Spring is a time of birth and ample life around the territory of the Sawtooth Pack: Wolves of the Nez Perce and the adjacent Wolf Camp. Our first wildflower bloomers of the year, the Buttercups, bloomed last month and now the Glacier Lilies and Shooting Stars add color to the landscape that only recently lost its winter barren white appearance. The huge pine trees are dropping vast amounts of yellow pollen, while the deciduous shrubs take their first breath of the year. Wobbly-footed and spotted new-born fawns stagger across the meadow following their mothers, and the summer songbirds create a loud chorus every twilight.

The pack is beginning their seasonal processes as well. Their thick winter coats are now about to shed from their bodies and each is slowly losing their winter weight gain. Wolves also tend to become very sleepy this time of the year, probably recovering from the long, exhausting winter and breeding seasons. With the pack growing older, they take full advantage of the "spring slumber", often sleeping for half-a-day at a time. If only those of us who care for the pack were so lucky! Actually, spring is a very busy season for Wolf Camp personnel. All the structures need to be evaluated for damage from the harsh winter weather, and then repaired accordingly; the outhouses need to be emptied; all the limbs and trees that toppled over during winter must be removed from the trails, etc. Plus, much work is necessary to prepare the Visitor Center and interpretive displays for the upcoming visitor season. In fact, spring is one of the busiest seasons for the Wolf Center.

Alas, soon our doors will be open for the summer and then the pack will once again be the centerpiece of the visitor season. Hopefully the pack is well rested by then and ready to do what they do best----teach the world about the realities of their wild cousins.

J Heft