The reestablishment of bighorn sheep in North Dakota was nearly shelved after numerous translocations of bighorn not suited to the terrain and harsh winters were conducted. These iniital herds struggled to survive, which hampered lamb recruitment. A phone call from WSF’s Kevin Hurley, then with Wyoming Game & Fish Department to Brett Wiedmann, North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s Bighorn Program Lead and Biologist, turned the tide. Hurley advised Wiedmann of an opportunity for some Missouri River Breaks bighorns from Montana to be translocated. Similar in body size to the extirpated Audubon sheep that called the Mandan country home, and with financial support from the Minnesota-Wisconsin chapter of FNAWS, (now Midwest WSF Chapter) that initial translocation from Montana to North Dakota succeeded.

Brett Wiedmann and Kevin Hurley join Sheep Fever co-host Gray Thornton for a conversation about the initial challenges, at times failures, and then success of the North Dakota bighorn comeback. Brett gives a history of bighorns in the state, he and Kevin discuss that fateful phone call, and they both share an update on where bighorn sheep restoration and hunting in North Dakota are today.

Tags: Bighorn Sheep, Grant-in-Aid, FNAWS, Hunting