Distinctly Montana Magazine

d i s t i n c t ly m o n ta n a • fa l l 2 0 1 4 16 Unfortunately, a successful cohabitation between Bighorn sheep and domestic sheep means 100% separation, an impractical and expensive endeavor that usually involves a high, double fence that is completely wildlife proof. She acknowledges, "It's just not as easy as having an electric fence or a guard dog." When looked at further, mitiga- tions such as fencing raise more issues than they solve, including installation, upkeep, impact to other wildlife, and cost. In fact, recent research has shown that 100% separation involves an almost 18-mile distance between domestic sheep and Bighorn. This is a much larger figure than the original nine miles determined by the Bureau of Land Management, a figure result- ing in an unsuccessful transplant of Bighorn sheep in the Elkhorn Mountains near Townsend, MT. Ongoing research continues to teach more about the migration and behavior patterns of Bighorn, and with that knowledge comes plans of more success- ful transplants in the future. Cunningham refers to a "double-edged sword," as new awareness brings with it new hurdles. She adds, "It's now apparent that it is not ef- fective to just pick up and move Bighorn sheep, but what does that mean politically, socially, and environmentally for these at-risk animals?" The current Bridger Project is a great example of this "double-edged" sword. There are currently 10 domestic sheep herds on record in the Bridger Mountains, and that's just too many to safely reintroduce Bighorn. Knowing how pneumonia spreads, the Bridger Project is currently on hold until mitigations can be agreed upon and funded to bring the project from a high-risk to low-risk level. In better news, there is a current proposal for a Bighorn release in the Madison area, a place where the proximity of domestic sheep are not nearly the consideration that they are in the Bridgers. perhaps the biggest success in Bighorn conservation is the increase of public awareness.

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