Llama expert, Navy veteran, and former commercial abalone diver Al Ellis imagined his 207-acre Sublette County ranch would one day become a sanctuary for veterans. 

That vision is now taking shape after Ellis passed the deed for his property to the Boulder Crest Foundation just before Christmas. 

“We want other people to enjoy this space — people who deserve it, people who we owe something to,” Ellis told Cowboy State Daily from the living room of his two-story log home.

“Llamas are the reason this house is here,” the 84-year-old said. “We visualized being old here and wheeling over to the big windows to watch the llamas.”

That’s what his wife, Sondra, enjoyed. She died in August after a lengthy health battle. 

Butterfly Moments

Ellis talks about his life as a series of “butterfly moments” — events that happened at the perfect time to chart a remarkable path that led him to the underwater reefs off the California coast to the snowy peaks of the Rocky Mountains.

His story begins in San Francisco, where he spent much of his childhood in and around the bodega and produce stand his parents ran on the corner of Mission Street. 

“By the time you’re 8, you can take your orange crate down the street,” he said about scrounging for stuff to put in their discarded wooden crates. 

“Even in ’Frisco we got to be pretty feral,” he said.

Ellis learned to fish when he was 6. His aunt taught him. 

That was a butterfly moment.

Ellis enlisted in the Navy when he was 17, a role he downplays today because he served during peace time between the Korean and Vietnam wars. 

He worked on a salvage ship. Once, the ship ran up on a reef 1,500 miles from Brisbane, Australia. 

Divers on the ship worked for days to blast the reef to free the ship. 

When Ellis wasn’t standing watch, he paddled around on the reef and watched the divers work.

Another butterfly moment. 

Watching the Navy divers blast the reef to free the ship, he developed an intense curiosity about diving. 

Ellis found his way into competitive spearfishing, even then “an old, obscure sport,” he said. 

Abalone And Urchins

A serendipitous meeting of a competitor who nearly speared the prizewinning fish that Ellis claimed at a meet off the coast of Santa Barbara led Ellis into the niche industry of abalone hunting. 

Abalone — large marine snails with ear-shaped shells — were once prized along the California coast, and their meat is considered a delicacy. 

Ellis and his business partner later opened their own abalone operation, finding ways for divers and processors to earn more for their work — but he missed diving. 

By the time Ellis got back into diving, the sea urchin industry was booming. 

“The timing was perfect to get into urchins,” he said. “I got good at it right at the time the price went up.”

Another butterfly moment.

He bought a fishery with an old freezer that had, during World War II, stored shark livers for their vitamin A. 

He converted the fishery into a seafood restaurant named Andrea’s. 

When the California freeway claimed part of that property, he and his wife opened a bigger seafood joint closer to the water.

His wife continued to work there for nine years after Ellis retired from the diving industry and moved to Wyoming. 

Wyoming And Llamas

By 1982 when he was just 40, Ellis was ready to retire from diving. 

He and Sondra bought property on the Snake River near Jackson Hole. They had fallen in love with the country after visiting a friend in Alpine.

They bought some horses, then Ellis got a backpack and started exploring the Rocky Mountains. 

That’s when an article about mountain pack llamas by outdoors writer Doyle Markham caught his attention. Markham operated Snake River Llamas in Idaho Falls.

“As soon as I read the article, I called him,” Ellis said.

He drove to Markham’s property and saw his llamas up close.

“Within five minutes of being on his property I told him I wanted one,” Ellis said. “He wrote the article, but it was his stud, Snake River Bandit, that lit the fire.”

Markham told Ellis he could get on a six-year waiting list for a weanling.

“I was so hooked, I couldn’t wait six years,” Ellis told Cowboy State Daily.

What followed was a long and arduous process of learning where to find weanlings and how to separate those that would make good pack animals from those that would not.

Ellis acquired six pack llamas, bred them, and spent the next decade in the mountains with his beloved pack animals, guiding trips in the Wind River, Gros Ventre, Teton, and Wyoming mountain ranges. 

“It was unbelievable how many people on my trips had never seen a night sky,” Ellis said.

Yup, They Spit

People would gather around the llamas at the trailheads, in awe and full of questions.

“The first question is always, ‘Do they spit?’” Ellis said. “Of course. Their spit is their first line of defense. But a well-raised llama won’t spit at a person.” 

He learned after a chance meeting with Rod Eastman, the son of well-known wildlife photographer Gordon Eastman, that his llamas were perfect for wildlife filming. 

Ellis’ backcountry photography led to extended wilderness expeditions supported by his llamas.

