When the Legislature sided with the domestic sheep industry this year, it called for best management practices to prevent domestic sheep from infectng bighorns with a fatal form of pneumonia.
BMPs have limits. The sick ram was spotted commingling with domestic sheep near Riggins. But it took three weeks for Fish and Game to track down and kill the bighorn, more than enough time for it to return and spread the illness to its own herd.
For those who believe the feds can counter Idaho’s pro-domestic sheep stance by curtailing Forest Service or Bureau of Land Management grazing allotments, consider where the sick ram was spotted.
On private land.
About 7,000 acres of grazing land along the main Salmon River upstream of Riggins is in private hands. Limiting domestic sheep grazing in the roughly 20,000 public acres will reduce - but not eliminate -the threat that...
