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News |
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WGFD Funding Initiative October 2012
Bennett Hills Guzzler Project July 2012
Wyoming Livestock Roundup highlights Dr. Srikumaran's
2012 WY-WSF Banquet presentation
Teton Bighorn Sheep Project 2012 Update
View Latest Newsletter with Pictures
Here's an update on the mid-January 2012
drop-net trapping operation @ Whiskey Basin,
including some preliminary Wyoming State Vet
Lab/Wyoming Game and Fish Department Disease
Lab sampling results. And, a link to some
WGFD video footage. By all accounts, this
was a very successful operation. Thanks to
WGFD N. Lander Wildlife Biologist Greg
Anderson who spearheaded this operation,
photographer Mark Gocke of WGFD Jackson
office for his photos, and to WGFD Wildlife
Disease Specialist Hank Edwards for sharing
some of the diagnostic findings.
Congratulations to all involved, including a
number of WY-WSF members who volunteered
their time & travel, to assist this project,
which WY-WSF supported through our
Grant-In-Aid funding program!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICdTCw80hXw&feature=youtu.be
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Whiskey Basin BHS Trapping
Laboratory results are now available from the
Whiskey Basin bighorn sheep health
surveillance/trapping conducted in mid January.
Of 47 bighorns sampled, 14 (30%) were found to
be harboring Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae,
while one animal was found to be infected with
Mannheimia haemolytica.
Blood samples were also analyzed for antibodies
to several common causes of pneumonia in
domestic cattle and sheep. WGFD selected a
representative subset of 18 samples from the
entire set of 47 and submitted them to the State
Vet lab for testing. Tests for BRSV (Bovine
Respiratory Syncytial Virus), OPP/CAE (Ovine
Progressive Pneumonia/Caprine Arthritis
Encephalitis), and IBR (Infectious Bovine
Rhinotracheitis), were all negative. Low to
moderate titers were found to PI-3
(Parainfluenza 3 virus) in 11 of the 18 samples.
It is not unusual to find evidence of exposure
to this virus and to date we have been unable to
directly link exposure with disease in wildlife.
Finally, WGFD also submitted whole blood samples
to the State Vet lab for testing lead levels; of
the 12 samples submitted for testing, all were
found to have very low levels of lead.
So, what does all this mean? Keep in mind that
this health survey is only one snap shot in
time, but from WGFD's perspective there is both
good and bad news from these results. The bad
news is finding one sheep with M.
haemolytica - meaning the potential is
there for this herd to experience another
significant die off, if the right circumstances
should ever come together. This only says the
potential is there, not that it is absolutely
going to happen. The good news is that
relatively few animals are infected with M.
ovipneumoniae. This low prevalence surprise
many in WGFD, who expected the entire herd to be
infected. Although this organism is not thought
to be a primary pathogen in BHS pneumonia, it is
thought to be a contributing factor, so finding
only 30% of the herd infected with Movi
is encouraging.
After 20+ years of depressed lamb recruitment
and survival, at this point it unknown where the
Whiskey Basin herd is on the "recovery
timeline". Finding a low prevalence of
M.ovipneumoniae may indicate this herd is
starting to shed this bug and recover - but
maybe not; perhaps this herd has maintained this
level of infection for several years. For these
reasons, WGFD is considering resampling the
Whiskey Basin herd every two to four years, to
better understand what disease processes may be
active, as well as better predicting if and when
this herd may recover.
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December 2011
TO: Wyoming Wild Sheep Foundation Life Members
FROM: Wyoming Wild Sheep Foundation
For those of you who made it to our 2011 WY-WSF
(complimentary) Life Member breakfast on June 4th in Casper, you
might recall a generous offer made by Ron Pomeroy (LM #168) to
sponsor new nametags for all our Life Members, reflecting our
new logo. Subsequently, Ron secured 3 WY-WSF Life Member
partners to help sponsor these nametags. We have had new LM
nametags made by Peden's in Casper, and we are happy to now
provide those to our WY-WSF Life Members.
If you'd like to thank the generous WY-WSF Life Members who
made this possible, please contact and express your thanks to:
Ron Pomeroy (LM #168)
Jeff Reynolds (LM #2)
William (Butch) Townsend (LM #177)
Keith West (LM #16) |
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In Memoriam |
Wild sheep, the
conservation community, and Wyoming WSF prematurely lost
2 good friends in July 2011 and another in September
2011. Our thoughts, prayers, and remembrances go out to
the families and close friends of those individuals.
On July 12, 2011, Glenn Anderson (WY-WSF Life Member
#95) of Anchorage, AK unexpectedly passed away due to an
illness. Glenn was a biologist, forester, and fire
specialist, and he and his family moved to Alaska in
1980. Most of us knew Glenn as an avid hunter and
outdoorsman, and he served the Alaska Chapter of FNAWS
for many years as a board member and, ultimately, as
their President.
Mark Fountain (WY-WSF Life Member #102) of
Montgomery, MA died July 27, 2011 while diving for
lobster off the upper Florida Keys. Mark enjoyed coming
to Wyoming and Montana to hunt big game, and WY-WSF
Past-President Cole Benton was fortunate enough to guide
Mark on 5 hunts, for 8 animals. Every year, Mark was a
ready donor to help underwrite the WY-WSF Life Member
complimentary breakfast, even though he was only able to
attend this event once.
On September 23, 2011, Mike Tonn (WY-WSF Life Member
#352) of Gillette, WY un-expectedly passed away. Mike
was an accomplished big game and mountain hunter, having
just completed his Grand Slam ® of North American rams
recently. Mike loved to hunt wild sheep, and he was a
great supporter of wild sheep organizations, joining WY-WSF
as a Life Member in spring 2011.
