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WSF Grant-In-Aid Funding Impacts Diverse Conservation Projects: Worldwide Impact


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The Wild Sheep Foundation supports a diversity of projects that have the potential to make a positive impact on wild sheep and goats around the world. We invest in big, landscape-level projects like habitat initiatives and translocations but also fund other grant requests that help us better understand conservation needs and that address issues facing wild sheep.


The Dall's sheep of the Yukon live in pristine, picturesque environments far from some of the development-based issues that impact bighorn sheep in much of their range. Disease, however, is a concern. A project of the Yukon Government's Animal Health Unit and Fish & Wildlife Branch provides hunters with Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae (Movi) sampling kits and trains them on the importance of collecting quality swab samples.

The project's annual collection of over 100 samples contributes to understanding the prevalence and impact of the pathogen. 
 
This data is vital for developing effective management strategies to protect these sheep from disease outbreaks. The collaborative effort involves local communities in conservation while examining the health and stability of Dall's sheep populations as disease threats loom. Wild Sheep Foundation (WSF) and the Yukon WSF partnered to provide $5,335.50 for project materials.
 
This is part of WSF's Grant-In-Aid, which is impacting wild sheep and other mountain ungulates worldwide.

“We support a diversity of projects that have the potential to make a positive impact on wild sheep and goats around the world. We like to invest in big, landscape-level projects like habitat initiatives and translocations but also fund other grant requests that help us better understand conservation needs and that address issues facing wild sheep," said Gray Thornton, WSF President & CEO.

 
The following are some of these projects from fiscal year 2023-24.
 

Chronic Carriers

Some bighorn sheep carry Movi but do not show symptoms themselves. This is dangerous to populations, particularly when ewes can transmit it to their lambs and others in nursery herds. This study focuses on two ways to manage disease in bighorns: hunting ewes and testing sheep to remove those carrying the disease. Over the past year, 110 adult females and 11 lambs were caught, and two chronic carriers were removed. This, along with previous years' research, has led to significant insights into the role of body fat in the immune system's response to threats and the impact of ewe harvest, testing, and removal on herd health.
 
Grant-In-Aid Funding: $30,000
Partners: Wyoming WSF
 
 


Kyrgyzstan Hunter-Based Disease Surveillance

The Marco Polo sheep and ibex of Kyrgyzstan live in some of the world's most remote areas, making research costly and difficult. This project is a testament to the power of citizen science. It partners with outfitters and hunters to collect blood samples from harvested specimens.

"It's great to see a wide range of people collaborating in these remote areas to better understand what's going on with wild sheep and goats in Central Asia," said Kurt Alt, WSF Conservation Director of Montana and International Sheep & Goat Programs. 

 
These samples are tested for antibodies to key pathogens, such as Brucella and sarcoptic mange, utilizing user-friendly test kits. Collaborators in Spain and Serbia assist in refining diagnostic methods, aiming to protect and sustain the health of Kyrgyzstan's incredible wild sheep and goats.
 
Grant-In-Aid Funding: $30,000
 


Wind River Horse Gathering

The presence of feral horses can cause significant damage to wildlife habitats. On the Wind River Reservation, a First Nation-led initiative, has made a big difference for both wildlife and habitat in this area of historic bighorn sheep habitat. Through intensive aerial surveys and roundups, 7,633 horses were removed, bringing the population down from an estimated 9,000-10,000 in 2022 to just 1,026. Local tribe members also played a role by conducting small-scale captures to support the project. 

 
Red circles represent the number of feral horses counted in January/February 2022. Below, the yellow circles indicated the aerial count in October 2023 after 6,543 feral horses were gathered, leaving 1,289 on the landscape.

Ongoing efforts to manage the situation include:
  • Conducting additional aerial surveys.
  • Hiring a feral horse manager.
  • Continuously monitoring to prevent illegal horse dumping and maintain rangeland conditions.
 
Grant-In-Aid Funding: $20,000
Partners: Wyoming WSF, Shoshone & Arapaho Fish & Game Department
  


Stafford-Ferry Conservation Easement

The aim of Wild Sheep Foundation's contribution to this project is to conserve 1,292 acres of vital wildlife habitat in central Montana. This land is crucial for bighorn sheep, elk, and mule deer. It is adjacent to the Whiskey Ridge Conservation Easement, which enhances a larger conservation landscape. The easement also improves public hunting and other recreation access to 15,400 acres of surrounding public lands.
 
Conserving sagebrush-steppe and mixed conifer breaks is essential for the Southern Missouri River Breaks bighorn sheep herd, and this easement accomplishes that.
 
Grant-In-Aid Funding: $5,000
Partners: WSF Montana
 
The conservation of wild sheep and goats requires a wide range of tactics. From disease detection to the removal of non-indigenous wildlife to aiding with habitat acquisition, it all makes a difference.
 
Through WSF, its chapters, and affiliates, hunter-conservationists are taking an active role in ensuring scientists and wildlife managers have the resources to stay on the cutting edge of wildlife conservation.

 
 
Contributing Author: Chester Moore is an award-winning wildlife journalist and lifelong hunter from Texas. He operates the Higher Calling Wildlife® blog and podcast and contributes to many outdoors publications.

 
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