Bill Jex Joins WSF as Thinhorn Sheep Program Lead
April 14, 2025
BOZEMAN, MT. – The Wild Sheep Foundation (WSF) is pleased to announce that Bill Jex of British Columbia will join WSF as Thinhorn Sheep Program Lead. In this capacity, Jex will lead WSF thinhorn sheep efforts to conserve and enhance wild sheep and their habitat across Canada and Alaska.Dall’s sheep of Alaska, the Yukon, and Northwest Territories and Stone’s sheep found in British Columbia are classified and thinhorn sheep.
Jex attended the School of Natural Resources at Sir Standford Fleming College in Ontario and became a Registered Professional Biologist of British Columbia in 2002. He was employed as a District Fish & Wildlife Biologist in 1985 and has held the positions of Deputy Conservation Officer, District Habitat Biologist, Regional Ecosystem & Habitat Biologist, Senior Wildlife Biologist, and Provincial Wild Sheep and Mountain Goat Specialist.
“Bill has dedicated most his professional career to work on mountain ungulates, including thinhorn sheep across their range and is regarded as one of the leading thinhorn sheep experts,” commented WSF President and CEO, Gray N. Thornton. “He served on the Western Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA) Wild Sheep Working Group, lead numerous thinhorn sheep research and conservation projects, and has proudly served on the WSF Professional Resource Advisory Board since 2018. “Bill knows and has worked with the stakeholders in thinhorn sheep conservation and can seamlessly continue his work and help guide our initiatives across thinhorn sheep range.”
Jex’s work includes serving as lead author on Thinhorn Sheep: Conservation Challenges and Management Strategies for the 21st Century, landscape genetics assessment, implemented partnerships with First Nations focused on wildlife health, lead and supported disease projects, reintroduction programs, and research projects. As the Provincial expert on mountain sheep and wild goats, he coordinated and advised all aspects of those species management.
“We are thrilled to have Bill join WSF’s conservation team, working closely with our Conservation Staff of Corey Mason, Kevin Hurley and Kurt Alt. He will help WSF identify and implement management actions and strategies that improve resiliency of thinhorn sheep,” said Thornton. “Bill is the consummate professional and brings incredible capacity for development and implementation of actions that benefit landscapes and wild sheep.
As the world’s leading conservation, advocacy, and hunting organization focused on wild sheep, in 2024-25 alone WSF has directed $3.7 Million to mission program funding not including auction permit dollars directed to wildlife agencies.
“Adding Bill Jex to our conservation team will help ensure that these investment to wild sheep make an impact on the resource, and with our agency, Tribal/First Nation, and chapter and affiliate partners,” Thornton concluded.
The Wild Sheep Foundation (WSF), based in Bozeman, Mont., was founded in 1977 by sportsmen and other wild sheep conservationists. WSF is the premier advocate for wild sheep, having raised and expended more than $145 million, positively impacting these species through population and habitat enhancements, research and education, and conservation advocacy programs in North America, Europe, and Asia to “Put and Keep Wild Sheep On the Mountain”®. In North America, these and other efforts have increased bighorn sheep populations from historic lows in the 1950s-60s of 25,000 to more than 85,000 today. WSF has a membership of more than 11,000 worldwide.
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