFW said not enough non-lethal work had been used to justify using lethal control. Now the rush is on to get radio-activated guard boxes and fladry installed to protect producers from losing any more calves — and cows for that matter.

Stephenson said he is targeting calving pastures in particular with the fladry.

“We are putting it up in pretty small areas, about one mile in perimeter. Some are a little bigger,” he said.

The fladry used is electrified and runs on solar panels. The solar panels charge batteries to keep the fencing live overnight, when wolves are most likely to encroach on calving areas.

“We are focused mostly where wolves have been active,” Stephenson said.

Stephenson called the electrified, flagged fencing “turbo” fladry.

“It’s fairly effective as a double deterrent,” he said. “The flagging flutters in the breeze and wolves don’t like to cross it. When they start to test it, they’ll get a shock.”

Fladry has been used for centuries in Europe, originally to hunt for wolves. Stephenson said it is effective, yet its use is limited and works best in small areas for short amounts of time. Non-electrified fladry can work up to 60 days, and electrified fladry can be effective from 90 to 120 days.

Stephenson said they used fladry to protect Curt Jacobs’ sheep in Keating in 2009 after wolves killed two dozen of the rancher’s lambs.

“There were no attacks while the fladry was up,” Stephenson said.

Besides a short time line for its effectiveness, Stephenson said, another impediment is vegetation entangling the  fencing.

“You need to keep the weeds cut low,” he said.

ODFW and USFW are footing the bill, Defenders donated some of the fladry and Wallowa Resources has hired contractors to get the work done. The Pattons’ loss was nearly three months earlier than wolf-caused depredations last year and it took most everyone by surprise.

Justin Nedrow, who leases pasture from the Buckhorn Ranch, Duwayne Voss, the Pattons, Jeanie Lathrop, Scott Sheer of the Triple Creek Ranch and the Schaafsmas all have ranch land along the wolf pack’s path. Stephenson and Rock Botham, hired through Wallowa Resources, are trying to get the fencing up at these ranches as quickly as possible.

Mark Porter said Wallowa Resources’ role is to help expedite the fencing work.

“We are simply helping landowners accomplish what they can to prevent depredation,” Porter said.

Part of Wallowa Resources role in the community is to help landowners manage their land and maintain profitability, Porter said.

“We want them to be able to function well. They provide hugely to conservation,” he said.

Porter said he sees two main benefits to non-lethal, wolf-deterring measures.

“There are two benefits to using fladry,” Porter said. “The first is to prevent calf losses. The second is it’s a requirement under the Endangered Species Act.”

Rod Childers, Oregon Cattlemen’s Association wolf committee chairman, said to encircle each of these rancher’s calving pens it might take 12 miles of fladry.

“If people want this they need to contact John Stephenson at 541-962-8584” Childers said. 

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La Grande Observer photo by Katy Nesbitt

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