INCREASE & EXPAND: Hunter-Conservationists Unite For Harcuvar Desert Bighorns

Hunting desert bighorn sheep is an epic challenge. Their wary nature, combined with inhabiting extremely challenging terrain, is respected among sheep hunters. Add to that limited hunting opportunities, and you have a highly prized game animal

Callie Hartson Cavalcant of the Arizona Game and Fish Department holds one of 30 desert bighorn sheep transplanted to the East Harcuvar Mountains in November 2022.

Conservation work done in Arizona’s Harcuvar Mountains and aided by Wild Sheep Foundation (WSF) Grant-In-Aid funding has the potential to make a difference in desert sheep abundance and future tag availability.
 
The population estimate in the Harcuvar Mountains is fewer than 200 desert bighorns. In November 2022, 30 were transplanted there. 
 
A FY 2023 WSF Grant-In-Aid commitment guaranteed $50,000 to purchase 30 GPS radio collars to monitor the sheep’s post-release movements, habitat use, and survival and to purchase a 500-gallon heavy water hauling trailer. 
 
WSF obtained $25,000 from WSF Midwest and $20,000 from Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Outdoor Fund in partner funding for this multi-faceted project. 
 
Based on two years of game camera monitoring of the region’s previous wild sheep population, it was determined the area’s bighorns use three temporary water tanks.
 
“All of the data gathered from the trail cameras and collaring is interesting, and it’s helping us make informed decisions for the sheep,” said Eric Hunt of the Arizona Desert Bighorn Sheep Society.
 
A fascinating observation involves preferred water source locations. “The research shows these sheep prefer tanks on south-facing slopes near the top. The south side tends to have a little more open space, making the bighorns more comfortable approaching the water source.”
 
Hunt said future work will include building a 30,000-gallon water catchment.
 
“We’ve seen the sheep from the last transplant will use the water we put out with the temporary tanks. The big one will stop the constant, expensive, and challenging water hauling, and it can be filled from a nearby road.”


 

Three 500-gallon water hauling trailers will be put into use until the 30,000 gallon water catchment is built.

The area has also seen long-term predator management.
 
Hunt said that under the auspices of the Arizona Fish & Game Department (AZGFD) Adaptive Mountain Lion Management Plan, seven years of work have already occurred in the Harcuvar Mountains, raising the likelihood of a successful bighorn transplant effort.
 
According to WSF’s Vice President of Conservation Kevin Hurley, AZGFD projects the East Harcuvar Mountains could hold 400 plus desert bighorn sheep.
 
That’s double the current population.
 

“Lack of reliable water is always a management concern for desert bighorn sheep in Arizona and other arid locations. Of course, large carnivores like mountain lions can certainly have an impact as well. And, like so many other places where wild sheep are challenged, respiratory bacteria and other pathogens often cause die-offs in Arizona desert bighorn sheep,” Hurley said.

 
Hurley noted the project has many positive attributes that counter those challenges and gives hope for a big conservation success story.
 
“There is real potential and opportunity for growth of a healthy desert bighorn sheep population in the Harcuvar Mountains,” he said.
 
AZGFD officials said the territorial legislature protected desert bighorns in 1893 due to the massive loss every western state experienced. They were not a legal game in Arizona until 1953 when officials determined the “limited hunting of desert bighorn rams might be the only way to save these animals.”
 
They offered the first tags that year, and now hunter-conservationists have united again to increase desert bighorn numbers and expand hunting opportunities.
 

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C&A Partners: Arizona Desert Bighorn Sheep Society

Funding Partners: Bass Pro Shops/Cabela’s Outdoor Fund, WSF Midwest Chapter