FY 2022-23 Approved Conservation Grant-in-Aid
June 1, 2023
These $1.358 Million in approved conservation grants are but one “bucket” of the $2.7 Million Mission Programs budget in our July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023, fiscal year. Added to the $4.9 Million that will be directed to our state, provincial, and tribal/First Nation partners through 2023 conservation permit sales, WSF is on track to direct for the fifth year in a row more than $6.5 Million annually in Mission Program Funding.
1. Prescribed Burns for Wild Sheep Enhancement in NE British Columbia
C&A Partners: Wild Sheep Society of British Columbia
Approved Grant: $250,087
Summary
Prescribed burning in known wild sheep habitats in northeastern BC; enhancement of winter/lambing habitat by improving quality of forage available in areas w/ decreased risk of predation. Annual treatment 500-1,000 hectares (1,200-2,500 acres) of wild sheep habitat during spring (May-June) each year.
2. Oregon/Idaho/Washington Test & Remove Bighorn Sheep Program
C&A Partners: Idaho WSF, Oregon WSF, and Washington WSF
Approved Grant: $177,000
Summary
Year three (3) of multi-jurisdictional adaptive mgt project to further investigate “test and remove” to clear Movi from bighorn sheep populations. Objective: to improve the health of BHS populations at Burnt R., OR; Lookout Mtn, OR; Lower Salmon R., ID; Lostine, OR; & Yakima Canyon, WA. Year 2 work expanded to include Lower Panther – Main Salmon population in ID & Cleman Mountain population in WA as a control. In winter 2021-22, 249 bighorns in four (4) populations were captured/sampled. Year three (3) proposed to capture/sample 275 sheep in seven (7) populations.
3. California Bighorn Sheep Population Analysis, Test & Remove, Health and Disease Surveillance in Idaho, Oregon & Nevada (ION Initiative)
C&A Partners: Fraternity of the Desert Bighorn, Idaho WSF, Oregon WSF
Approved Grant: $152,450
Summary
Two-Part Program: 1) Test & Remove Movi clearance efforts and 2) BHS herd survey, population analysis, and health/disease surveillance. WSF funding will be used for contracted helicopter services to capture and survey bighorns, and contracted infrared fixed-wing surveys, to cover fuel costs of volunteers accomplishing coordinated ground surveys, GPS collars and pathogen sampling and testing costs. Outreach and public information would be accomplished, including social media, press releases, articles in newsletters and video production.
4. Socorro (New Mexico) BLM Field Office – Landscape-Scale Water Projects
C&A Partners: New Mexico WSF
Approved Grant: $106,000
Summary
WSF funding will be used to fund water development & livestock exclosure supplies and materials and/or construction of a 1,000 ft2 catchment + 1-1.5 acre exclosure. The current desert bighorn sheep population estimate is 250-275. Expected to increase with added water.
5. Fraser River (British Columbia) Year Five Surveillance, Recovery, & Management
C&A Partners: Wild Sheep Society of British Columbia
Approved Grant: $100,000
Summary
Three Program Grant: 1) Year five (5) of the Fraser River (British Columbia) bighorn sheep Disease Mitigation Program, BC's first Test-and-Remove that is showing promising results in clearing Movi & recovering Canada's largest CABHS metapopulation. 2) Thompson River bighorn sheep Health Assessment, which seeks to tease apart the relative roles of health, predation, and habitat in the 50% decline of Thompson River bighorn sheep herds in recent years. 3) Support for British Columbia’s 1st-ever "Wild Sheep Summit".
6. Hart Mountain (Oregon) Bighorn Sheep Recovery
C&A Partners: Oregon WSF
Approved Grant: $100,000
Summary
The California bighorn sheep herd on Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge in SE Oregon declined from ~150 animals in 2017 to less than 48 in 2020. Consequently, the herd is at risk of extirpation without prompt management intervention. In 2022, the Hart Mountain Bighorn Sheep Management Plan & Environmental Impact Study was developed to identify management actions to aid herd recovery. An integrated management approach focusing on short-term predator control (mountain lions) and long-term habitat mgt (juniper control & added water sources) are specifically targeted to benefit and recover bighorn and support a sustainable herd. WSF funding will focus on short-term mountain lion control.
