http://news.yahoo.com/montana-...e-off-032053608.html



Montana officials end bighorn sheep hunting after die-off

Reuters By Laura Zuckerman
March 23, 2015 11:20 PM

By Laura Zuckerman

(Reuters) - The die-off of bighorn sheep from pneumonia led Montana wildlife managers on Monday to take the unusual step of abruptly closing a hunting season tied to a wild herd near Yellowstone National Park whose seasonal mating rituals attract scores of wildlife watchers.

The emergency closure came after state biologists estimated that pneumonia had claimed nearly 40 percent of a herd near Gardiner, Montana, whose numbers fell to 55 this month from 89 last year, state wildlife managers said on Monday.

Such pneumonia outbreaks have been linked to contact between wild sheep and domestic ones that graze on public allotments and private lands across the Rocky Mountain West.

More than 1 million bighorns once roamed the region but their numbers had fallen to just tens of thousands in the first decades of the 20th century because of unregulated hunting and disease, according to the Wild Sheep Foundation.

Wildlife managers in Montana and other Western states have renewed efforts in recent years to reintroduce wild sheep in areas where disease and historical over-hunting pushed them close to extinction.

Bighorns are prized by sportsmen and wildlife watchers for their curled horns and for mating rituals in which rival rams crash horns after running at each other at speeds up to 40 miles per hour.

Moves by U.S. land managers to reduce the number of sheep grazing allotments to lessen the disease risk to bighorns have been met with fierce resistance by sheep ranchers, who say the leases of ground are vital to their operations in states like Idaho where the majority of land is under federal control.

Hunters and ranchers, usually in harmony about wildlife management, are divided over bighorn sheep.

"It's an issue of conflict," said Bret Stansberry, landowner-sportsmen coordinator with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.

The pneumonia among bighorns near the northern entrance of Yellowstone marks the first time the ailment has affected that herd, which is native rather than reintroduced, said Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks wildlife biologist Karen Loveless.

Biologists have counted at least 34 bighorn carcasses in the area and a recent survey indicated additional wild sheep have become sick, Loveless said.

It is suspected the bighorns contracted pneumonia by mingling with domestic sheep that graze on private lands in the vicinity, said Loveless, adding that there is no sign yet the disease has infected Yellowstone bighorns.

(Reporting by Laura Zuckerman in Salmon, Idaho)

Thanks for posting.

Once again the Stockman and ranchers of MT have dictated what is done with out wildlife. I for one would end sheep grazing and save the big horn herds from pneumonia which is usually caught from contacting domestic sheep. The stock growers association is powerful. They pay squat to rape and pillage the lands and then the wildlife leave the lands and go onto private ground where it has not been overgrazed. MT F&G could also hand out permits to harvest these infected sheep instead of letting them die a cruel death. We can send men to the moon but we can't come up with a vaccine to protect our wild sheep.

Get rid of the cows too. I want bison back.

Are you too guys for real?

How was the beef burger you ate this week?

Ranching allows America to grow its own food, just because you want sheep on the mountain doesn't mean there is a place for them in 2015.

I honestly cant remember the last time I had beef. Last night was Mule deer. Tonight yard bird, but still not beef.

http://www.huntingreport.com/w...te.cfm?articleid=711



Montana Sheep Closure Not As Drastic As Headlines Indicate

(posted March 31, 2015)

You may have heard of an "emergency sheep hunt closure" in Montana: media headlines blaring "disease outbreak puts early end to bighorn sheep hunt." As often happens, the truth gets somewhat lost in the sensational headlines. Here at The Hunting Report we dug a little deeper to get the correct information.

On Monday, March 23, the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission met by conference call to discuss a single item and adopted an emergency rule to close the season for bighorn sheep in Unit 305 due to an apparent sheep die-off from pneumonia. According to news reports, at least 34 animals (out of an estimated 89 in the unit) have been found dead. The closure is effective starting with the fall, 2015 season and no hunt is ongoing at this time. The timing of the closure is important because sheep permit applications are now being accepted (deadline May 1) and hunters should not be applying for this one unit affected by the closure.

To be clear, Unit 305 is a very small unit near Gardner, MT and a single permit was scheduled to be issued before the die-off was discovered. Typically, about 100 applicants have applied for this permit in the past so odds of drawing have been poor.

If you have already applied for the Unit 305 tag for 2015, MFWP will give you an opportunity to change your application or give you a refund. If you have yet to apply for 2015, select one of the other units in Region 3 and make sure your application is in by the May 1 deadline.

Going forward, it's important to note that Unit 305 sits between Unit 300 and Unit 303, both of which have an unlimited number of licenses but overall unit quotas. Sheep hunters planning on hunting one of these "unlimited" units will want to watch the situation to make sure they remain open with a viable quota. We'll keep you posted if anything important changes.

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I am for real. There are lots of spots for cows and sheep to graze that doesn't have to infringe on Big Horn Sheep. As I stated earlier the rate that ranchers pay for cow/calf pairs is deplorable and inexpensive. The land gets overgrazed and nothing happens to the ranchers as BLM and other state agencies don't have enough resources to police everybody. I also know plenty of ranchers who own enough property to support there livestock and do not have to go on federal,blm or state land. Not being from Montna you wouldn't understand.