STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK

Learn about wolves and efforts being taken to mitigate conflict between wolves and ranchers during the Hailey Public Library’s new “Lunch and Learn” series on Tuesday.

The inaugural episode of the new occasional midday series will be held from noon to 1 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 25. Members of the Wood River Wolf Project, will discuss new non-lethal tactics for reducing conflicts.

Presenters will include project Field Manager Logan Miller, who grew up in the world of wolves and cowboys near the Mexican Wolf Recovery area in Arizona where he also was surrounded by the politics of public lands ranching. Miller, grandson of Tom and Florence Blanchard, has a bachelor of science in Sustainability with a focus on Ecosystem Sustainability from Arizona State University. He has spent three summers with the Wood River Wolf Project.

He will be joined by Field Technician Lane Justus, who joined the Wood River Wolf Project in June 2022 after finishing a Fulbright Fellowship in Hidalgo, Mexico. She has a bachelor of science in biology and a bachelor of arts in Spanish, Latin American Studies and Political Science from the University of Arkansas. She has worked on research and conservation education projects revolving around sustainable agriculture and healthy ecosystem for the last five years

“We hope this new midday series will be of interest to many people, retirees as well as workers who’d like to get out of the office for lunch, and especially with our dark winter nights fast approaching,” said the library’s programs and engagement manager Kristin Fletcher. “As the Wolf Project’s 2022 field season wraps up, now is a great time to learn what’s working and what isn’t working to reduce potentially devastating conflicts. Thankfully, new techniques are proving to be even more effective, less costly and generating more buy-in than previous efforts.”