7. Bighorn Sheep Restoration to Nebraska Panhandle
C&A Partners: Iowa FNAWS, Alaska WSF, Arizona Desert Bighorn Sheep Society, California WSF, Idaho WSF, Midwest Chapter WSF, Montana WSF, New Mexico WSF, Oregon WSF, Texas Bighorn Society, Utah WSF, Washington WSF & Wild Sheep Society of BC
Approved Grant: $50,000
Summary
Nebraska Game & Parks Commission (NGPC) recently completed cleanup of two (2) primary bighorn herds in the Pine Ridge region of northern Nebraska's Panhandle. By implementing a "Test & Remove" strategy, NGPC removed chronic disease-carrying ewes, preparing the way for future reintroductions. Plans are underway for fall of 2022 and winter 2022-2023 to helicopter capture, GPS radio-collar, sample, and disease test 50-70 bighorn sheep from 2 herds in the Wildcat Hills region of the southern Nebraska panhandle. Most captured bighorns would remain in the Wildcat Hills, but 20-25 bighorns would be transplanted to the eastern Pine Ridge region of the panhandle. With a successful winter 2022-2023 transplant to Pine Ridge, another transplant would be implemented in winter 2023-24, to the western portion of Pine Ridge.
8. Field Testing and Management Application of Canine Disease Detection West wide
C&A Partners: Montana WSF
Approved Grant: $50,000
Summary
In 2021-22, with WSF and private funding, Working Dogs 4 Conservation (WD4C) demonstrated that specially-trained dogs are capable of discriminating scat pellets of Movi-infected domestic sheep from the scat of uninfected individuals. WD4C will extend this work to include wild BHS and begin applying these methods to wild, free-ranging BHS populations. WSF funding is sought to enable/pilot two (2) important tools for wild sheep management/conservation: 1) real-time screening of captured bighorns for Movi infection; and 2) environmental assessment of Movi presence in bighorn sheep habitat.
9. Harcuvar Mountains (Arizona) Desert Bighorn Sheep Restoration
C&A Partners: Arizona Desert Bighorn Sheep Society
Approved Grant: $50,000
Summary
WSF funding will help purchase ten (10) GPS collars for desert bighorn sheep that will be transplanted in the Fall 2022 into the Eastern Harcuvar Mountains. Our goal is to collar all thirty (30) desert bighorns to monitor their movements and habits. We would also put out three (3) additional temporary water tanks to monitor desert bighorn use for future permanent water guzzlers. WSF funding would also help pay for a 500-gallon heavy-duty water trailer dedicated to the Harcuvar Mountains waters. The new permanent water developments planned will also be built with the help of WSF funds.
10. Wind River Reservation (Wyoming) Feral Horse Gathering
C&A Partners: Wyoming WSF
Approved Grant: $50,000
Summary
An over-abundance of feral horses is causing significant impacts to bighorn sheep and their habitats on the Wind River Reservation (WRR). Shoshone & Arapaho Fish and Game, along with Bureau of Indian Affairs and a small tribal contractor have worked diligently over the last two years, removing 1,100 feral horses, with a minimum of 5,000 remaining across WRR. Many hundreds compete directly with bighorns on range occupied by the Temple Peak & Owl Creek bighorn herds. Funding from WSF will help pay for a professional helicopter horse-gather contractor to remove hundreds of feral horses from bighorn occupied range.
