Wild sheep and disease

[Big Fin]

MT FWP has removed at least 5 bighorn rams from the Bonner herd over the years after coming into contact with these weed control sheep, the most recent being 3 in 2015. Too bad they are back after a 7 year hiatus. Amazing that a place like Missoula would stand for that.

Sheep returning to graze on noxious weeds in the Missoula area next week

MISSOULA, Mont. - Starting June 20, sheep are returning to help with noxious weeds on City Open Space in the Missoula area.

www.montanarightnow.com

So maybe my geography is bad. Mt. Jumbo is just west of the Bonner herd location. The City of Missoula is going to place 800 domestic sheep in the Jumbo/North Hills area for “weed control.”

Will it result in weed control or wild sheep control? Any Missoula folks privy to what is being done, if anything, to not make this a very bad event for wild sheep?

On the surface, given what we know about domestic sheep in close proximity to wild sheep, this weed control action seems to have the interest of wild sheep as a low priority.

If anyone has details, please post them up. Thanks for sharing this @Oak.

 

[Oak]

MT FWP has removed at least 5 bighorn rams from the Bonner herd over the years after coming into contact with these weed control sheep, the most recent being 3 in 2015. Too bad they are back after a 7 year hiatus. Amazing that a place like Missoula would stand for that.

Sheep returning to graze on noxious weeds in the Missoula area next week

MISSOULA, Mont. - Starting June 20, sheep are returning to help with noxious weeds on City Open Space in the Missoula area.

www.montanarightnow.com

A little more work to be done.

They’re paying him to graze his sheep!
“The project is funded by the 2018 Conservation Lands Mill Levy.”

Missoula's North Hills dog closure extended, sheep still working

Affected areas include the Froelich (Orange and I-90), Waterworks and Mountain View trailheads. Also included is the Sunlight Lands trailhead and all points north.

missoulian.com

 

[Oak]

This is one of the most amazingly accurate statements the agency has made on this topic, and they deserve kudos for it. I admit I took a screenshot of the whole page immediately in case it disappears.

Alas...........it has disappeared. Who could have predicted? A victim of claims of state persecution of a dying industry.

 

[OriginalOscar]

Alas...........it has disappeared. Who could have predicted? A victim of claims of state persecution of a dying industry.

Is it possible to test sheep-goats for disease prior to turning them out on weeds?

 

[Oak]

Is it possible to test sheep-goats for disease prior to turning them out on weeds?

It is possible to test them for Mycoplasma ovineumoniae, the primary pathogen responsible for respiratory disease in wild sheep.

 

[Oak]

This was Wyoming's cleanest and healthiest bighorn herd, although there are domestic sheep in relatively close proximity.

Devil’s Canyon bighorn sheep herd experiencing disease outbreak

“Since Oct. 14, Game and Fish has documented 37 bighorn sheep mortalities in the Devil’s Canyon herd, which constitutes approximately 10 percent of the population,” said Corey Class, wildlife management coordinator for the Cody Region. “The majority of deaths have occurred in ewes and lambs.”

 

[Mtnhunter1]

This was Wyoming's cleanest and healthiest bighorn herd, although there are domestic sheep in relatively close proximity.

Devil’s Canyon bighorn sheep herd experiencing disease outbreak

“Since Oct. 14, Game and Fish has documented 37 bighorn sheep mortalities in the Devil’s Canyon herd, which constitutes approximately 10 percent of the population,” said Corey Class, wildlife management coordinator for the Cody Region. “The majority of deaths have occurred in ewes and lambs.”

Yeah, this sucks! I was in there a few weeks ago taking photos of sheep. I didn't see any dead ones but did see a few that were clearly sick. The Bio confirmed what I feared..

 

[BigHornRam]

Few more details in this article.

Disease hits Devil Canyon bighorn sheep herd: More than 10% of the herd has died in the past two weeks

After landowners near Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area sounded the alarm of a die-off of bighorn sheep, Wyoming Game and Fish officials rushing to the scene found more than three dozen of the …

www.powelltribune.com

 

[Oak]

This ewe was 17 miles from the nearest desert bighorn herd and 21 miles from the nearest RB bighorn herd. Which is she? Would probably be dead if CPW had seen her.