By the time his herd had grown to more than 30 animals, Ellis was facing a tough choice. 

The 12 acres he owned on the Snake River was not enough to sustain his operation. He knew he had to sell the herd, stop breeding the animals, or move. 

He also knew he had an extremely valuable operation going. Llamas were in high demand, both as working pack animals and as show animals.

“They’d hit the ground at a minimum of $5,000,” Ellis said, referring to a newborn llama’s worth at the time. 

Ellis said he also believed the type of llamas he bred were in danger. 

“It was really a mission for me,” he said. “I had to carry it on.”

Boulder Move

The Ellises bought a run-down cattle ranch in Boulder 12 miles south of Pinedale and sold their beloved property on the Snake River. 

The ranch in Boulder was an eyesore at the time, Ellis said. The ground looked like a moonscape, and it was a tough sell for Sondra.

“I was enticing my wife from a 5,200-square-foot log home on the Snake River to come to a hell hole,” he said. 

He promised her that they would build a nice log home on the property eventually. First, though, they had to set up adequate facilities for the llamas.

The Ellises moved to Boulder in 1998, and by 2012 were caring for 200 llamas on the Boulder property. Fewer than half — 60 — were pack llamas. 

That summer, he was 70 and working on a broken foot. It was, he said, a wake-up call that it was time to be done. 

By then he had introduced thousands of people to his beloved llamas.

Boulder Crest In Boulder

Fast-forward to summer 2025, a few months before Sondra died: another butterfly moment came. 

Ellis was watching TV when he came across Johnny “Joey” Jones, a co-host on the FOX News Channel’s “The Big Weekend Show.” 

Jones, a military veteran who had lost both his legs to a roadside bomb in Iraq, was talking about his New York Times bestseller “Behind the Badge: Answering the Call to Serve on America’s Homefront.”

“I really liked him,” Ellis said, adding that he decided to reach out to Jones. 

Gifting his 207-acre property to serve veterans and first responders was fresh on his mind. Perhaps Jones could give him some direction.

It was a long shot, Ellis knew. He tracked down Jones’ email online and fired off a note, doubtful anything would come of it.

“But I’ll be damned, he saw it,” Ellis said.

Not only had Jones read Ellis’ email, he knew who could make that happen. 

Jones reached out to Ken Falke, a retired Navy bomb disposal specialist and co-founder and chairman of the Boulder Crest Foundation. 

Falke had met Jones at Bethesda Hospital in Washington, D.C., where he would often go to visit wounded soldiers. 

Jones completed Boulder Crest’s Warrior PATHH program, which focuses on transforming struggles into strength and thriving in the aftermath of trauma. PATHH stands for Progressive and Alternative Training for Helping Heroes.

“As soon as I met him, it was like ‘wow,’” Falke told Cowboy State Daily. “I was a diver. He was a diver. I was in the Navy. He was in the navy. There was this really interesting connection.”

Another butterfly moment.

Llamas And Vets

Boulder marks the fourth Boulder Crest facility in the country, with others located outside Washington, D.C., and in Arizona and Texas.

“I think in Wyoming, we’re going to take a little different approach,” Falke said. 

Falke told Cowboy State Daily he has learned there’s a big push to help female veterans and rural veterans who struggle to get care. 

Falke is also well aware that Wyoming has the largest veteran suicide rate per capita in the country.

“Our hope is to regionalize our services around Wyoming and Montana, Idaho and Utah,” he said.

In Boulder, llamas will be a significant part of the nonprofit’s operation. 

Ellis said he believes the llamas will especially benefit families of veterans and first responders, noting the animal’s innate ability to spread joy.

“Watching baby llamas play when they’re in a group is 100% contagious,” Ellis said.

Planning And Zoning Hurdles

The Boulder Crest Foundation will build a bunkhouse of sorts on the property for its Warrior PATHH program. 

For the property to function as Boulder Crest envisions, a special conditional use permit was required, allowing the property to operate as a guest ranch. 

That use permit was narrowly approved by the Sublette County Planning and Zoning Commission in December. 

The approval faced pushback and initially failed on a previous reading.

At a September Sublette County Commission meeting, six area residents voiced opposition to the property being zoned to operate as a guest ranch. 

According to the permit request staff report prepared by Sublette County Planning and Zoning Administrator Hayley Ruland, “Neighbors worried that once Boulder Crest assumes control, the operation could grow well beyond what is currently proposed. 

“They fear future buildings and programs could shift the use toward a resort-like facility rather than a small guest ranch,” Ruland wrote.

