Since 1988, Mission: Wolf has provided lifelong care to over 125 wolves and wolfdogs. As a sanctuary for unwanted captive-born wolves and wolfdogs, Mission: Wolf serves the public as a solar-powered nature center providing experimental education. Today, Mission: Wolf cares for 24 wolves and wolfdogs with over 50 acres of enclosure and over 400 protected acres of pristine alpine land.
Over the past 35 years, wolves have traveled to 30 states, greeting over 1 million people through Mission: Wolf’s Ambassador Wolf Program. The ultimate goal: “render our facility obsolete and see wolves back in the wild instead of behind fences. To that end, we rescue wolves and wolfdogs, conserve wild land, and offer extensive education programs to support scientific wild wolf reintroduction,” reads the Mission: Wolf website.
Since the beginning, art has been a vital component of Mission: Wolf, and earlier this summer, on Saturday, June 7, Mission: Wolf proudly unveiled Jane’s Studio – a fully solar-powered art gallery and workshop space. Originally set to open in 2019, “we had a plan to build in one year and have it ready for visitors,” said Mission: Wolf founder Kent Weber. Yet, “the pandemic hit, and we ended up not having a contractor to do it. But now it’s been built with love by a lot of people,” Weber added.
Jane’s Studio, a 4,000 square foot building, features a gift shop, fine art gallery with stunning views of the Sangre de Cristo mountains, a fully equipped workshop space for mechanics, welding, carpentry, and other hands-on community classes, and includes ADA accessible bathrooms, staff showers, and a USDA certified veterinary room. Additionally, from Jane’s Studio, “these fences go all the way up,” Weber said while motioning towards the 50 acres of enclosures, “so if we had a fire evacuation, we could open the gate, run the wolves into this area, and they would be safe,” said Weber. Every enclosure connects to Jane’s Studio to ensure the wolves and wolf dogs have unparalleled access to direct veterinary care and fire shelter without leaving the sanctuary.
Fully powered by the sun, rooftop solar panels provide both electricity and hot water throughout the building. Immediately through the hall from the gift shop, a mechanical room not only displays all the equipment running the building but also includes educational posters educating visitors on the thermal and electrical systems for Jane’s Studio. “This enclosure here is what heats the building,” Weber said. “Right now, as cool as it is outside, the water on the roof is 160 degrees…and then it goes into the floor, and it comes back. So, it’s going in at 157 and it’s coming back at 80.”
Now that the building is run by solar electricity as well as solar heat, “this building should run for almost 20 years without any additional energy,” Weber explained. To be able to run a 4,000 square foot building at 9,000 feet of elevation without any additional cost, “That’s hard to do,” Weber added. Mission: Wolf has established Jane’s Studio as an example for visitors to see how a large sustainable building can function, in hopes they will go home and integrate solar power into their lives.
Jane’s Studio was made possible by Jane Cane, a devoted supporter who annually watched the wolves educate and inspire people across New York State through Mission: Wolf’s Ambassador Wolf Program. In 2018, Weber called Cane to tell her about the gallery Mission: Wolf was set to build. Yet, Weber learned Cane had passed away and left millions to allocated organizations she admired and wished to support long term. Her seed money, gifted to Mission: Wolf, was used to help build the building now dedicated to her. Jane’s Studio creates a multi-purpose studio “that should run this place for at least 30 years,” Weber said.
Because of Cane, Mission: Wolf can formally celebrate the artistic talent which has sustained their mission for decades. “We’ve worked with artists for years. And artwork is what basically bought the wolves their habitat,” Weber explained. Staff and volunteers contribute their work to the lofted gallery in Jane’s Studio – including jewelry, paintings, framed photos, and more from local artists such as Jacqueline Keller, Sarah Woods, Sue Boberek, Lori Schmit, and Weber’s wife, Tracy Ann Brooks. Artists donate their art, and all proceeds go directly back to Mission: Wolf – “Artwork helps buy the land payments…and the memberships feed the wolves,” Weber emphasized.
While visitors can support Mission: Wolf through purchasing artwork at the new art gallery in Jane’s Studio, visitors can also buy a membership to take a wolf to dinner and become a wolf caretaker. Annual memberships range from $25 for students or seniors to $1,000 to feed a wolf pack or $3,000 to feed a wolf for a year – caretakers receive personalized membership certificate, 8×10 color photo of your wolf, tuft or naturally shed wolf fur, biography of your wolf, Mission: Wolf decal and sticker, and a subscription to Wolf Visions.
Photographs of wolves and the breathtaking local artwork donated and displayed for guests throughout the Studio help prove Mission: Wolf’s commitment to community as well as wolves. The newly printed brochure handed to guests as they walk in articulates what the space is meant to be: a space “where creativity, conservation, and community join to connect people with nature.”
Not only was the grand opening of Jane’s Studio on Saturday, June 7, to celebrate the legacy and celebration of life, art, and wilderness, but also to uphold this message: “Mission: Wolf has made friends far and wide. We have witnessed the inspirational and calming effect of one encounter with a wolf lasting a lifetime. We find ourselves graced as we welcome our fifth generation of rescued puppies, and we once again witness the changing of the guard. Many of our supporters have passed on and left a living legacy at Mission: Wolf. We invite you to join us as we pay respects to the many individuals who have left their mark in our hearts and helped provide an amazing facility for people to connect with nature.”
Following Mission: Wolf’s motto, “Education vs. Extinction,” Jane’s Studio will be a rock for community members and visitors for years to come. Be sure to allocate time to see each of the wolves from afar or up close. You may just be greeted and licked by Rosie.
– Brett LeVan
