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California Nelson Bighorn Sheep Hunting

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A new state record bighorn sheep was taken by John Bauder of Rancho Cucamonga in the San Gorgonio Wilderness on Feb. 6 1999. The sheep green-scored 182 6/8 points on the Boone and Crockett scoring system making it the biggest sheep ever taken by a hunter in California and one of the largest Nelson desert bighorn ever taken in the nation.

     Bauder held the only permit drawn for the San Bernardino Mountains zone, and he overcame odds approaching 1,000 to one to get drawn for the tag. He then hunted diligently and unsuccessfully for most of the 2 1/2-month season before working with Yucca Valley guide Terry Anderson to get into the most remotes areas of the wilderness where they found the huge ram. The record sheep had 16-inch bases and horn length was over 38 inches for each curl. The bighorn was aged at 9 1/2 years old. The old record was 178 1/8, according to the Department of Fish and Game.

Bighorn Sheep (Ovis Canadensis). The desert Bighorn is one of the most distinctive and easily recognized desert animals. Although both males and females have horns, it is the massive curled horns of the males that give bighorns their name. A full curl, which can measure over 30 inches from base to tip, takes seven to eight years to grow. Their ability to traverse rocky terrain is legendary. Sheep are confident of their remarkable climbing skills, and use them as their chief means of escape from predators.

During the summer months they visit waterholes at least every three days. This adaptation allows Bighorns to spend very little time at waterholes, minimizing their exposure to predators. Bighorns can live 10 to 15 years. Males (Rams) weigh 140 to over 220 pounds, females (Ewes) 75 to 130 pounds.

DIET. Bighorn do not require drinking water in winter when green vegetation is available. Another survival technique is a digestive system which enables them to make use of food that other animals avoid. Sheep must often browse on dry, hard, abrasive plant material of poor quality. Their complex nine-stage digestive process allows them to maximize removal of nutrients from food of marginal quality.

REPRODUCTION. Females breed at 2 ½ years. One and occasionally two lambs are born in May or June, following a gestation period of 6 months.

RANGE. Bighorn sheep are frequently depicted in Southwest petroglyphs and pictographs. They were widespread throughout western North America, and prized by native peoples for their meat, hides, and horns. Excessive hunting after European settlement, introduced diseases, competition with domestic, introduced, and feral animals, and loss of habitat have decimated bighorn populations. By the 1920’s, few remained. Efforts are currently underway to reintroduce bighorns to many of their former habitats - rocky terrain throughout the Southwest.

Recent (1994) estimates put the number of Bighorn Sheep in or near the Mojave National Preserve at between 680 and 1075 animals or more.

      Conservation groups Tuesday 2/9/99 petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to immediately list the Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act. The Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep Foundation, Friends of the Inyo, National Parks and Conservation Association and The Wilderness Society all assert that Forest Service efforts to change grazing practices have failed and the sheep are in dire need of protection. Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep, a unique race of bighorn found only in the Sierra Nevada mountain range, have declined to approximately 100 adults and 15 lambs, according to the NPCA.

      The remaining sheep mostly inhabit federal lands including Yosemite National Park, Sequoia-Kings Canyon wilderness area and the Inyo National Forest. "If current trends continue and this animal is not immediately protected, populations of the Sierra bighorn could begin to disappear in the next few years," asserts Dr. John Wehausen, who has studied the animals for 20 years. Sierra bighorn sheep once inhabited the crest and east side of the Sierra Nevada mountains from Sonora Pass in the north to Olancha Peak in the south.

      Historic accounts and known biology suggest that there were probably at least 1,000 bighorn in these mountains prior to 1850. Following their near extirpation during the gold rush, legislation was passed in 1876 protecting these sheep from hunting within California -- protection that remains today. In recent years, diseases carried by domestic sheep that graze in areas bordering the bighorn habitat have affected the wild sheep as has predation from mountain lions. Wehausen has discovered that the high numbers of mountain lions in the last 15 years have caused the bighorn to abandon their traditional lower elevation winter range. By retreating to higher elevations, many Sierra Nevada bighorns have died due to deep snow and avalanches, poor nutrition and lamb mortality.

      Bighorn sheep numbers in the San Gabriel Mountains have plummeted from more than 700 animals in the 1980s to probably fewer than 100 animals today. Once perhaps the healthiest wild sheep population in the nation, helicopter surveys completed last week show the population has taken a nose dive (less than 60 counted). Extensive research by the Department of Fish and Game points to a single reason for the decline: predation by mountain lions.

