Image above: Working Circle rancher partners participating in a stockmanship clinic with Whit Hibbard

​Our Many Rancher Partners
Working Circle is proud to work directly with ranch families and ranch operations across the west. Our rancher partners' vision and collaborative efforts have led the way in creating a powerful new way forward for wolves, livestock, and people to successfully coexist and thrive on shared lands. 
Our rancher partners comprise the foundation of our work and the majority of the people of Working Circle. 

​On-the-Ground Team
Mike Ensley
Rangeland Specialist
Leading our field efforts, Mike Ensley, comes to us with a strong ranching background:
  • 35 years of experience running large and small-scale cattle operations in the high desert, timbered mountains, and coastal country. His experience also includes:
    • Directing crews, rotating pastures, feed management, doctoring, branding, weaning, shipping, flood irrigating, running heavy equipment, and maintaining fences.
    • Running yearling operations in feedlots and open range.​
Mike's ranching with wolves experience:
  • 7 years of managing ranches with active wolf packs and zero cattle loss.
  • Extensive training and experience in Bud William's stockmanship, grazing practices, herd health and nutrition to reduce vulnerability in cattle to predation.
​​Mike works with individual ranchers and ranch operations to reduce the risk of wolf-livestock conflict through practices that provide the co-benefit of increasing ranch viability. He is available for free consultations, conflict risk assessments, direct on-ranch support, and to facilitate workshops and clinics. ​
Maddie Munro
Program Coordinator
  • BS Biology; graduated Magna Cum Laude
  • Experienced in:
    • Non-lethal wolf-livestock conflict reduction tools
    • Wildlife tracking; game camera deployment and monitoring
    • On-the-ground strategy implementation
    • Community engagement and logistic planning
  • Avid outdoors woman and adept backpacker
​Maddie provides administrative and direct support for outreach, workshops, and field activities.​​
Karin Vardaman
​Field Advisor, Board President, Co-Founder
  • 35 years experience in wildlife conservation and environmental education
  • 14 years experience in wolf conservation; experienced wildlife tracker
  • ​12 years experience in wolf-livestock conflict mitigation and conflict risk evaluation
  • 10 years of training/experience in stockmanship/herd management; range riding in active wolf country
  • Member of the California Wolf Management Stakeholder Working Group
  • Diverse ranch & field experience in California, Colorado, Montana, and Oregon
​Nate Atkins 
​Nate provides field support by conducting landscape, wolf and wildlife surveys, and cattle and wildlife monitoring.  
  • Experienced wildlife tracker
  • Experienced in strategic camera deployment, wildlife and cattle monitoring, and data collection
  • Youth mentor and backcountry instructor
  • Avid outdoorsman and wildlife conservationist
​ ​

Waylan Fletcher
Colorado Range Rider
  • Multi generational cattle rancher, with lifetime experience using Low-Stress Livestock Management
  • ​3 years experience ranching with wolves​
Mikey
Lead Range Riding Horse

Meet Mikey!

​Mikey is a seven-year-old, half-Quarter, half-Morgan horse.  He was born in Missouri and raised as a working ranch horse. Mikey came to Colorado to join Working Circle’s team as our lead Range Riding horse.  Mikey was chosen for his great mind, big heart, brave soul, and willingness to go anywhere and do anything.  In addition, Mikey is bursting with personality and just loves attention from anyone willing to give him a pat.

Mikey, now owned by our co-founder, Karin Vardaman, he spent two seasons in North Park Colorado working with cattle to lower risk of wolf-livestock conflict as well as helping with our field surveys and wolf monitoring.  Currently, Mikey is living in California, ready and willing to travel wherever he is needed. Mikey absolutely loves his job, and we at Working Circle absolutely love Mikey.   ​
On-Ranch Consultants and Clinician Partners
Hilary and Andrew Anderson, Montana Cattle Ranchers
  • Wolf-Livestock Conflict and Herd Management Partners/Advisors/Clinicians
  • ​Regenerative Ranching Specialists 
~ National Geographic - August 30, 2019 ; Discovering Hope on the Range​
Cattle Up Stockmanship - Dawn Hnatow
Founded by renowned stockwoman and clinician, Dawn Hnatow, Cattle Up Stockmanship assists ranchers with one-on-one consultations or group ranch clinics.

The guiding principle is effective and efficient cattle handling through proper communication. 

Dawn is a lifetime cattle rancher born into a ranching family in Canada. As Bud William's successor, Dawn has made a tremendous positive impact on the livestock industry by sharing and advancing her philosophy and game-changing principles and techniques of proper cattle handling. 

Working Circle is privileged to be able to partner with Dawn in hosting her for on-ranch clinics and consultations.
Integrated Grazing Management - Dave Voth
​​
​​Dave is the owner of Integrated Grazing Management, a commercial cow calf operation and consulting business. Born outside of agriculture, Dave found a passion for ranching at an early age and has spent his entire career fulfilling that calling. After years of cowboying, he slowly realized that his passion for cattle was dependent on the ecology and stewardship of the land. In addition to studying ecology, he began to appreciate the important role that finance, and economics play in good ecology and ranch management. Dave has spent many years diving deep into the economic, ecological, and social aspects of ranching.
Ranch Management Consultants
​​Working Circle is honored to partner with Ranch Management Consultants to sponsor individual ranchers, landowners, and ranch managers to the week-long Ranching For Profit School. Economically resilient ranches are more equipped to withstand the challenges and changes of time including wolf-livestock conflict risk.
Kent Laudon, ​Wolf Biologist, Partner and Advisor
  • Senior Environmental Scientist, Wolf Specialist for California Department of Fish and Wildlife since 2017 
  • Former Wolf Specialist, Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks   
  • 34 years of experience in wildlife, besides wolves – elk, mule deer, black bear, cougar, big horn sheep, mountain goat, northern spotted owls, small mammals, and other sensitive species – OR, ID
  • 27 years working with wolves – ID, MT, AZ, NM, CA
​​Kent's Specialties/experience:
Community engagement: communication, relationships, and open collaboration by integrating community participation, including polarizing topics and their social barriers. Including relationships with people and community leaders.  Wildlife field biologist: Population monitoring, ground and aerial surveys, ground and aerial capture/collar, necropsy, data management and analysis, mapping, reports, and consultation.
Serving California, Colorado, Washington, and Oregon
DONATE HERE to support proven, long-term, and sustainable strategies
to reduce wolf-livestock conflict, thus protecting both cattle and wolves.
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