There's alot of money out there

[BigHornRam]

This...

Or this....bout the same price right now.

 

[grizzly_]

Sheep tag numbers before/after auction tags?
Population estimates before /after?

There were 2,000 Bighorn sheep in Utah in 1996. There are about 4,150 right now. Below you can see the current objective to double that again to over 9,000 sheep.

In a post above I referenced two separate projects from the last year where sheep were translocated via Conservation Permit dollars and another where a large piece of fenced property was purchased with Conservation Permit dollars to start a Desert Bighorn Nursery so Utah can grow their own herds to seed new units, supplement sheep units in case of die-off, or to add genetic diversity.

 

[Elkmagnet]

Is this also true nationally?

 

[TheTone]

All those four legged critters are designed to maim and injure people. Last mule I did a pack trip with we spent a few hours at camp trying to convince it that crossing a bridge was safe. Good times using rope to try and pull/winch it across, blindfold it etc. It was also awesome when it decided even a tiny creek was out to kill it and it decided planting a hoof into the back of my leg was acceptable

 

[TheTone]

Utah has had multiple units suffer die-offs over the last several years that were repopulated by conservation groups bringing in sheep from other states.

Antelope Island was recently repopulated with sheep from Montana and plans exist to bring in more breeding stock from NM. This was a partnership between DWR, WSF, and a private hunting company.

DWR reintroduces bighorn sheep to Antelope Island

The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources successfully reintroduced a new herd of 25 bighorn sheep to the island on Wednesday, Jan. 29.

wildlife.utah.gov

Amazing that KUIU was able to do sheep conservation work without throwing a dress up party and auctioning tags to allow someone to put another sheep in their den.

They’re conservation direct work seems to be top notch and something they really don’t seem to be getting enough credit for. I’d love to see them expand it. The sheep unit closest to me seems to be turning around for the better, probably doesn’t need any transplanting, but IMO would benefit from some new guzzlers and maintenance/updates to the existing ones

 

[BigHornRam]

Is this also true nationally?

US bighorn population is estimated at 80,000, up from 20,000 when restoration efforts began. Could use more help though.

 

[The Hedgehog]

I didn't read any comments, but did anybody notice this? https://huntexpo.onlinehuntingauctions.com/2022-Montana-Super-Tag-Statewide-Deer_i44126172

 

[BigHornRam]

Amazing that KUIU was able to do sheep conservation work without throwing a dress up party and auctioning tags to allow someone to put another sheep in their den.

They’re conservation direct work seems to be top notch and something they really don’t seem to be getting enough credit for. I’d love to see them expand it. The sheep unit closest to me seems to be turning around for the better, probably doesn’t need any transplanting, but IMO would benefit from some new guzzlers and maintenance/updates to the existing ones

I thought you didn't like KUIU. Now you do. Interesting.

 

[Oak]

The sheep unit closest to me seems to be turning around for the better, probably doesn’t need any transplanting, but IMO would benefit from some new guzzlers and maintenance/updates to the existing ones

Does ID WSF have a grant-in-aid program? A large percentage of projects funded by the RMBS grant-in-aid program comes from CPW staff.

 

[OntarioHunter]

You can die with all your cash stuck under your mattress, OH, and get bucked in the dirt with your $700 horse. Or cough up $46,000 for this sweetheart.

My experience with mules is there's no guarantee they are any safer to ride than horses. One season for the USFS I packed an expensive Dodge City mule that was a total airhead. A bucking biting kicking disaster with four legs. The rest in the string were working fools, especially a big black one ... but I'd never ride any of them. No way!

 

[Elkmagnet]

US bighorn population is estimated at 80,000, up from 20,000 when restoration efforts began. Could use more help though.

We have undoubtedly turned the species around through hard work and funding. Its hard for me to say that auction tags did a lot more than a raffle/banquet would have. One thing thats hard to quantify is the publicity/awareness. I really like the buying out of select sheep grazing allotments. But again that is hard to put solely on an auction tag.

I'm looking more for the numbers when auction tags became normal until currently I seem to remember it being mostly stagnant lately but I can't find a total figure. I could be wrong thats why I asked

 

[BigHornRam]

We have undoubtedly turned the species around through hard work and funding. Its hard for me to say that auction tags did a lot more than a raffle/banquet would have. One thing thats hard to quantify is the publicity/awareness. I really like the buying out of select sheep grazing allotments. But again that is hard to put solely on an auction tag.

I'm looking more for the numbers when auction tags became normal until currently I seem to remember it being mostly stagnant lately but I can't find a total figure. I could be wrong thats why I asked

Here's a quote from the KUIU site on the recent North Dakota transplant they did. New herd with future hunting opportunity, and ability to auction some sheep tags.