These men all left their mark on the wild sheep
community; we will miss them all.
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New Book - "DESERT BIGHORNS -
Arizona's Mountain Kings"
In case you might be interested
in a new book on desert BHS; please note the price
on "first-run" edition, with anticipated increased
cost for later editions...KH
"Announcing the publication of
the most significant sheep book ever published on
the subject of hunting world-class desert bighorns:
DESERT BIGHORNS- Arizona's Mountain Kings. The book
includes over 400 pages with 365 color photos.
Please refer to the website for details:
www.desertbighornsltd.com."
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Photo of Past-President Cole Benton receiving the 2011 Ron Ball
Award on Saturday night, June 4, 2011. The highest honor awarded
by WY-WSF, the Ron Ball Award is presented annually in
recognition of outstanding achievement and contributions toward
the betterment of Wyoming's Bighorn Sheep resource. |
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From Left to right: Fritz Meyer (2010), Jim Collins
(2004), Kevin Hurley (2003), Cole Benton (2011), Steve
Kilpatrick (2007), Gary Butler (2009, past and current
recipients of the Wyoming Wild Sheep Foundation's Ron Ball
Award. |
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Bighorn Sheep Project -
Seminoe Mountain Range
Observation Report – March 25, 2011
Justin Clapp, WGFD
Bighorn sheep movements in the Seminoe Range have not
altered dramatically from previous reports (Feb. 22, 2011),
but a tendency to band into larger groups has been recently
observed. High winds and warm temperatures melted much of
the snowpack on and around Seminoe through the first few
weeks of March, leaving most south- facing and low-elevation
slopes relatively open.
Recent predations were inspected shortly after predation.
Hounds were used on March 10 in an attempt to legally
harvest the lion from the kill (Figure 3, #2), but after
identifying tracks of a mature female with two kittens, the
hunt was discontinued. Over the next few days, mountain lion
sign (i.e., tracks, scrapes, previous kills) was identified
in the lower Morgan Creek region, with at least one mature
male lion responsible for the kill to the west (Figure 3,
#4), as well as several older mule deer kills found in the
general vicinity between the two predations. This indicates
that resident lions which feed on the higher concentrations
of deer in the area may have taken advanÂtage of the
newly-relocated sheep occupying the south facing slope, but
do not appear to be targetÂing them specifically as a prey
source.
A WGFD Chapter 56 (lethal-take) permit was issued for the
male mountain lion, and if capÂtured, plans were made for
the female and kittens to be moved from the area, in an
attempt to augÂment survival potential for the remaining
ewes in Morgan Creek. Mule deer carcasses with trail cameras
were distributed throughout the area, and cage traps were
set for several days, with no mountain lion activity
documented since initial predation took place. Multiple
hunters were also encouraged to legally harvest a lion, but
with no snow and rugged terrain, their efforts have been
unsuccessful, to date. With most of the snowpack melted,
many of the concentrated populations of mule deer in the
area have dispersed, possibly causing mountain lions in the
area to alter moveÂments based on primary prey activities.
We will continue to monitor carcasses and mountain lion
activities in the area in addition to routine tracking
activities of bighorn sheep.
With the exception of recent predations, overall health
of remaining bighorn sheep on Seminoe is promising, with no
sickness or injuries observed. The remaining ewes in Morgan
Creek continue to be closely monitored, and all sheep over
the next month should begin to separate in preparation for
lambing, with a minimum of 30 mature ewes observed
throughout the range.
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If you’re interested in finding out more about this Seminoe BHS
transplant, and what monitoring
has shown, the latest happenings on Wyoming's bighorn sheep
scene, be sure to attend the
(free) seminars from 1:00-4:00 PM on Saturday June 4th, at the
Parkway Plaza in Casper. As you
can see from the seminar listing in the 2011 WY-WSF
Fundraiser/Convention announcement (see
page 8 of this newsletter), presentations will be given on the
Newcastle/Hunt Area 20, Wheatland/Hunt
Area 19, Seminoe/Ferris Mountains/Hunt Area 17, Targhee/Hunt
Area 6, and Jackson/ Hunt Area 7 bighorn sheep herds. Come,
listen, learn, and visit with Wyoming’s bighorn sheep
managers. And while you're there, plan on coming to the WY-WSF
banquet that evening! |
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Figure 1. Bighorn locations on S side Seminoe Mtns.
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Largest
group of bighorns (n=21), including 3 rams, multiple ewes
and lambs. All 2010 transplants.
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Lone ram
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Lone ewe
Not shown-
Group of six bighorns occupying Bennett Mountains directly
east. |
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Figure 2.
Bighorn locations on N side Seminoe Range.
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Three ewes, two lambs on W side
Cortes Canyon.
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Eleven sheep (2 rams, 6 ewes, 3
lambs) around Hamilton Creek; these sheep show integration
from multiple transplants.
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Two ewes on E side Cortes
Canyon.
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Lone ram.
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Lone ewe from Pedro Mountain
moved to the E, near Alcova highway.
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Figure 3. Bighorn sheep in Morgan Creek.
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Three
remaining ewes on face N of government housing area.
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Bighorn ewe
mortality from lion depredation. March 9, 2011.
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Unknown
mortality signal from bighorn ewe, early February 2011.
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Bighorn ewe
mortality from lion depredation. March 10, 2011. This kill
found within 100yds of lion depredation that occurred Jan.
1, 2011.
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