"Be Sure" Campaign Makes Impact In New Mexico, Texas
September 16, 2024
Squeezing the trigger on an aoudad hunt demands more than a clean shot and a steady shooting position. If it's in a state where bighorn sheep roam, aoudad hunters must be 100 percent confident it's actually an aoudad (Barbary sheep) they are putting the crosshairs on.
According to Bryan Bartlett, President of the New Mexico Chapter of the Wild Sheep Foundation (NMWSF), several incidents dating back to 2019 involved hunters killing bighorn ewes while thinking they were bagging a Barbary sheep. In response to the issue, the Wild Sheep Foundation (WSF), in partnership with NMWSF and the Texas Bighorn Society (TBS), produced the "Be Sure" brochure, which explains the differences between aoudad and bighorns.
"We are aware of a handful of cases, so there could be more of this happening than we know. We were excited this project came together so quickly, and the response in New Mexico has been very positive," Bartlett said.
NMWSF members have distributed "Be Sure" tri-fold pamphlets to all New Mexico Department of Game and Fish (NMDGF) offices that offer over-the-counter Barbary sheep tags, as well as to other businesses that sold them in 2023.
Additionally, further steps have been taken to ensure that the message reaches hunters. Fifty specially-designed outdoor signs highlighting the differences between bighorn and aoudad have been purchased by NMWSF and strategically placed in the Sacramento Mountains area, particularly in Lincoln National Forest, in collaboration with the NMDGF and the Bureau of Land Management.
"David Heft, a long-time WSF Life member and a field officer with NMDGF, spearheaded this particular project," Bartlett said.
According to WSF Vice President of Conservation, Kevin Hurley, even small numbers of ewe deaths can harm populations in fragmented herds. "In small, fragmented populations that have limited interchange with other herds, breeding-age adult ewes are crucially important to herd dynamics; you cannot build a small bighorn population if reproductive ewes are accidentally removed. Adult ewes drive daily and seasonal movements of bighorn sheep, especially where free-standing water sources may be few and far between."
With predators, disease and drought all having an impact on desert bighorn sheep herds in this region, illegal and unaccounted for ewe harvest must end.
Herd of desert bighorn sheep. Courtesy Luis Salinas / WSF Photo Contest
Sounding The Call In Texas
If anyone understands the importance of keeping desert sheep in remote, isolated herds alive and healthy, it's WSF board member and TBS President Dr. Sam Cunningham. In five years, Texas has lost two-thirds of its bighorn herd to Mycoplasma ovipnemonaie (Movi), and researchers believe it's directly linked to aoudad, which have recently been proven to be a carrier.
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"Aoudad live where every one of our remaining Texas bighorn herds roam so we were happy to be involved. It’s slightly different in Texas since most Trans-Pecos aoudad hunts are with outfitters, and there are more public hunts in New Mexico. But still, every hunter needs to be sure before they take the shot, and this campaign helps drive that home."
The Franklin Mountains are currently the only mountain range in Texas without aoudad, and Cunningham hopes this will provide a sanctuary for desert bighorns.
"This is a significant restoration, and it's good to see so much positive happening simultaneously in Texas and New Mexico with the 'Be Sure' campaign," Cunningham said.
Non Governmental Organization (NGO)-Agency Collaboration
At the August NMDGF meeting, David Heft updated the Commission on these ongoing efforts. In response, Mike Sloane, the Director of NMDGF, publicly thanked NMWSF for their proactive approach to addressing this issue.Nicole Tatman, Big Game Program Manager, NMDGF, said the agency is grateful for the grassroots support from the hunter-conservationist community.
"The Department appreciates the partnership with all groups and individuals here to notify the hunting public of this issue. We are working on multiple options internally to expand outreach with the goal of avoiding similar situations in the future," Tatman said.
Corey Mason, Chief Operating Officer & Executive Vice President of Conservation at WSF, worked as a biologist for the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department early in his career. He said organizations like WSF have been valued resources for state agencies for many years, from providing critical financial support to serving as a fast-responding partner to meet the agency's needs for managing wild sheep and their habitats. "At WSF we greatly value and appreciate our State, First Nation, Provincial, National, and International management authority partners and greatly value the ability to work alongside and support their conservation programs. This educational effort is just one example of these impactful state agency and NGO relationships.”
Aoudad Expansion
Aoudad are most abundant in Texas and New Mexico, but they are also present in California, Oregon, and Oklahoma. All of those states, even Oklahoma, have bighorns. Aoudad are undoubtedly magnificent animals that are challenging to hunt, but they do impact desert bighorn sheep through the spread of disease and competition for food and water sources. Learning to navigate and manage this popular exotic hunting species while keeping in mind its value to landowners, guides, and hunters is an ongoing challenge.The "Be Sure" campaign is quickly proving to be a positive, educational way to address the subject and remind people that desert bighorn sheep are the iconic and native species of the American Southwest.
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