Raising sheep: a way of life

Five generations of John Noh's family have used the same Sawtooth National Forest land to graze their sheep. Some of the ancient grey wood of the corral, used year after year, is as old as the rancher's permit. The Nohs had already shipped some lambs raised in an area near Monument Peak the previous week. Now, on the morning of Aug. 30, they were across the valley bringing in sheep from Bear Hollow. Friends — many sheep ranchers themselves — showed up the night before to share food and gossip, and to help load the lambs in the morning. Starting in April, the band's 1,000 ewes were released onto public land so their lambs could grow and fatten in the high meadows. Noh employs three shepherds from South America who watched the sheep throughout summer. Now, Chilean Lorenzo Saldivia whacked his cane against the corral rails to keep the sheep moving through chutes leading into the first of two tractor-trailers, one driven by sheep rancher Mike Secrest. The Idaho sheep community is fairly small and getting smaller. Two or three ranchers recently found themselves in tough straits when the Long Butte Fire burned their winter grazing areas. Idaho has no commercial processing plants, and Noh fears the industry may lose more packers. So ranchers have assumed many roles to help each other out...more