The report also states that some residents “expressed concern about bringing trauma-affected individuals into a residential area without guaranteed on-site mental health professionals. 

“They worry this could increase demands on local law enforcement and emergency services.”

Others voiced high praise for Boulder Crest’s reputation and the potential for Ellis’ property to benefit veterans, first responders and their families for years to come. 

“I’m not religious,” Ellis told Cowboy State Daily, “but all these points come together. Boulder Crest could accept it and I could give it. It’s unbelievable.”

Kate Meadows can be reached at kate@cowboystatedaily.com.

JACKSON, Wyo. — The Wyoming Game and Fish Department recently announced that, after nearly 40 years of service, South Jackson Wildlife Biologist Gary Fralick is retiring.

A release from the game and fish department states that Fralick began his career in 1986 as a biologist with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, after serving in the Air Force and earning a degree in wildlife biology from the University of Montana.

Before working with the game and fish department, Fralick held a number of biologist positions with the U.S. Forest Service, Montana Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, and the Bureau of Land Management.

He started with the game and fish department as a biologist aide in the Green River region, and would later become a project biologist in Cheyenne. In 1990, Fralick moved to Buffalo to serve as the district’s wildlife biologist. Three years later, in 1993, he moved into his long-term position as the South Jackson wildlife biologist.

“My career has been filled with adventure, accomplishments, goodwill, and above all, an invincible curiosity,” Fralick said. “It has been an immense pleasure and privilege being an integral part of this agency and serving the people of Wyoming, and one that I continually marvel at to this day.”

In his role as the South Jackson wildlife biologist, Fralick was instrumental in research and management of wildlife in the district. He was highly regarded for his management of the Wyoming Range Mule Deer Herd, one of North America’s most iconic mule deer herds. The release notes that he played a vital role in developing the Wyoming Range Mule Deer Initiative, and he started the largest research project ever conducted on mule deer in Wyoming.

He also spearheaded unprecedented mountain goat research in the Snake River Range, as well as moose research in the Hoback River Basin.

“Having worked with Gary for over 30 years, I can truly attest that he captures the essence of a field biologist,” said Brad Hovinga, Game and Fish wildlife supervisor in the Jackson Region. “Gary dedicated himself to knowing the habitat, the wildlife, and the people in his biologist district, and has an incredible grasp on wildlife management issues in the Wyoming Range. Those who worked with Gary are better managers because of his willingness to share his knowledge.”

Additionally, Fralick made extensive efforts in public outreach, most notably through the Greys River check station, which he operated every fall since 1993. At the check station, Fralick collected an impressive dataset, resulting in a historical photo record chronicling three decades of hunter-harvested mule deer antler characteristics from the Wyoming Range Herd.

Another significant highlight from Fralick’s career was his involvement on a committee of wildlife biologists from 1989-1990, which documented the history and current status of private ownership of native and exotic wildlife across each state and province in North America. The committee’s findings would lead the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission to make a landmark decision in 1990, which prohibited the private ownership of big and trophy game animals in Wyoming, as well as the importation of exotic or nonnative wildlife into the state. This precedent remains in effect today.

Fralick also received numerous job honors, including the Wildlife Society’s Wildlife Professional of the Year recognition as Game and Fish’s Wildlife Division Employee of the Year in 2015.

“Gary’s dedication to rigorous data collection and his innovative, hands-on approach to public engagement made him a trusted expert and an invaluable asset to the department and the public,” said Cheyenne Stewart, Game and Fish wildlife management coordinator in the Jackson Region. “He leaves a lasting legacy, giving the department a strong foundation to carry his work forward.”

Related

Lawmakers grilled University of Wyoming (UW) leaders about environmental and gender studies course offerings in Cheyenne on Friday.

The Joint Appropriations Committee (JAC) is in the midst of hammering out the draft budget bill that the full Legislature will amend and approve during the upcoming budget session in February. The biennial budget will decide how much each state agency, including UW, receives for the next two years.

UW officials already testified before the committee in December, requesting additional funds for coal research, athletics and other projects. They were “called back” for further questions Friday.

Representatives John Bear (R-Gillette), Ken Pendergraft (R-Sheridan) and Jeremy Haroldson (R-Wheatland), all members of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus, launched immediately into a discussion of UW’s course offerings.

“It’s just come to my attention there’s quite a bit of stuff out there that may be in conflict with what the people of Wyoming think the university would be training our young people towards,” Bear said, before turning over to Pendergraft.

The Sheridan rep proceeded to list several elective courses offered through UW’s Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources.

