Bambistew
Well-known member
This was in the Montana Standard today. I'm aware of one sheep rancher in the Ruby/Gravley range, does anyone know of any other except the 'big one' out of Dillion? This is a friggn load of crap!
Bighorns on the move to the Highlands
By Nick Gevock, of The Montana Standard - 02/01/2007
State biologists captured 18 bighorn sheep Wednesday just southwest of Ruby Reservoir and transplanted them to the Highlands, south of Butte, to keep them from mixing with domestic sheep.
A team from New Zealand swooped down on the bighorns in helicopters and net gunned them in the morning, said Bob Brannon, Sheridan biologist with the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. The crew tied the animals’ feet and put blindfolds on them so samples could be collected to check their health, then they were loaded onto livestock trailers for the trip to Soap Gulch on the west side of the Highlands.
The bighorns are part of a herd that was transplanted in 2003 and 2004 into the Greenhorn Mountains near Alder. The sheep have survived fairly well and spread out, moving to the Sweetwater Hills and into the Ruby Mountains.
However, the state’s plan for the transplant dictated that bighorns would not be allowed to spread into the Ruby Mountains. Sheep ranchers in the area fear the bighorns could interbreed with their livestock or spread disease.
“Those provisions called for us to manage for sheep in the Greenhorns and if they got out of there, then we would either try to remove them or kill them,” Brannon said.
The plan was controversial.
The Gallatin Wildlife Association of Bozeman criticizing it as giving too much say to area ranchers.
But FWP defended the plan, saying it was necessary to give local ranchers the authority to kill bighorns or demand they be removed if any were to be released in an area with active sheep ranching.
“We’re fulfilling our agreement,” said Kurt Alt, FWP southwestern Montana biologist. “This was in the Ruby Mountains, which is clearly outside what the environmental assessment initially addressed.” Biologists have been trying to capture the sheep for months. But they’ve been living in higher altitude terrain far too rugged for a capture operation.
Lately, however, the herd has been milling around the reservoir, making it easy for a helicopter to get to them, Alt said.
The 18 sheep captured included three rams, nine ewes and six lambs. One of the lambs died during the transport, Alt said.
The herd included 24 bighorns, six of which weren’t able to be captured. Biologists will continue to search for them and attempt to capture them.
If they can’t be captured, they’ll be killed, Brannon said.
The sheep were taken to an area that used to have a bighorn herd numbering in the hundreds that suffered a massive die off from disease several years ago. The Highlands herd has struggled to recover.
This year Butte FWP Biologist Vanna Boccadori counted a mere 13 bighorns in the Highlands, so the transplant could help boost the herd and help it recover, she said. Eight of the nine ewes were fitted with radio collars so their movements can be tracked.
Reporter Nick Gevock may be reached via e-mail at [email protected].
Bighorns on the move to the Highlands
By Nick Gevock, of The Montana Standard - 02/01/2007
State biologists captured 18 bighorn sheep Wednesday just southwest of Ruby Reservoir and transplanted them to the Highlands, south of Butte, to keep them from mixing with domestic sheep.
A team from New Zealand swooped down on the bighorns in helicopters and net gunned them in the morning, said Bob Brannon, Sheridan biologist with the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. The crew tied the animals’ feet and put blindfolds on them so samples could be collected to check their health, then they were loaded onto livestock trailers for the trip to Soap Gulch on the west side of the Highlands.
The bighorns are part of a herd that was transplanted in 2003 and 2004 into the Greenhorn Mountains near Alder. The sheep have survived fairly well and spread out, moving to the Sweetwater Hills and into the Ruby Mountains.
However, the state’s plan for the transplant dictated that bighorns would not be allowed to spread into the Ruby Mountains. Sheep ranchers in the area fear the bighorns could interbreed with their livestock or spread disease.
“Those provisions called for us to manage for sheep in the Greenhorns and if they got out of there, then we would either try to remove them or kill them,” Brannon said.
The plan was controversial.
The Gallatin Wildlife Association of Bozeman criticizing it as giving too much say to area ranchers.
But FWP defended the plan, saying it was necessary to give local ranchers the authority to kill bighorns or demand they be removed if any were to be released in an area with active sheep ranching.
“We’re fulfilling our agreement,” said Kurt Alt, FWP southwestern Montana biologist. “This was in the Ruby Mountains, which is clearly outside what the environmental assessment initially addressed.” Biologists have been trying to capture the sheep for months. But they’ve been living in higher altitude terrain far too rugged for a capture operation.
Lately, however, the herd has been milling around the reservoir, making it easy for a helicopter to get to them, Alt said.
The 18 sheep captured included three rams, nine ewes and six lambs. One of the lambs died during the transport, Alt said.
The herd included 24 bighorns, six of which weren’t able to be captured. Biologists will continue to search for them and attempt to capture them.
If they can’t be captured, they’ll be killed, Brannon said.
The sheep were taken to an area that used to have a bighorn herd numbering in the hundreds that suffered a massive die off from disease several years ago. The Highlands herd has struggled to recover.
This year Butte FWP Biologist Vanna Boccadori counted a mere 13 bighorns in the Highlands, so the transplant could help boost the herd and help it recover, she said. Eight of the nine ewes were fitted with radio collars so their movements can be tracked.
Reporter Nick Gevock may be reached via e-mail at [email protected].
