Bighorn Sheep

The Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep are among the most majestic wildlife animals in the West.

This "monarch of the mountain tops" enriches the lives of wildlife enthusiasts including wildlife watchers, photographers, and big game hunters the world over.

Historically, bighorn sheep played a central role in various tribal cultures providing a chief source of food, clothing as well as tradeable tools. One example of bighorn's contribution to magnificent artisanship are the beautiful bows crafted out of bighorn horns that were earnestly sought along regional trading routes between indigenous peoples.

Once thought to number in the millions in North America, now many bighorn sheep continue to struggle to remain in viable populations. Although intermitten pockets of native bighorn persist in areas of the West, efforts to reintroduce bighorn and/or supplement pre-existing populations have been stymied by the continued persistence of domestic sheep on federal public land.

Why Are Bighorn Sheep Dying ?

Bighorn die-offs originally occured as settlers moved west bringing with them bands of domestic sheep. As domestic sheep intermingle with bighorn in wild sheep habitat, diseases including pneumonia are carried from immune domestics and spread to wild bighorns. Massive die-offs following domestic sheep settlement almost wiped out wild sheep across the West and disease is considered the principle reason for bighorn decline (Martin et. al., 1996). Bighorn numbers have dwindled from historic levels since, as domestic sheep continue to graze on public lands spreading disease and spurring continued bighorn die-offs.

This plague has been likened to the historic genocide of the very indeginous peoples relying on bighorn, and others, following the European introduction of small-pox. With bighorn sheep the plague continues as a few politically connected livestock producers refuse to accomodate bighorns' need for space from domestic sheep on public land.

Another obstacle to bighorns is in assessing suitable habitat. During efforts at reintroducing bighorn sheep, wildlife biologists assess suitable habitat where bighorn have a reasonable likelihood of maintainting viable numbers. Much public land in the West has been deemed unsuitable for bighorn re-establishment, not because bighorns did not historically thrive in these areas, but because of the competition from overgrazing of public lands by domestic sheep and cattle. Wildlife managers have been forced to rule out bighorn reintroduction on significant stretches of habitat in order to perpetuate the senseless subsidized production of livestock on public lands. Livestock usage leaves inadequate forage for the bighorns that were once allowed to thrive and roam free.

Advocacy

WWP remains committed to insisting that wildlife managers use the best available science to guide decision-making and enforce the preservation of imperilled bighorn. The Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA), a group of 23 wildlife agencies from the Western U.S. and Canada conclude that the preponderance of evidence demonstrates that intermingling domestic sheep with wild sheep leads to disease transmission and death. With this in mind, WWP maintains public oversight of wildlife management, advancing the restoration and aiding the re-establishment of bighorn sheep habitat on public lands throughout the West.

Legal Efforts

Western Watersheds Project (WWP) has been succesful at protecting bighorn sheep in the Hells Canyon and Salmon River areas using litigation to pressure federal agencies into acknowledging the threat that domestic sheep allotments on the Forest pose to bighorn sheep.

Fortunate is the locality that perpetuates its mountain sheep. These courageous climbers add much to the ancient mountains and snowy peaks; the arctic wild gardens and the crags would not be the same for us if these mountaineers were to vanish forever from the heights.

ENOS A. MILLS - Rocky Mountain Wonderland