“I thought perhaps I would seek an undergraduate minor in sustainability,” Pendergraft said. “And if I were to do so … I would have my choice of the following: ‘Social Justice in the 21st Century,’ ‘Environmental ethics,’ ‘Global Justice,’ ‘Environmental Justice,’ ‘Environmental Sociology,’ ‘Food, Health and Justice,’ ‘Diversity and Justice in Natural Resources,’ or perhaps my favorite: ‘Ecofeminism.’ After I got through with that, I would be treated to such other courses as ‘Global Climate Governance’ and ‘Diversity and Justice in Natural Resources.’”

“I’m just wondering why these courses aren’t offered in Gillette,” he said.

Haub School Associate Dean Temple Stoellinger said at least one of those courses had already been canceled — “Diversity and Justice in Natural Resources,” which Pendergraft listed twice in his comment. She added students seeking a degree through the Haub School often pursue a concurrent major in another college.

“The remainder of the courses [you listed] are actually not Haub School courses,” Stoellinger said. “Those are courses that we just give students the option to take to fulfill the elective components of the minor.”

Bear responded.

“Unfortunately, what you’ve just described is something that is metastasizing, it sounds like, across the university,” he said. “So, President [Ed] Seidel, if you could just help me understand, is this really a direction that the university should be going?”

Seidel pointed to the Haub School’s efforts to support Wyoming tourism and other industries as evidence that it seeks to serve the state.

“I believe that the Haub School is a very strong component of the university, and I believe it is also responding to the times,” Seidel said. “But they’re always looking to improve their curriculum and to figure out how to best serve the state, and I believe they do a good job of that.”

Bear returned to one of the courses Pendergraft had listed.

“How is ecofeminism helpful for a student who wants to stay in Wyoming and work in Wyoming?” he asked Seidel.

“I do not have an answer to that question,” the university president replied.

Stoellinger shared that the Haub School is largely funded by private donors, with about 20% or less of its funding, about $1.4 million, coming from the state.

Haroldson took aim at separate course offerings. Rather than listing specific courses, the Wheatland rep pointed to gender studies in general, saying his constituents “have kids that go to the university and then get degrees that don’t work” and “don’t have validity.”

“It’s hard to defend you guys when we see these things come up, because these are the things that we’ve been fighting over the last couple of years,” Haroldson said. “[We’ve been] saying this isn’t the direction that our publicly funded land-grant college should be pursuing, in my opinion and in the opinion of the people that have elected me, or a majority of them.”

He questioned how a graduate could make a career in Wyoming with a gender studies degree and asked Seidel why these courses were still being offered.

Seidel said the university was committed to keeping young people in Wyoming and that he viewed that mission as his primary job.

“And then we’ve also been restructuring programs,” he said. “Last year, the gender studies program was restructured. It’s no longer offered as a minor. There were not very many students in it at the time, and that was one of the reasons why … It’s been part of the reform of the curriculum to re-look at: What does the state need and how do we best serve the state?”

UW canceled its gender studies bachelor’s degree track in 2025, citing low enrollment as the trigger. Gender studies courses are still offered and students may apply them toward an American Studies degree.

Seidel said the webpage where Haroldson found the gender studies degree listed might need to be updated. Haroldson said the state “sends enough money” to UW that having an out-of-date webpage was “absolutely unacceptable.”

“I would recommend and challenge you, when I make this search on Monday, I don’t find it,” Haroldson said.

Interim Provost Anne Alexander clarified later in the hearing that the degree was still listed because, even though it’s been canceled, it is still being “taught out.” That means students who were already enrolled in the program when UW decided to ax it are being allowed to wrap up their degree.

“Once they are done, those will also no longer show up,” Alexander said. “But I’ve been chatting with my team on my phone, listening intently, and they are going to ensure that the program does not show up on the website as an option by Monday.”

In addition to the questions about course offerings, lawmakers also asked UW about its plans for an independent third-party financial audit of the work conducted at the High Bay Research Facility, the funding that passes through UW to Wyoming Public Media and how university leaders approach picking contractors for large construction projects, like the parking garage between Ivinson and Grand Avenues.

Mike Smith, the university’s lobbyist, told the committee UW prioritizes Wyoming contractors when possible.

“But there are those situations, and maybe the parking garage was one of them, where as the architects and builders are looking at: How do we set the criteria for that balance between using as many of those dollars here with Wyoming contractors, versus ensuring that the state gets its bang for the buck with the highest quality and lowest price,” Smith said. “Sometimes those things are balanced out.”

The JAC will begin work on the budget bill next week, deciding what funding to endorse or reject for every agency in the state government. The budget session starts Feb. 9.