     This is becoming reoccurring theme. The Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep recently was listed as an endangered species, after the population of this sheep species fell from over 400 to somewhere around 50 animals over the same 15-year period of time. Deer numbers in many habitats throughout the state have also suffered the same kind of dramatic declines over the past 15 years.

     Across the nation, ecologists are rethinking an age-old theory -- taken for granted by many biologists as 'fact'' -- that predator populations follow their prey populations up and down, but do not affect the numbers of their prey base through their predation. Habitat, the theory goes, is the real controlling factor in any population. Where there are huge tracts of  wildlife habitat and lots of any given prey species, predators may not have more than a localized influence on overall prey numbers, but few species have vast areas to roam in our world today. The result is that there have been dramatic declines in big game, small game, bird populations, and -- most alarmingly -- endangered species. These declines are becoming more evident in areas where predators are protected because of legislation or bans on trapping.

     With so much of our nation's wildlife habitat destroyed, many small populations of wildlife could become eliminated by predators if we don't get over our phobia about managing these species.

     HELPING THE HABITAT: The Society for the Conservation of Bighorn Sheep, in cooperation with the DFG, is trying devices in desert areas and improvements to natural springs to allow the sheep to get a drink. In the desert, water is the limiting factor in the spread of sheep. Add water to an areas and you've effectively increased the available habitat for sheep.

     Volunteers are needed March 27, 2001 to restore Canyon Spring in the Orocopia Mountains north of the Salton Sea, April 17 2001 to construct a new watering device (guzzler) in the Bullion Mountains, and May 1 2001 to repair plumbing at the Hyten Spring Guzzler in the Bristol Mountains. There are also projects May 15, June 12, July 2-5, and Nov. 13 2001 this year. Contact the Sheep Society's Dick Conti at (323) 256-0463 for more information.

Bighorn Hunting and Scouting Tips

When you go to the orientation DFG will have maps of all the sheep units that will show where sheep were killed in previous years, will discuss access, habitats etc. To get a head start call the DFG Bishop office, PH# (619) 872-1171 and ask for Vern Bleich. He is one of the sheep biologists who have been working with sheep for 20 years or so. Also get the # of Andy Pauli who is also a biologist in the area and has put hunters onto sheep in the past. Both are very willing to give you all the help they can. Have maps ready before you call them. Get a good spotting scope and glass more than you walk. Good luck. Should be the hunt of a life time. Thanks to kilbuc for this tip.

SCOUTING - The terrain in the east Mojave Mountains is steep and rugged. Plan on and train for at least 1000' to 2000' vertical if not more. Obtain the BLM Surface Management Maps for the area (probably Amboy, Ivanpah and Soda Mountains). These are good for planning access. Contact the NPS about access because this area is in the East Mojave National Preserve. SCOUT, SCOUT, SCOUT! On your scouting trips you may even think of placing water caches so you don't have to carry as much during your hunt. Be prepared for cold and windy weather. Have good binocs. They'll probably see you before you see them. Many times on geology field trips we wouldn't see them until we heard the rock falls and see their white rumps cruising over the ridge line. Thanks to Karstic for this tip.

One thing for sure, put maximum effort into this hunt and conditioning for it. To buy an auction tag or Mexico hunt is upwards of $50,000. If you apply everywhere for 40 years, your draw odds are about 1 in 4. Thanks to EricW for this tip.

RIFLE TO USE -

SCORING BIGHORNS - Bighorns are scored by taking the circumference of the horns at the base and the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd quarters of the horn .You then add the the length of the horns. For example, lets use a set of rams horns that score 158 and are 30 inches long. First you divide 30 by 4 and that tells you where to take the 3 different circumference measurements. On this ram it is every 7 1/2 inches. Roughly 14" +13" +12"+10"+30" for one side and then you do the other side and add these two numbers for a total.

FIELD DRESSING A BIGHORN -

Bighorn Sheep News

GLOOMY PICTURE FOR BIGHORNS -- Jim Matthews-ONS 22sep02

San Gabriel bighorns are threatened with extinction due to lions, fire policy.

LOS ANGELES -- The San Gabriel Mountains bighorn sheep subpopulation, once considered one of the healthiest and largest of the desert bighorn sheep populations, is now in imminent danger of extinction, according to a report prepared for the Los Angeles County Fish and Game Commission and presented at its meeting here last Thursday.

