The LIFE WOLFALPS EU project represents a best practice example for wolf management in areas where wolves have been present for 20 years and in areas where they have only recently returned. A best practice model is the so-called Wolf Prevention Intervention Units, which represent a preventative measure to avoid conflicts as much as possible and to provide assistance in emergency situations. Testing this model in different situations will provide important data for developing a "best management model".

The WPIUs will include experienced technicians who have already worked successfully with farmers; the team will also include mediators. Their experience can be very helpful in facilitating coexistence. Especially in newly settled areas, these teams will contribute their experience and know-how from previous projects. Despite the initial resistance of the hunting community to participating in this project, they are now a supporter and will participate in various workshops and field activities. Furthermore, farmers in affected areas that are too large to be managed by the project or other organizations will be encouraged to work efficiently on their own. The WPIUs will also be deployed here, helping to disseminate appropriate techniques. The testing of various assessment tools will play a crucial role. Specifically, the HBLFA Raumberg-Gumpenstein will focus on testing GPS bands and various sensors.

The project aims to explore the potential of combining current sensor and GPS technologies with telecommunications networks to create innovative instruments for livestock protection and to establish a foundation for detecting panic within a herd, such as that caused by a predator attack.
This will ultimately support livestock owners in herd and pasture management, help them fulfill their duty of care, and minimize the impact of large predators on grazing, even in difficult terrain, by also supporting necessary emergency management.

Herd management, particularly animal care, especially within the context of extensive grazing in alpine conditions, is labor-intensive and extremely time-consuming. Locating herds in difficult terrain consumes a significant portion of this time. By using GPS data to track grazing animals and transmitting this information to mobile devices, herders can locate their animals more efficiently and minimize the time spent searching, eliminating the need for time-consuming searches.

By combining it with other environmental sensors, e.g., for temperature, further applications become possible, such as notifications during cold snaps. This can relieve the burden on workers and livestock farmers, especially in the heavily pressured alpine farming sector.

Even with current technology, reaction time in the event of a predator attack can be reduced, as initial experiences in Tyrol have shown that unusual movement patterns can be roughly detected by installing appropriately adapted virtual fences. However, this detection is highly dependent on the defined boundaries and therefore only offers a very coarse spatial resolution when detecting a potential attack. Currently, reliable data on the suitability of affordable and economically viable systems (reliability, robustness, accuracy, user-friendliness) is lacking.
This data will be of great importance in the future for successful herd management and protection.

In summary, the goals of HBLFA Raumberg-Gumpenstein are as follows:

• Training of so-called emergency teams (WPIU - First aid Wolf Prevention Intervention Units)
• Development and testing of operational principles for emergency teams
• Evaluation of positioning and sensor systems for livestock protection 
• Establishment of participation platforms for farmers and hunters, also to communicate the results of studies on predator-prey relationships and to incorporate these findings into management plans

General established principles at EU level are:

• Fragmentation of responsibilities and accountabilities in administration and management
• Illegal killings (hunting and poisoning)
• Conflicts with agriculture (pasture farming) and hunting
• Social conflicts 
• Fragmentation of suitable habitats
• Hybridization of wolves with dogs

This results in the following project goals for the entire project:

• Establishment of cross-border (DNA) monitoring, management and protection
• Reducing conflicts between humans and wolves by developing and disseminating various preventative measures that go beyond simple technical livestock protection
• Improved knowledge about wolves and promotion of coexistence, with a focus on farmers and hunting