11. Trap, Test, Transplant Desert Bighorns from Al Campo to Sierra El Alamo (Sonora, Mexico)
C&A Partners: Texas Bighorn Society
Approved Grant: $40,000
Summary
WSF funding will be used to cover costs of capture, care during quarantine, sampling, veterinary expenses, translocation and release of free-ranging desert bighorns. To date, 236 desert bighorns have been successfully released to Sierra El Alamo. The operation will result in expanded free-ranging desert bighorn within the Sierra El Alamo target area and neighboring properties.
12. Water Distribution & Delivery System – Sierra El Alamo (Mexico)
C&A Partners: Texas Bighorn Society
Approved Grant: $30,000
Summary
Water is vital to conserving desert bighorns conservation at Sierra El Alamo. Very limited, water is the most important factor for continued expansion of bighorn populations. Most water is currently provided by drinkers and water catchments. WSF funding will be used to expand the ongoing gravity water distribution and delivery system project, for the benefit of desert bighorns on Sierra El Alamo and neighboring properties.
13. Chronic Carriers & Bighorn Sheep Population Density: Evaluation/Implementation of Management Tools (Wyoming)
C&A Partners: Wyoming WSF
Approved Grant: $40,000
Summary
WSF funding will be mainly used to help cover contract costs for bighorn capture and/or projects. Our work seeks to understand how we can more effectively manage chronically infected populations – both through nutritional strategies and pathogen-reduction strategies. In doing so, we have the opportunity to learn how to more effectively manage bighorn and their habitat through strategies rooted in science. Benefits of this continued research will come from implementation of these management strategies intended to directly benefit the populations they target, and intensive monitoring of the effect of these strategies will inform management of bighorn populations throughout their range.
14. Desert Bighorn Sheep Collaring on Desert National Wildlife Refuge (DNWR) for Improved Population Management (Nevada)
C&A Partners: Fraternity of the Desert Bighorn
Approved Grant: $19,500
Summary
USFWS is seeking WSF funding to capture/collar 10 adult desert bighorn sheep in the Desert & E. Desert Ranges of DNWR in either November 2022 or spring 2023. The proposed bighorn collaring project expands previous efforts to assess the viability of the DNWR bighorn metapopulations. WSF is funding $19,500 for helicopter/crew capture costs for 10 bighorns @$1,950/animal captured.
15. Edit Transmission Film for Legislator Education & Advocacy
C&A Partners: Wild Sheep Society of British Columbia
Approved Grant: $7,600
Summary
WSF will fund the editing and modification of the ~58-minute Wild Sheep Society of BC film Transmission down to a ~15-minute film suitable for sharing with local, state, provincial and federal legislators to educate them on the disease issue between domestic stock and bighorn sheep and pathways forward to mitigate transmission.
16. Ungulate Enhancement – Peace Region, British Columbia
C&A Partners: Northern Guides Association
Approved Grant: $100,000
Summary
WSF provided $100,000 in fuel reimbursement and trapping incentives for predator control in thinhorn winter range to help reduce predation on Stone’s sheep in Region 7.
17. Ungulate Enhancement - Yukon Territory C&A Partners: Yukon WSF
Approved Grant: $25,000
Summary
WSF provided $25,000 in trapping incentives for predator control in thinhorn winter range to help reduce predation on Dall’s sheep pressured by high snowpack and range conditions.
18. Movi Sampling Kits for Hunters - Yukon Territory
C&A Partners: Yukon WSF
Approved Grant: $6,095
19. “Montana Matters” Youth Wildlife Conservation Experience – Montana
C&A Partners: Montana WSF
Approved Grant: $500
20. Guzzler Project - Arizona
C&A Partners: WSF Midwest, Arizona Desert Bighorn Sheep Society
Approved Grant: $1,000
21. “Careers in Conservation” - Multi-Jurisdictional
C&A Partners: WSF Midwest
Approved Grant: $1,000
22. Desert Bighorn Council 2023 Biennial Meeting - Texas
C&A Partners: Texas Bighorn Society
Approved Grant: $2,000
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