Rachel Marsden

He didn't get a straight answer, but it wasn't clear if the shepherds even understood the question.

He didn't get a straight answer, but it wasn't clear if the shepherds even understood the question.

I wanted to talk to their employer myself, but he died in 2013, so I have no way of identifying these herders or hearing their side of this story, assuming they are still in the country. All I can say is they showed no interest in joining the search for Eric, but there's a good reason for that. Tending a flock is a 24-7 job, and shirking that responsibility could have got them fired and deported.

I wanted to talk to their employer myself, but he died in 2013, so I have no way of identifying these herders or hearing their side of this story, assuming they are still in the country. All I can say is they showed no interest in joining the search for Eric, but there's a good reason for that. Tending a flock is a 24-7 job, and shirking that responsibility could have got them fired and deported.

They also probably wanted to avoid attention because sheep grazing in the Hayuintas is controversial.

They also probably wanted to avoid attention because sheep grazing in the Hayuintas is controversial.

The Hayuintas are wilderness. That's not just poetic language. It's a legal term. But what does that mean? And why are there sheep in the wilderness? The answer has everything to do with a concept called multiple use, and it has its roots in the history of the Hayuintas. The Uintas are the ancestral lands of indigenous Shoshone and Ute peoples.

The Hayuintas are wilderness. That's not just poetic language. It's a legal term. But what does that mean? And why are there sheep in the wilderness? The answer has everything to do with a concept called multiple use, and it has its roots in the history of the Hayuintas. The Uintas are the ancestral lands of indigenous Shoshone and Ute peoples.

The word Uinta even comes from a northern Ute word that translates as pine forest. A band of Utes known as the Uinta Ats hunted and gathered in these mountains for centuries before European contact. But in the 1820s, fur trappers entered the Uintas in search of beaver pelts. They were followed a decade or so later by Mormon pioneers.

The word Uinta even comes from a northern Ute word that translates as pine forest. A band of Utes known as the Uinta Ats hunted and gathered in these mountains for centuries before European contact. But in the 1820s, fur trappers entered the Uintas in search of beaver pelts. They were followed a decade or so later by Mormon pioneers.

The Mormons were religious exiles who founded their new Zion, Salt Lake City, just west of the Uintas. Their numbers swelled, putting them in direct competition with the indigenous tribes for land and resources. Bad blood soon boiled over into open warfare. the Mormons petitioned the U.S.

The Mormons were religious exiles who founded their new Zion, Salt Lake City, just west of the Uintas. Their numbers swelled, putting them in direct competition with the indigenous tribes for land and resources. Bad blood soon boiled over into open warfare. the Mormons petitioned the U.S.

government to intervene, so in 1861, President Abraham Lincoln set aside the south slope of the Uinta Mountains and a vast arid stretch below as a reservation. Ute Indian bands were relocated, sometimes at gunpoint, to this reservation. The interior of the Uinta Range was only vaguely known to Anglo-Americans at the time.

government to intervene, so in 1861, President Abraham Lincoln set aside the south slope of the Uinta Mountains and a vast arid stretch below as a reservation. Ute Indian bands were relocated, sometimes at gunpoint, to this reservation. The interior of the Uinta Range was only vaguely known to Anglo-Americans at the time.

They didn't start filling in their maps until a series of government surveys in the 1870s People in power soon realized the range was a rich resource. Tens of thousands of sheep and cows poured into the mountain meadows.

They didn't start filling in their maps until a series of government surveys in the 1870s People in power soon realized the range was a rich resource. Tens of thousands of sheep and cows poured into the mountain meadows.

the ecological damage went beyond erosion. Ranchers exterminated all of the gray wolves and grizzly bears in the Uintas. Livestock fouled water sources and spread invasive weeds. Something had to be done. So in 1897, the federal government created the Uinta Forest Reserve, one of America's first national forests.

the ecological damage went beyond erosion. Ranchers exterminated all of the gray wolves and grizzly bears in the Uintas. Livestock fouled water sources and spread invasive weeds. Something had to be done. So in 1897, the federal government created the Uinta Forest Reserve, one of America's first national forests.

The government tried to ban sheep from the reserve at first, but that prompted fierce pushback. So the feds relented and agreed to allow grazing with some limits on when, where, and how many animals were allowed. In practice, almost nothing changed.

The government tried to ban sheep from the reserve at first, but that prompted fierce pushback. So the feds relented and agreed to allow grazing with some limits on when, where, and how many animals were allowed. In practice, almost nothing changed.