Distinctly Montana Magazine

w w w. d i s t i n c t ly m o n ta n a . c o m 15 One of the biggest obstacles to increasing Bighorn sheep population is the convolution of politics surround- ing domestic sheep grazing on ranges where Bighorn have historically existed or been recently transplanted, including public lands such as national forests. There has been an ongoing conflict between conservationists who say that the solution is to remove domestic sheep flocks from public lands and national forests near Big- horn habitat, and woolgrowers who are reluctant to give up grazing rights on land where they have been running livestock for years. This conflict has led to situations in places such as Hells Canyon in Idaho, where hundreds of Bighorn have died in the Payette National Forest from pneumonia thought to be contracted from domes- tic sheep. The saga continues. In 2012, conservation organizations won a court battle regarding the closure of large parts of the Nez Perce National Forest to domestic sheep grazing. In California, 400,000 acres of Bighorn range were banned to domestic sheep and allocated as critical to Bighorn survival. Locally, the struggle for survival looks a little different, and perhaps more promising for the Bighorn, because Fish Wildlife and Parks, the National Forest Service, con- servation groups, and woolgrowers all work together to come up with solutions and mitigations. Tom Carlsen, currently on the Board of Directors with the Montana chapter of The Wild Sheep Foundation, is recently retired from FWP and was the editor and lead writer of their comprehensive document "Montana Bighorn Sheep Conservation Strategy", which describes the history and management of Bighorn in Montana. An expert in the field, Carlsen emphasizes the importance of the coop- erative efforts here in Montana. FWP has maintained connections with Montana Woolgrowers Association throughout the development of this strategy, as well as with conservation organizations such as the Wild Sheep Foundation — something that just doesn't happen in other states. As Carlsen states, "We have gone out of our way to communicate with the woolgrowers, who have been supportive of transplants and allotments." Julie Cunningham, a Bozeman-area wildlife biolo- gist with FWP, discusses the intricacies of co-existence between domestic and Bighorn sheep and highlights the collaborative nature of the relationships necessary to ef- fectively recover Bighorn populations, particularly in the Bridger Mountains, where most domestic sheep farmers do what they can to co-exist with Bighorn sheep. almost 18-mile distance between domestic sheep and Bighorn. COnTinUED

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