CA FNAWS Funded Wild Sheep Capture in the White Mountains

By Kyle M. Meintzer, VP, Operations

I thought everyone might enjoy seeing what happens when sheep are captured, collared, and released.  This project took place on Tuesday in the White Mountains in eastern California. As some of you may know, the White Mountains opened as a Hunt Zone last season for the first time ever, with three tags available in the public draw. CA FNAWS initiated the idea to survey the Whites, paid for the survey, funded remote cameras in the area, and has paid for numerous GPS and VHS collars and helicopter time in support of the DFG's efforts to better manage this herd. This first picture will give you a general idea of what the Whites look like.

Here's the first staging area we used. Our plan for the day was to capture two rams in this area, place GPS collars on them, then release them at the same place they were captured. Then we would move north, where we would capture and place VHS collars on two ewes. Once that was done, the remaining of the ten hours of helicopter time CA FNAWS paid for would be used to better survey the sheep in the unit. We were particularly looking for rams, as while our summer on-the-ground surveys in 2004 and 2005 documented about 280 individuals, a surprisingly small number of rams were noted.

It doesn't show here, but there were 17-18 people involved in the project.

Our first target was to capture a sick ram that had been observed by a local who keeps a constant eye on the sheep when they're down on winter range. He was easy to spot, as he was chocolate in color and was carrying a 165" set of horns. The chopper crew found him right off the bat and netted him easily.

Here's a picture of me with the ram after Dr. Vern Bleich and I, the "bagging crew," had him ready for pick up by the helicopter.

And here's the ram being picked up by the chopper. The chopper doesn't land on a pickup. It just drops a cable which we hook to the bag, then it's "Up, Up, and Away!"

The sick ram was examined at the staging area, where the veterinarian determined that he needed to be taken to a DFG lab in San Bernardino for further examination and testing. In the meantime, Vern and I waited on the mountain. Shortly after we'd arrived at the first capture site, a second ram was captured very nearby and taken to the staging area. After about an hour there, where blood was taken and examinations were done, this second ram was flown back to where Vern and I were waiting.

Here's a photo of this second ram after he returned, ready for release. This was a 150" ish ram.

GPS collars are very expensive, but they will provide DFG with very valuable information. After a year, the collar will drop off and then start signaling the satellite. DFG will retrieve it then download the information. This will tell us where that ram has been throughout the year, and then we'll know where these rams are during the summer! We know they're up there, but the two summer surveys haven't found most of them. Once we know where they hang out, we'll have a better idea of what they forage on and a lot more stuff!

Here's Dr. Bleich with the ram. Note that the hobbles and blindfold are off. Note also the GPS collar this ram is wearing.



I would have thought that the rams would bolt off the second that the hobbles and blindfold are removed. But they don't, as Dr. Bleich informed me. This ram lay there for 45 seconds or so before he realized he was free to go. Sorry for this ram being so far away in the photo. My camera has about a three second recycle time, and this guy took off right after I'd just taken a picture of him lying there.

The process for all this is as follows: Three guys go out in the chopper - the pilot, the guy who fires the net, and a a "mugger," who works with the net gunner. As soon as the sheep is netted, the chopper lands and the net gunner and the mugger get out of the chopper and begin to blindfold and hobble the sheep. In the meantime, the chopper goes for the bagging crew and brings them to the site. They stay and the others leave. The bagging crew fastens the hobbles more securely, gets the ram out of the net, places him in the bag, then radios the chopper to come pick up the ram.

This picture shows Dr. Bleich, the net gunner, and the mugger, on-site with ram #3. Note that the mugger is Cody Schroeder, the Idaho State grad student who did the two summer surveys for us in '04 and '05. he spends most of his time working with Dr. Bleich and CA DFG and is a tremendous asset to our desert sheep!

After releasing ram #2, Vern and I went to the site where ram #3 had just been netted by the chopper.

Dr. Bleich is an incredible asset for California's mountain sheep! He's our main contact and a vital source of information and project ideas for us!

Dr. Vern Bleich working to get the net off of the ram.

The sheep is bagged and ready for the chopper to pick him up! That ugly guy with the ram is me.

Here's the chopper picking up the ram.

Anytime you can spend quiet time with a guy like Vern is time well spent. Our hour or so of chatting while we waited for this ram to return was spent in great conversation about what CA FNAWS can do to better support the bighorn sheep program in CA.

Here's the ram coming back for release. I think photos like this are so cool! Too bad I suck at photography!

Dr. Bleich eases the ram to a soft landing.

Hobbles off and blindfold loose to let his eyes re-adjust, this ram is ready to go.

But he doesn't want to go!

Vern explained that sometimes they'll lay there more than a minute before they realize that they "aren't dead."

"OK, boy. You can go now!"

"Hey! You're right! I'm NOT dead!"

Next, it was on to the north about 30 miles to capture the two ewes.

Here's that staging site.

Here's the net gunner with a netted ewe. The crew netted two ewes within 200 yards of each other, so they split up, which meant that Vern and I split up as well. I assisted the net gunner with this ewe while Vern worked with Cody just over this slope on the second ewe.

This ewe had an old injury, as she had a broken, but healed foot, a chipped hoof, and a 5" diameter tear in her hide.

Back at the staging area, the great folks from DFG test and examine one of the ewes.

After much poking, sticking, prodding, testing, and more, ewe #1 is headed back to her herd. She, like the other ewe, were pregnant.

A short time later, Ewe #2 is ready for takeoff!

And there she goes!

While the ram capture/collar/release part of the day went very quickly, the ewe capture and release took a bit longer. Then the weather deteriorated, causing a delay in the survey until March 21st or thereabouts.

