On land near his Riverton, Wyo., ranch, Gene Jordan fords an icy river to mend a barbwire fence demolished by snow-melt as his wife, Debbie, watches from the opposite bank on Wednesday, May 15, 2013. Since the earliest settlers arrived on the range, fences have set boundaries and protected assets. But predators like wolves can easily slip through conventional fencing and swim across rivers. Before wolf reintroduction, Jordan said he typically lost a handful of calves every year to pneumonia or black bears. Now, he usually loses about 25 calves. He doesn’t find all the carcasses in the sagebrush and timbered draws. And when he does find them, they’re sometimes too badly decayed to determine the cause of death. Each calf is worth about $800. If wolves take 20, “that’s $16,000,” he said.
TYLER TJOMSLAND
The Spokesman-Review
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