Steve Holl, a former U.S. Forest Service biologist who worked with this sheep herd during his tenure with the federal agency and who is now a private consultant, told the Commission that the San Gabriel bighorn population has plummeted from a high of 750 animals in 1980 to the current population estimate of just 90 animals spread over four groups in the mountain range.

"At this point we've got a serious situation and there's enough evidence to questions the viability of the population," said Holl, who was instrumental in having this subpopulation removed from the "sensitive" list when he was with the USFS. He said that three of the four groups could actually be gone within five years unless serious measures are taken to prevent the loss of the species.

Holl suggested in his report that three measures be taken immediately. First, the species needs to go back on the USFS' list of sensitive species, which would force the agency to evaluate projects that might have an impact on the sheep. Second, there needs to be a management plan drafted that has goals and objectives along with a timetable that must be followed. And third, three issues must be addressed immediately so this distinct subpopulation doesn't become extinct -- mountain lion predation, habitat restoration, and stopping further habitat fragmentation.

Mountain lion predation has been identified as one of the critical factors that has led to the decline of this San Gabriel sheep herd and is currently keeping it from recovering, and Holl said that removal of lions in sheep habitat is a high priority to start the recovery process.

Prescribed burning, especially in wilderness areas where sheep occur, is currently not allowed under the Angeles National Forest management plan, but it is an essential component to sheep recover, according to Holl. He said that on the critical winter-spring ranges of the sheep 40 to 65 percent of the habitat is unusable because the vegetation is too old. "The policy that doesn't allow burning, must be changed," said Holl.

As the four groups of sheep become smaller, they are more isolated from the others and habitat fragmentation. Holl said the proposal to reopen Highway 39 and continued expansion of developed recreation sites -- especially ski areas -- need to be closely examined for their impacts on further isolating the sheep herds.

Holl said that if the three management tools he outlined aren't implemented immediately, this subpopulation of sheep could and should be listed as threatened under the Endangered Special Act, which would force some immediate action.

"As a biologist, I'd like to stay away from [federal] listing," said Holl. "My job is to do everything to keep the sheep off that list."

But both the U.S. Forest Service and Department of Fish and Game, which had staff on hand for the presentation, offered little hope that their agencies could respond to the problem quickly.

Bill Brown, chief biologist for the Angeles National Forest, was blunt in saying "unfortunately, nothing happens overnight." He said that while the USFS and DFG had a conference call recently to set up some strategies to work together on helping the sheep, nothing concrete has come of any of the discussions. He also said it would be at least 1 1/2 years, until a new forest management plan is adopted, before controlled burns could take place in wilderness areas to benefit sheep.

"Some of these things [proposed by Holl in his report to the Commission] are going to be very political.... but we know there are some critical actions that need to be taken now," said Brown, referring to the proposal to control mountain lions.

Mountain lion control has been undertaken in California to assist other populations of wild sheep. In the Eastern Sierra, lions have been removed in two areas to assist in the recovery of the endangered Sierra Nevada bighorn, and the sheep have responded with increased survival of young and have begun reusing prime habitat they once used but abandoned when lions started preying on them heavily in those areas. In Canada, sheep populations responded very favorably when lions known to be preying on sheep were removed selectively.

Even if lion control could be initiated immediately, the issue of habitat loss would need to be addressed before the herds could recover significantly. Since the population decline first began in 1981, the Angeles National Forest has not initiated a single burn in sheep habitat and many wildfires that could have benefited sheep were extinguished before they reached sheep habitat. While only a portion of the San Gabriel Mountains are in the San Bernardino National Forest, there has only been one small, 500-acre controlled burn this year in that portion of the sheep range.

Holl said that even without lion predation, the population is likely to become extinct in just 35 years under current land management policies.

BIGHORN COMMENTARY -- Jim Matthews column -- 25sept02

Bighorn decline due to inaction by DFG, USFS.

During the mid-1970s when I was attending college, I regularly hiked up the South Fork of Lytle Creek in the San Gabriel Mountains to watch and photograph bighorn sheep. Seeing 20 to 50 animals a day was not uncommon, and when the rams were battling for the attention of the ewes, you could hear horns crashing together, the sound echoing up and down the canyons.

It seemed incredible that one of the largest and healthiest sheep populations in the nation could exist within eyesight of 20 million people. Back then the San Gabriel sheep population was estimated to be from 500 to 800 animals.