"The Three Affiliate Tribe (TAT) now owns the sheep in North Dakota, which will be managed by Brett Wiedmann and the State of North Dakota. This partnership is the first of its kind in North Dakota involving wild sheep. Future tags will be split between the state of ND and the tribe for both auction and drawing. It is estimated the first hunt will take place in the fall of 2025 or 2026."

The Rocky Boy Reservation, where these sheep came from gave their excess sheep to this transplant, with an agreement that they would be able to get sheep back if they experience a die off. They sell bighorn hunts on their reservation (which is their prerogative) . How many and for how much I don't know.

 

[OntarioHunter]

No weight carrying advantage. Mules very typically tend to be more sure footed. They are also less likely to panic and lose their shit in sticky spots on the trail. Add on they tend to live longer and are more bio mechanically efficient on steep uphill and downhill trails and you can see why so many folks use them who pack a lot. And it’s not for status.

Wrong. The rule of thumb is a horse can safely carry 1/4 its weight in deadweight cargo. Mules can safely carry 1/3 their weight (or more). Live weight load is different of course. Much more for both animals. Riding mules are rare and expensive. They are very smooth to ride which means less wear and tear on the dude. The problem is a mule's back and withers are much different than a horse's and a riding saddle for them has to have a mule tree. Those are also very hard to find and expensive. Of course one can always ride a more readily available pack saddle designed for a mule ... for a little ways. And finally, even if you can find and afford a riding mule, few can be trusted to be ridden solo. They're great ridden behind another animal but usually not so great in the lead. And that goes for being led around by something with just two legs. Works for horses and burros but rarely for mules. They just have to follow another animal. It is one of the peculiarities of an unnatural crossbreeding. Another peculiarity: there is usually an order in which the mules in a string must be saddled and loaded (and often loaded and unloaded from trailer/truck). Break the routine and they're likely to "lose their shit."

I had plenty of situations where mules "lost their shit" for no reason and often as not it didn't require a "sticky spot in the trail."

 

[Deleted member 20812]

Your weight percentages are highly speculative, and in line with a normal pattern of embellishments and drama. Continue on with your incessant quest to be right.

 

[Deleted member 18333]

Your weight percentages are highly speculative, and in line with a normal pattern of embellishments and drama .

You didn't actually think he was not going to find anecdotal evidence to counter your accurate generalizations did you?

 

[Deleted member 20812]

You didn't actually think he was not going to find anecdotal evidence to counter your accurate generalizations did you?

I’m sure he knows more than Smoke Elser does on these things.

 

[marksjeep]

He trained Smoke.

 

[OntarioHunter]

Your weight percentages are highly speculative, and in line with a normal pattern of embellishments and drama. Continue on with your incessant quest to be right.

I am quoting Smoke Elser on those weight limits (class of 1976). Google him if you don't know who he is. If you had anything to do with packing animals in Montana, you would know who he is. Anyway, the weight limitations for packstock are common knowledge in the business ... about which you clearly know nothing. Continue on with your incessant quest to be an uninformed jackass.

 

[Deleted member 20812]

I am quoting Smoke Elser on those weight limits. Google him if you don't know who he is. If you had anything to do with packing animals in Montana, you would know who he is. Anyway, the weight limitations for packstock are common knowledge in the business ... about which you clearly know nothing. Continue on with your incessant quest to be an uninformed jackass.

My horse packing mentor worked for Smoke for years. Tom and I packed together for years. 20% of the body weight is standard, and can be less in rough country like the Frank Church.

 

[OntarioHunter]

My horse packing mentor worked for Smoke for years. Tom and I packed together for years. 20% of the body weight is standard, and can be less in rough country like the Frank Church.

Horses may only be 20% (it's been a while) but mules are generally recognized to carry a third their weight. Better give Tom a call. Smoke once packed a PIANO into Salmon Prairie from the Swan side on a mule (actually, he switched the load between mules during the trip). Horses couldn't handle it. I once packed nearly five hundred pounds on a mule during the big fires in California 1977. Two GIANT chainsaws, couple of jerry cans of gas, and all the gear for two sawyers and their helpers. She was a monster Dodge City mule but I still had her way overloaded. It was an emergency situation and the rest of the stock were out. She sweat out a lake every time we stopped to let her blow, but made it nine miles in without a problem ... or soring her. Not a mark left on her and frankly I didn't expect that. I will take full credit for modifying the shitty equipment we had and carefully loading her. That gal also had about the best disposition of the lot. I had a fresh horse available but not stupid enough to try putting a load like that on it.