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CALIFORNIA DREAMING: I.O.N. Partnership Invests in Future of California Bighorn Conservation, Hunting


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California bighorns exist in an air of mystery. Despite their name, this subspecies modern range only touches a sliver of the Golden State. And, compared to their close cousins, the Rocky Mountain bighorn, they are smaller in stature, sport wider flaring horns and are darker in coloration.


During FY2022-2023, more than 120 bighorn sheep were captured, collared, sampled in the I.O.N. Partnership Area. Of those, three were removed after their test results came back positive for Movi. At right, Stacey Davis Dauwalter of IDFG tends to a ewe during a capture in Idaho.

This gives them a unique look to the trained sheep hunter’s eye, yet their existence seems to fly under the radar of the greater hunting community. One of the California bighorn’s chief strongholds are the adjoining canyons, mountains and waterways of Idaho, Oregon, and Nevada (I.O.N.) This area has a long history of trophy rams, translocations, and conservation wins, but the collective population is down 50 percent from just 20 years ago.
 
In 2022, a working group of state and federal wildlife agencies, tribes, the Wild Sheep Foundation (WSF), and WSF Chapters and Affiliates in these three states established the I.O.N. Partnership. The objective is to work together to better manage the bighorn populations in an extremely rugged, challenging area and to secure huntable populations well into the future.
 
WSF committed $152,450 for fiscal year (FY) 2022-23 to help kick-start the newly strengthened partnership and has continued support with $210,000 for FY 2023-24.
 
“WSF anticipates and appreciates the focused and collaborative approach between three state fish & wildlife agencies, federal land management agencies, tribal wild sheep managers and our network of WSF Chapters and Affiliates in Idaho, Oregon, and Nevada,” said WSF Vice President of Conservation Kevin Hurley.
 
“Ultimately, WSF hopes this collective effort results in healthy wild sheep on well-managed landscapes.”




A crew of volunteers and biologists assist with monitoring the vitals of captured California bighorn sheep in southeast Oregon, Idaho and Nevada with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife in January 2023. Keeping an animal’s body temperature low within a safe limit is critical.
 

 This area provides strong connectivity for bighorns and other wildlife such as mule deer, and that’s typically a positive. But as with everything involving wild sheep, this is complicated. Connected habitats mean infected sheep in any of the states can venture into neighboring lands and infect those herds.
 
“One of the great things about the I.O.N. Partnership is since we are managing shared lands and herds, we are working together to address the disease issue head-on and communicating issues we’re all facing in our states,” said Mike Cox, the statewide bighorn and mountain goat biologist for the Nevada Department of Wildlife.
 
A key component is test and remove, a strategy to help bring herds back to a healthy status. This involves capturing and testing bighorns for Movi, the deadly pathogen originally received from domestic sheep and goats. Infected bighorn sheep are euthanized.
 
And while contact with domestic flocks remains a problem, it is not the only one. “Super Shedders” within bighorn herds are highly problematic.
 
“Just like COVID, there are some weird things that happen to a person’s immune system or, in this case, a bighorn’s immune system. In some of the sheep, the immune system kicks in, and they return to being healthy, but they still have this pathogen, and it’s kind of bizarre. It has traits of a bacteria and a virus, and bighorns shed it in their snot and when they cough, and they can share that active pathogen with other animals for years,” Cox said.
 
The Santa Rosa herd has about 150 left of a herd that once numbered 350. 
 
“Movi hit there in 2004, and it’s still on the landscape,” Cox said.
 
“These states are all committed to working toward disease-free herds, and this I.O.N. Project allows us all to take a big step in that direction.”
 


Mountain lion predation is another area of concern. While lions are amazing, valuable animals, they need managing just like any other species. Some lions are proven sheep-hunting specialists and can devastate herds.
 
Take Oregon’s Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge, for example. In 1992, 400 sheep lived in the refuge. By 2017, they had declined to 150, and by 2020, it was down to 48 animals.
 
A $100,000 FY 2022-2023 Grant-In-Aid from WSF aided the short-term goal of mountain lion control that came from the Hart Mountain Bighorn Sheep Management Plan & Environmental Impact Study.  While these challenges are daunting, the I.O.N. Partnership is meeting them with funding, expertise, and purpose. 
 
According to Bill London with the Idaho Wild Sheep Foundation, another vital part of this partnership is reaching out to a new generation of wild sheep conservationists who might only need the proper inspiration to get involved. The high quality, fast-paced video Going Big features capture, collaring, and testing efforts has made the rounds at events and is being shared all over social media to great response.
 

We've found that a video is a powerful tool, and we're excited to be able to share the issues facing bighorns with the public and the work being done to make a difference. Outreach is a vital part of the I.O.N. Partnership, and embracing video and social media is vital," London said.
 
That means using cutting-edge technology to positively impact the public for the sake of sheep by sharing compelling stories and images.
 
While bighorns are important to modern hunters, they are not the first people to communicate reverence for bighorns.
 
Ancient Nez Perce, Tenino, Klamath, and other civilizations carved images of bighorns into rocks (petroglyphs), some of which are available for viewing at places like Buffalo Eddy in the Nez Perce National Historical Park.
 
Modern hunter-conservationists now record images of the region’s bighorns after successful hunts and photography expeditions. They share them across the world through social and traditional media.


 
KC Ramsey admires the impressive horns of the ram he harvested in Idaho during the 2021 season. 

Taxidermy representing well-managed, hard-hunted specimens make the rounds at The Sheep Show and other exhibitions to stir up excitement, about the investment it takes to produce mature rams.
 
No one admires these great animals more than hunters. That is why WSF is so committed to the I.O.N. Partnership and creating a landscape-level legacy of bountiful herds, increased hunter opportunities, and healthy California bighorns for generations to come.
 
Collectively, these actions honor those earliest known admirers of bighorns by ensuring the images they passionately carved into the rocks reflect a species that still roams this rugged and beautiful environment.
 

C&A Partners: Idaho WSF, Oregon WSF, Nevada Bighorns Unlimited–Reno, NBU Fallon, NBU Midas, & Elko Bighorns Unlimited 
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