Sweetgrass

Streaming video - 2009

Lawrence Allestad and family were among the last of the traditional sheepherders of the American West. Under a public grazing permit that had been handed down in his Norwegian-American family for generations, Allestad was the final rancher to drive his herds into Montana's rugged Absaroka-Beartooth range north of Yellowstone to fatten on sweet summer grass. The family members and their hired hands conducted the drives much as their pioneer forebears had—on horseback, with dogs for herding and guarding, and armed with rifles to frighten away bears and wolves. Over the years, better gear—walkie-talkies, four-wheelers and cell phones—took some of the edges off a hard life, but still the work remained exhausting and dangerous for bot...h men and animals. more