Today, that number has dropped to about 90 animals, and they are in danger of becoming extinct in the San Gabriels. Three of the four herds could be gone in five years or less, according to a new report written by former U.S. Forest Service biologist Steve Holl for the Los Angeles County Fish and Game Commission.

The report tells a chilling story about how a healthy population can go from being the most robust herd in the lower 48 states to being on the verge of extinction in less than 25 years.

While the report doesn't say so, the decline is a story of incredible hand-wringing and inaction by the two agencies charged with managing the sheep population and its habitat -- the U.S. Forest Service and the Department of Fish and Game. By the mid-1980s, it was pretty clear the sheep herd was in decline in the San Gabriels and by the 1990s the seriousness of the problem was frightening. But nothing was done.

The two biggest reasons for the decline -- mountain lion depredation and declining habitat conditions -- had long been suggested as the reasons for the huge downturn by veteran wildlife observers, but the two agencies refused to take action to protect and improve the plight for bighorn sheep.

It wasn't until two years ago, the DFG would even acknowledge that lion predation might be a factor in the decline. It wasn't until this year that any type of habitat restoration effort was initiated -- and that was a single, small controlled burn in the Lytle Creek area. The report done for Los Angeles County is as much a documentation of inaction than it is a prescription for what needs to be done to help the bighorns. All of the biologists and scientists involved with the sheep know what needs to be done, and they knew what was needed long before Holl's report. The problem is getting either of the agencies to make decisive moves to help save this herd.

Will we see mountain lions removed from the San Gabriels in the near future by the DFG? Will the U.S. Forest Service begin an aggressive burning program in sheep habitat? I doubt either will happen soon. I would bet we lose one or more of the subherds before anything is done. Holl suggests that listing the species as endangered, affording it federal protection under the Endangered Species Act, might be the only way to assure that any action occurs.

Listing means the agencies in charge of sheep and its habitat have failed. In my mind, the DFG and USFS are to blame for the decline. Hopefully, Holl's report will be a wake up call for the public to demand that action be taken.

VENTURA SHEEP: In the mid-1980s two groups of bighorns were trapped in Lytle Creek and released in the Sespe Creek area of Ventura County. This was an area that had held sheep historically, but they had become extirpated. By the mid-1990s, it was feared that the introduced herd had also disappeared. Most of the radio-collared sheep had been killed by mountain lions, and annual surveys were only able to find a single stray animal here or there. Surveys were stopped, the herd written off.

Then reports started coming back to the Department of Fish and Game that there was a healthy herd of animals in the McDonald Peak region. For the past two years ago, the DFG has again done helicopter surveys and classified 29 sheep the first year and 22 sheep this past fall. The Los Padres National Forest is being asked to approve some controlled burn projects in this region to improve the habitat and allow expansion of the herd into other areas. Sheep populations can recover and flourish given half a chance.

Bighorn Sheep: Endangered, Yet Hunted?

From the California DFG Summer 2001 Tracks publication.

0ver the past couple of years you've probably been hearing about the endangered Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep, a unique subspecies of bighorn found only in California and in danger of extinction. You may also have wondered how the DFG's Nelson bighorn sheep hunting program fits with efforts to save the endangered Sierra bighorn. To understand this, we need to review the facts about the evolution of bighorn sheep management in California.

Decades ago, when scientists were taking stock of California's bighorn sheep populations it was widely accepted that there were three distinct subspecies of bighorn sheep in this state: California bighorn (Ovis canadensis californiana), Nelson bighorn ( 0vis canadensis nelson) and Peninsular bighorn (Ovis canadensis cremnobates).

California bighorn were once thought to be the same subspecies as the sheep that exist northward into the Canadian provinces. Scientists now know, through DNA analysis and physical measurements, that they are a unique subspecies that exist nowhere else in the world. They've come to be called Sierra bighorn sheep and are state and federally listed as "endangered."

Nelson bighorn sheep populations are healthy and thriving; a very conservative hunting program allows between 10-14 sheep to be killed each year by hunters. Since 1987, when this hunting program began, $1.8 million has been generated, serving as the primary funding source for the statewide efforts to restore and enhance bighorn sheep populations.

Peninsular bighorn, named after the Peninsular mountain ranges where they live, were once thought to be a unique subspecies because they occurred in a unique geographic area, and early taxonomists thought they were physically different. Although scientists have since concluded, through DNA analysis and physical measurements, that Peninsular' and Nelson should be combined into the sa