Never-the-less, in just a couple of hours of chopper time, which was almost solely capture related, we documented quite a few more rams than had been observed in either summer survey! That's great news for our project and could mean even more public hunt tags if the rest of the survey is also productive!
 

Bighorn Sheep? In Northeastern California?

By Kyle M. Meintzer, VP, Operations

Just about everyone knows that the deserts of Southern California hold good populations of Desert Bighorn Sheep. But what about the northern parts of the state? Why are there no sheep in those mountain ranges?

In fact, there have been sheep in this part of California in the past. And perhaps, with the help of the California Chapter of FNAWS, there will be again.  Since the birth of CA FNAWS in 2001, one of our objectives has been to look at new areas that would be suitable locations for the re-introduction of sheep in the state. To that end, we have had preliminary conversations with the California Dept. of Fish and Game to begin exploring the possibilities and probabilities of doing just that.

On November 22, 2005, FNAWS President Ray Lee and I met in Redding, CA with John Siperek, DFG chief biologist for the northeastern part of the state, and Richard Shinn, DFG biologist in Alturas. Our objective for that meeting was to begin the process as follows:

1. Determine the interest of DFG in re-introducing wild sheep in that part of the state.

2. Review the historical record of wild sheep in the area.

3. Evaluate the potential barriers to a successful re-introduction in the area; in particular, to gather more information as to the presence and numbers of domestic sheep in the potential mountain ranges in which a re-introduction might be feasible.

4. Assign responsibilities for each of the subsequent steps that would be needed to determine if a successful re-introduction would be feasible.

Much of the work needed has already been done. The Dept. of Fish and Game is excited by the possibility of re-introducing wild sheep. Moreover, thanks to the experience and professional background of Ray Lee, they now more fully understand the steps that need to be taken on their end, as well as how best potential obstacles might be overcome. They have, at our request, already also done a good deal of research as to the size and locations of any domestic sheep grazing rights that would need to be considered in possible target mountain ranges.

A review of the history of wild mountain sheep in Northeastern California reveals that several ranges have held these animals. These areas include Mt. Shasta, northern California’s most visible landmark, the Lava Beds/Mt. Dome area, the Warner Mountains, and the Amadee/Skedaddle Mountains.

In reality, such a re-introduction would not be the first in the area. In 1980, two bighorn rams and two ewes were captured by the Dept. of Fish and Game from the Lava Beds herd and moved to Raider Canyon in the South Warner Wilderness area. In addition, four more rams and ten more ewes from the Mt. Baxter herd in the southern Sierra Nevada were also relocated to the South Warner Wilderness area to augment the four animals from the Lave Beds herd.

In spite of the loss of two ewes in the first year due to falls, by 1987, that small re-introduction of fourteen individuals had grown to an estimated 55-60 animals, a very positive showing, and an indication that the habitat in the South Warner Mountains was very “sheep friendly.” Remarkably, from 1980 through 1987, not one lamb fatality was documented.

Tragically, in the winter of 1987 – 1988, the entire herd was lost, with the suspected cause being bacterial pneumonia (pasturella haemolyica), the result of interaction of the bighorn herd with domestic sheep or goats. Since that time, there have been a small number of credible sightings of wild sheep in the general area of the Warner Mountains. In one case, a young bighorn ram was found with a herd of domestic sheep. Because of pasturella concerns, he was euthanized, lest he should become infected, then return to his wild herd and infect them. In all of these sightings, it is believed that the wild sheep sighted had wandered in from neighboring Nevada and were not remnants of previous wild California herds.

For our purposes, Mt. Shasta is ruled as not an attractive target, as a herd there would be too isolated from other wild sheep populations. Likewise, the Lava Beds/Mt.Dome area poses problems due to the amount of private land ownership and other factors.

As a result, our focus at this time will be on the Warner Mountains, the Skedaddle Mountains, and Hot Springs Peak. We will, of course, evaluate all issues of habitat, including forage, predators, water, and, of course, any and all presence of domestic sheep or goats in the surrounding areas.

This objective, if determined to be viable, will, of course, take a good deal of time. There is much to study and much paperwork to do. It is likely that regulations may need to be changed in order to allow for the purchase and retirement of domestic sheep grazing allotments. We will keep you posted as we progress.

CA FNAWS PROJECT SCORES BIG!

Since the inception of CA FNAWS, the chapter has been interested in assisting the California Department of Fish and Game by improving their ability to better assess and manage the wild sheep populations that reside within the state.  With the state’s current fiscal problems, our support of DFG’s wild sheep management has become even more important. 

One area of interest to us has been to explore the possibilities that there might be thriving, huntable sheep populations in areas in which hunts have not previously existed. One such area is the White Mountains, near Bishop. Based upon information we had garnered from DFG and other sources, the CA FNAWS board authorized funding for a survey. We had hoped to find up to 200 head in the unit. In fact, as the following article by Cody Schroeder shows, we now have strong evidence that there are over 300 sheep in this herd!

This fabulous result means two things. First, there is clearly a thriving sheep herd in the White Mountains. Second, it means that there is great promise for the opening of the White Mountains as a new hunt unit in the state! In fact, we would not be at all surprised if this survey results  in multiple public tags!

But wait! The news gets even better! This past season, there was only one sheep tag available for auction. Using the formula required by DFG, had there been just one more public tag, an additional auction tag would have been available. Thus, our success in the Whites netted an additional sheep tag for the 2005 draw, a second auction tag which was awarded to CA FNAWS for auction at our 2005 banquet.