“… this isn’t

a contest but the doorway

into thanks, and a silence in which

another voice may speak.”

“Praying,” by Mary Oliver

Hello Humans,

Asked to give voice to my feathered, furred and scale-skinned community living wild on the 910 — our homeland — is a challenge. Our wild animal speech of howls, hoots, whistles and song differ from yours, but we share similarities, a natural yearning for safety and freedom.

Mr. David Bernolfo, the most recent owner of the 910 Cattle Ranch, was devoted to protecting us from threatening intrusions. He demonstrated his respect for wildlife by prohibiting hunting, prosecuting poachers and removing miles of ranch barbwire. Our well being was prioritized for nearly three decades because he created and promised a refuge for wildlife on the  910 Cattle Ranch.

During the rancher’s ownership you humans were few and far between. We encountered only a dozen or so familiar faces over those years. Imagine what that meant to us! We value our sense of place and privacy just like you. Rarely frightened by outsiders or man-made machines, our freedom to roam, prey, mate, birth, fly or perch was secure. Wild animals, livestock, herding dogs and a few human beings learned to live on 8,700 acres in a shared and thoughtful coexistence.

As a legacy wildlife sanctuary our 910 animal community is home to diverse individuals. We raise our families in fringed nests, dirt-packed hollows, rocky caves and quiet tree-topped forests. Innate intelligence, survival instincts and memory serve us well in all seasons.

We are not a resource — natural or otherwise — to be used, harvested, monetized, fenced, covertly managed or zoned. We do not exist as an experimental trophy for the aspirations of governing agencies. As conservationist, author Jeremy Schmidt suggests, we wish not to be reduced to “faceless components of a living commodity,”  based on a “data-centric blindness.” We are sentient beings.

As new owners of the 910 (your federal and local tax dollars purchased the 8,700-acre cattle ranch with a grant from the U.S. Forest Legacy Program andSummit County Open Space Bond), you have a stake in its future and our wildlife community. We ask for your attention.

Caring for and about us is a huge responsibility for you patrons. To fully understand the 910 landscape and prioritize the property’s refuge qualities is an immense undertaking. It will require patience coupled with restraint. Experts in large landscape conservation and public vigilance are critical to interpreting the 910’s future.

We expect the best from our human friends and patrons. Our wild lives and precious home, as well as your engagement, depend on it.

Across millennia the wild animal kingdom has inspired humanity’s art, poetry, astrology and lore. And yet, here we are alive among you, living in refuge on the 910. Such a rare privilege, for us all.

Dearest humans, your newly acquired open space is a one-of-a-kind, wildlife preserve and a massive crown jewel for Summit County, Utah. The 910 is refuge from the chaos of a man-made world. And wildlife is the beating heart of our wilderness preserve.

Tonight, you may see us in the 910’s night-sky constellations. There we are, the brilliant stars of legend, a universe of wildlife — Aires the Ram, Taurus the Bull, Leo the Lion, Capricorn the Goat, Cancer the Crab, Pisces the Fish — ever=present reminders that we are worthy beyond your wildest dreams.

Respectfully,

910 Resident Wildlife

Leslie Miller is the co-editor of “Reimagining A Place for the Wild” and a former, long-time resident of Park City who now lives in Midway.