 

[Oak]

Bighorn deaths attributed to sheep contacts

 

[winmag]

We know the problem, we know the solution, yet here we remain...

 

[Archer86]

Anyone know anything about this?

Parasite common in cats causes abortion in bighorn sheep

A parasite believed to be present in more than 40 million people in the United States and often spread by domestic and wild cats could hamper ongoing conservation efforts in bighorn sheep.

www.google.com

 

[Oak]

If you want to get involved in something right now, you can submit comments on the draft GMUG Forest Plan Revision. Comments are due by November 12. Just click the "Submit a Comment" button.

The most important thing for bighorn sheep in this draft plan is that they be included on the Species of Conservation Concern list, which is designated by the Regional Forester. They are currently not on the list, despite ample evidence that they qualify and a pointed letter from CPW indicating point by point why they qualify and should be included on the list.

SCC listing is important because without it, the Forest only has to manage for persistence on the forest. The management hurdle for SCC species is viability. If bighorns are not an SCC species, the forest could write off all but one herd of bighorns on the forest and still meet persistence. As an SCC species, the Forest must consider all individuals on the forest as a single population.

The 2012 planning rule lists the following categories for species that should be considered for SCC listing:


Bighorn sheep meet category c. (CPW lists them as a species of greatest conservation need in their SWAP), category d. (the adjacent Rio Grande National Forest listed bighorns as SCC in their forest plan revision that was just completed last year), and three of the four sub-categories of category f. The CPW comment letter makes a case for bighorns meeting all four sub-categories of category f.

The Forest is contending that because bighorns don't meet sub-category (3) of category f. that they can't be listed as SCC. However, the list above is clearly an "or" list, not an "and" list.

So write your comments and ask that bighorn sheep be listed as a species of conservation concern because the best available science indicates there is concern about their ability to persist over the long term due to the risk of disease transmission from authorized domestic sheep grazing on the forest. From the Rangeland Assessment prepared for this plan revision, in 2016 there were 27,331 domestic sheep permitted to graze on the forest.

I realize that was a mouthful I spouted nearly two years ago, but read it again. The final GMUG Forest Plan Revision and EIS are out today, and bighorn sheep are not on the SCC list. The clock starts today on a 60-day objection period.
Link to all the goods

 

[Irrelevant]

I realize that was a mouthful I spouted nearly two years ago, but read it again. The final GMUG Forest Plan Revision and EIS are out today, and bighorn sheep are not on the SCC list. The clock starts today on a 60-day objection period.
Link to all the goods

Hey Oak, can you hold my hand on this. Where do the make the determination that bighorns aren't on the SCC list? Also, in the final plan documents for 2023, I only see the EIS and the ROD but not the actual plan, am I missing something?

 

[Oak]

Hey Oak, can you hold my hand on this. Where do the make the determination that bighorns aren't on the SCC list? Also, in the final plan documents for 2023, I only see the EIS and the ROD but not the actual plan, am I missing something?

I'll try to add more later, but it's easier to view the docs on Pinyon Public, IMO. If you go to the Final Forest Plan and Documents 2023 folder, and then the Final Forest Plan Documents 2023 folder, you see three volumes of the final EIS, the draft ROD, and the "Final GMUG Forest Plan_Pre-objections Version" document.

The SCC list and process are under Biological Assessment and other Supplemental Material.

 

[Irrelevant]

I'll try to add more later, but it's easier to view the docs on Pinyon Public, IMO. If you go to the Final Forest Plan and Documents 2023 folder, and then the Final Forest Plan Documents 2023 folder, you see three volumes of the final EIS, the draft ROD, and the "Final GMUG Forest Plan_Pre-objections Version" document.

The SCC list and process are under Biological Assessment and other Supplemental Material.

ah yes, the correct document is linked in Pinyon Public.

BA doesn't even discuss bighorns. The grazing plan/policy doesn't mention bighorns, the actual forest plan basically dooms bighorns, there are not meaningful measures being suggested, it's all just lipstick on a pig.

 

[Oak]

The grazing plan/policy doesn't mention bighorns, the actual forest plan basically dooms bighorns, there are not meaningful measures being suggested, it's all just lipstick on a pig.

Spoiler alert!!