Whiskey Mountain Bighorn Sheep Herd

1. Whiskey Mountain Bighorn Sheep Herd Joshua Francis

2. Herd Is located near: Outside of Dubois; was the largest wintering population of bighorn sheep in North America In 1990 1480 animals Very important habitat for the bighorn The rest of the year is spent in the Shoshone and Bridger-Teton National Forests Huge tourist attraction for the area during the winter Whiskey Mountain has been the site of large trap and transplant activities 1949-1995 1900 sheep

3. Shoshone National Forest

4. Bridger-Teton National Forest

5. History: Range is in the Western United States Before settlement of the area estimated numbers were around 1.5-2 million Over harvesting and over grazing of habitat have decreased the numbers to about 31000-34000 Whiskey Mountain herd Whiskey Mountain Habitat area established to protect important wintering grounds for the sheep In 1991 sheep in that suffered from a huge die-off caused by Pnemonia by the bacteria Pasteurella, believed to be contracted from domestic sheep; over 1/3 of the herd 1991-1995 According to Pat Hnilicka Biologist for Wyoming Game and Fish “typically after a Pasteurella die-off you have poor lamb recruitment or survival for three to five years”

7. Year Population 1990 1,480 1991 1,145 1992 1,002 1993 1,000 1994 933 1995 907 1996 918 1997 929 1998 890 1999 897 2000 812 2001 747 2002 665 2003               624 Year Lambs Per 100 Ewes 1990 44 1991 10 1992 12 1993 26 1994 23 1995 18 1996 25 1997 27 1998 19 1999 29 2000 16 2001 17 2002 10 2003                26

8. Pasteurella Strains common in domestic sheep are lethal to bighorns Other parasites are brought to the bighorn and then the sheep transmit them to the rest of the population Causes respiratory distress and can result in death as a result of severe pneumonia Lambs are especially susceptible Domestic sheep and goats are the vector through direct nose to nose contact or through aerosolized methods (sneezing) Remain viable in soil or water for up to 12 hours; watering holes Bighorn sheep are especially susceptible during times of stress severe winter weather was found to play a role in the outbreak in 1990 Once an individual contracts the disease it is spread very rapidly

9. Selenium Deficiency After several years the lamb/ewe ratios were still not rising, so in 1997 the Whiskey Mountain technical Committee which comprises reps from Wyoming Game and Fish, BLM and USFS decided that the poor recruitment was due to a selenium deficiency. Studies on the deficiency were conducted and mineral blocks were set out which increased the health of the lambs, but still there was no great increase in lamb/ ewe ratios. Found that mountain lions and coyotes were killing lambs Weather affected the vegetation Causes symptoms similar to white muscle disease Mineral blocks helped increase health in sheep but still did not increase numbers

10. Predation Numbers are so low that the herd could be in a predator pit scenario Wyoming FNAWS and the Wyoming ADMB funded coyote control beginning in 2003 Found that recovered coyotes’ stomach contents had nearly 100% big game of either sheep or deer Focused on areas where bighorn sheep were wintering Ted Jenson: "To find coyotes, all we have to do is find sheep and the coyotes will be near." 127 coyotes were removed from the Whiskey Mountain in 2003-2005

11. Conservation efforts With domestic sheep efforts have been made to limit interactions with the bighorn Governor Jim Geringer established a Wyoming Wildlife/Livestock Research Cooperative Group has to work together on helping maintain both interests Partnership with Game and Fish, Wyoming Dept. of Agriculture, Wyoming Livestock Board, University of Wyoming, and Wyoming State Veterinary Laboratory Funding from FNAWS has acquired land near the area to help create a buffer zone between livestock and Bighorn sheep Selenium deficiencies need to be addressed by strategically placing mineral blocks where the bighorns live and migrate Predator control funding provide by FNAWS and Wyoming ADMB allows for coyotes to be removed from the winter ranges of the bighorn

12. Involvement National Bighorn Interpretive Center

13. Foundation for North American Wild Sheep (FNAWS) Cole Beton President

14. Adopt A Bighorn Y-38

16. Questions?