Emergency Bighorn Hunt

[rwc101]

I'm not well versed in bighorn conservation, but articles like this are tough to read.

Domestic sheep grazing prompts emergency bighorn hunt - WyoFile

In the Owl Creek drainage near Thermopolis, where a rancher and the Game and Fish Department have clashed over wildlife, officials hope an early hunt will protect a wild herd from disease-bearing livestock.

www.wyofile.com

 

[Mica Man]

Not good. Highly doubt many hunters who drew a ram tag would be willing to put it on a ewe or lamb after waiting for years to finally draw a tag.

 

[manitou1]

I take a pretty firm stance on this issue. I know ranchers need to make a living, but once the bighorns are gone, there is no turning back. We protect bears, we protect wolves, but sheep can run amock in our public lands, threatening the very existence of the bighorn. If domestic sheep come within 1/4 me of a bighorn, it must be killed. That is how dangerous their diseases are to the bighorns. If a bighorn contracts disease from a domestic sheep and returns to it's family group, we stand the chance of losing the entire heard. A no-brainer in my eyes. We all know what the solution is, but nobody will say it.
The bighorn sheep is THE symbol of the beauty, ruggedness and freedom of the American West IMO.

 

[seeth07]

The bighorn sheep is THE symbol of the beauty, ruggedness and freedom of the American West IMO.

Disagree it's the bison but that animal too has the same issue as the sheep.

 

[rwc101]

It's disheartening to see public/private partnerships fail at the expense of the bighorns.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

I take a pretty firm stance on this issue. I know ranchers need to make a living, but once the bighorns are gone, there is no turning back. We protect bears, we protect wolves, but sheep can run amock in our public lands, threatening the very existence of the bighorn. If domestic sheep come within 1/4 me of a bighorn, it must be killed. That is how dangerous their diseases are to the bighorns. If a bighorn contracts disease from a domestic sheep and returns to it's family group, we stand the chance of losing the entire heard. A no-brainer in my eyes. We all know what the solution is, but nobody will say it.
The bighorn sheep is THE symbol of the beauty, ruggedness and freedom of the American West IMO.

It's definitely a tough one, grizzlies aren't comparable because they still have ESA status.

Wolves are though as are black bears.

Ranchers are allowed to hammer black bears in CO.

https://cpw.state.co.us/Documents/Commission/2016/March/Item_32.a-Game_Damage_Claims.pdf

I don't think there is an easy solution.

 

[MTGomer]

Besides sheep ranching, below is the list of things you are allowed to do on public or private lands that can and will cause an all age die off of bighorn sheep;

 

[marksjeep]

Interesting read. Article states this particular situation revolves around domestic sheep grazing on private land, not public.

Complex, ugly, expensive issue for sure.

 

[Oak]

Interesting read. Article states this particular situation revolves around domestic sheep grazing on private land, not public.

Complex, ugly, expensive issue for sure.

Read the article linked in the thread below for more information on this situation. It's a patchwork of public and private land. The domestic sheep are grazing on private, but also BLM because there are no fences.

Bighorns, Bears, and Bad Blood

Well written piece. https://www.wyofile.com/bighorns-bears-and-bad-blood-grazing-v-wildlife-on-owl-creek/

www.hunttalk.com

 

[ccc23454]

Everyone remain calm they are just opening area early for tag holders trying to encorage them to hunt there....not a big deal

 

[SD_Prairie_Goat]

I take a pretty firm stance on this issue. I know ranchers need to make a living, but once the bighorns are gone, there is no turning back. We protect bears, we protect wolves, but sheep can run amock in our public lands, threatening the very existence of the bighorn. If domestic sheep come within 1/4 me of a bighorn, it must be killed. That is how dangerous their diseases are to the bighorns. If a bighorn contracts disease from a domestic sheep and returns to it's family group, we stand the chance of losing the entire heard. A no-brainer in my eyes. We all know what the solution is, but nobody will say it.
The bighorn sheep is THE symbol of the beauty, ruggedness and freedom of the American West IMO.

SD lost its herd a couple years back (maybe ten now?) and it was from pneumonia most likely caught from domestic herd of sheep. They ended up having to plant two dozen new sheep from Canada to build the herd from nothing. It can be devastating.

 

[Oak]

Everyone remain calm they are just opening area early for tag holders trying to encorage them to hunt there....not a big deal

The early hunt is not a big deal. The reason for the early hunt is a big deal for those who might ever want to hunt sheep in WY.

 

[rwc101]

Everyone remain calm they are just opening area early for tag holders trying to encorage them to hunt there....not a big deal

And allowing the shooting of lambs and ewes.

 

[geetar]

Let’s just open the season on domestic sheep anywhere they could possibly come in contact with bighorns.

 

[Hawk Tuah]

And allowing the shooting of lambs and ewes.

I do not think anyone who burned like 22 sheep points is going to rush over there and smoke a ewe....

 

[rwc101]

I do not think anyone who burned like 22 sheep points is going to rush over there and smoke a ewe....

completely irrelevant to the point made...

 

[Erik Ross]

Makes me a little sick to my stomach if the story is true, while I disagree with my local national forest circus and others, it’s just ridiculous to do this for a personal vendetta, not sure what a wildlife fence around his land would cost but I’d rather see hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on that than feeding his sheep... it’s though the try to reason with people that aren’t reasonable, horrible situation.

 

[RobertD]

I know with wild vs. domestic sheep that it's enough of a fight to simply maintain the herds of wild sheep that exist now, let alone growing the population. But I have to wonder, if you zapped every domestic sheep out of bighorn habitat in an instant, how much growth and progress of herd populations could take place?

Would we see areas where sheep started to take off and grow in really vibrant numbers, or are there other factors preventing that?

 

[Trial153]

Tough to see. Seems like sheep are always taking a beating

 

[LuketheDog]

It's definitely a tough one, grizzlies aren't comparable because they still have ESA status.

Wolves are though as are black bears.

Ranchers are allowed to hammer black bears in CO.
View attachment 148812

https://cpw.state.co.us/Documents/Commission/2016/March/Item_32.a-Game_Damage_Claims.pdf

I don't think there is an easy solution.

I think the Bair Ranch got fairly burned up in the Grizzly Creek fire, wonder how it will affect the wildlife and sheep grazing there over the next few years...