Until I was introduced to the 910 Cattle Company more than 20 years ago, I had yet to encounter a North American elk. At that time the Summit County road edging East Canyon Creek was little more than a rutted jeep trail stretched between cattle guards. Except for thirsty range cows and wild elk roaming the river valley for water, the unpaved access to the ranch was seldom used.At that time the only completed building on the 910 was a cavernous drill pipe barn. The ranch house was under construction and missing a roof over the back porch. It felt desolate and private. All the better to sit beneath a vast dome of sky and watch in immense silence as elk wandered near at twilight.Today and for most of the past decade, the public easement has been widened and graded. Folks from everywhere enjoy walking their favorite dog(s), training for marathons or gazing at the ranch’s rugged wild landscape. The dozens of vehicles parked on weekends at the Jeremy Ranch cattle guard is evidence of the 910’s lure and road’s draw to the natural world.As I observe people on the road, those who impress me most come for a chance sighting of elk in the wild. The curious and well intentioned scan the 910’s hillsides, gulleys and watersheds for a buff colored rump or a flash of striking antlers. At dusk in early fall they patiently wait, listening for a lone elk’s bugle to echo down a distant canyon. The 910 wilderness as wildlife sanctuary and refuge, no intrusions, no hunting allowed.Summit County, the current lessee and buyer of the 910’s nearly 10,000 acres, has conducted a series of on-site activities over the past year. They partnered with Sageland Collaborative to install camera traps for wildlife data collection and with state foresters on a fire prevention and forestry health initiative. They contracted with BioWest for a limited (summer only) environmental baseline assessment and report. They installed miles of cross rail fencing along a seasonal spring and barbwire sections bottoming steep game trails. Findings, conclusions or outcomes are still undisclosed and the community uninformed. Those who care about the 910’s wildlife are concerned and interested in learning more from Summit County.Select stakeholders recently invited by the county to a a visioning exercise on the utility and challenges of the 910 lack critical context. Most roundtable attendees were without first-hand experience or knowledge specific to the property. Wish lists and input without a comprehensive understanding of the land and its inherent conservation values are premature at best. Can Summit County do better?Large landscape conservation models and experts skilled in managing large-scale wilderness exist. Engaging with experienced wildlife and wildlands professionals beyond Utah would be invaluable for current and future decision makers and stakeholders like the local, state and national public paying for the 910 purchase.Consider the insight to be gained from managers of the Jackson Hole Elk Refuge or the founder of the Yellowstone to Yukon (Y2Y) Initiative. A new awareness igniting an imaginative and relevant vision for the 910 is possible.In this new year, possibilities abound as I resolve to continue envisioning the 910 as wildlife refuge and speak for its inherent values. My resolution includes advocating for a wildlife bridge crossing the perilous, soon-to-be widened S.R. 224 — an aid for elk, deer, foxes, coyotes, bear and the ermine still alive in our forests and alpine meadows. I imagine welcoming the world in 2034 by branding our regional community as wildlife conservators with the 910 as refuge and a graceful life-saving wildlife crossing in Park City’s entryway corridor.In Lakota language, elk are referred to as wamakaska, living beings of the Earth, rather than animal. Elk are valued by tribal nations for their endurance and strength and revered as teachers in courage and humility.Are human beings listening for lessons from the living beings on Earth? Do we hear wildlife’s call for a meaningful resolution and refuge on the 910?Native American tribes like the Shawnee and Cree revere elk (wapiti) for connecting man to nature. A connection ever present on the 910 and county road.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. The post Wild Seeing: Resolve for the wild and letting nature have its way appeared first on Park Record.