Winter 2012 IN THIS ISSUE

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1 California Wild Sheep IN THIS ISSUE From the Editor President s Message Sheep Summit, Fall Drinker Projects Wyoming Ram The Art of Conservation What a Ride!!! News of Interest Photos from the Field The Ups and Down of Bighorn Sheep Research Jeff Ploch 13-Year-Old Dall s Ram Tok Management Area Alaska 2012 A Publication of the California Chapter Wild Sheep Foundation

2 Story on page 14 Nor-Cal s Big Game Specialist Brian S. MacDonald Vice President Financial Advisor Tel: Fax: brian_s_macdonald@ml.com 101 California St., Suite 2575 San Francisco, California Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. Danny Smith s Utah state record ram from Month Comple t ion on Mounts State-of-the-Art Alarm System to Pro tect Your Trophie s! Free Shipping Tags Ask about our trophy hunts and videography! KNOW SHEEP, WILL TRAVEL Dick Weaver continues to do good things for wild sheep and wildlife conservation. To that end he is currently offering to do talks or presentations and will donate the proceeds to a local wild sheep cause in Glenwood near where he lives. He also has an extensive collection of stuff, which he is willing to donate to help sheep. Contact Dick Weaver through the editor, mike.borel@contextnet.com. E r i c G o u l d, O w n e r Lloyd Lane, Suite D, Anderson, CA Shop: Cell: artisticwildlife@sbcglobal.net Artistic Wildlife Taxidermy Nor-Cal s Wild Sheep Specialist! CA WSF 2

3 From the Editor s Desk I hope everyone had a great Fall hunt season. Winter sheep season is underway and it s always exciting waiting to hear about sheep hunter success as we move into the new year. You can be sure we will have these stories and pictures for you in the Spring newsletter. In this issue we have a story on a California hunter and his Wyoming Ram congrats Eric! We also have a White Mountain hunt story congrats Bob! And from the cover, look for a story coming soon on Jeff Ploch s Dall s Ram. He won the coveted Tok Management Area special permit at the 2012 CA WSF Fundraiser. A couple of updates are in order. In October we had the seventh wild sheep summit at Bass Pro Shops in Rancho Cucamonga. Leadership volunteers from both SCBS and CA WSF got together to share and update each other on new important information of benefit to desert bighorn sheep in California. We discussed ways to assure and develop a consistent sheep strategy between CA WSF, SCBS and the CA DFG. Members from CA WSF and SCBS gave updates on current projects and on plans for more wildlife drinkers on state lands. The meeting wrapped up with a conference call between the two groups and key leaders of CA DFG. It was great to hear the adoption of the comprehensive Desert Bighorn Sheep Plan was making its way through the process and with good support. Regina Abella was kind enough to provide us with updates and status reports on other matters, some of which she and Dr. John Wehausen summarize for us in an article that follows on page 6. We are excited to let you know that the Open Zone fundraising sheep tag has been awarded to the CA Wild Sheep Foundation by California DFG for auction at the April 27 fundraiser. Last year this premium tag was awarded to WSF National where they auctioned it for $97K. The Old Dad/Kelso Peak fundraising sheep tag has been awarded to SCI National. Last year it was drawn by raffle (organized by CA DFG) and generated $86K and included free guide service provided by Terry Anderson. The Marble-Clipper/S Bristol 2-zone fundraising sheep tag will be in the CA DFG raffle this year. Last Year CA WSF had this tag which was auctioned at $66K at the annual fundraiser. Be sure to look for more information on the state raffle organized by CA DFG in the coming months and, of course, plan to be at the fundraiser April 27. The excitement of an Open Zone auction should not be missed! That s some of what we have been up to. More to follow in the next issue after the hunting season and as we move into the fundraising and convention months. Ron Del Toro Rdeltoro3@cox.net Wildeats Enterprises John McGannon john@wildeats.com Blackrock Outfitters Michael Hornbarger bighornnv@sbcglobal.net Artistic Wildlife Taxidermy Eric Gould artisticwildlifetaxidermy@yahoo.com Grand Slam Club/Ovis Dennis Campbell gsco@wildsheep.org 3 CA WSF

4 Board of Directors Officers President Ken D. Fish (2014) Northern California Vice President Mike J. Borel (2014) Southern California Vice President Donald C. Martin (2013) Vice President, Operations Kyle Meintzer (2013) 2013 Jan Jan Jan. 30-Feb. 2 April 26 April 27 Events GSCO Convention, Reno, Grand Sierra SCI Convention WSF Convention, Reno, Grand Sierra Sheep Summit XIII in Rancho Cordova CA WSF Fundraiser/Banquet in Rancho Cordova at Marriott Secretary Paul A. Brisso (2013) Treasurer Steve Boitano (2014) Timberline Outfitters Perry Hunsaker timber@timberlineoutfitters.com Adam Casagrande (2013) Board of Directors Eric Gould (2014) Giuseppe Carrizosa Spain Giuseppe Carrizosa giuseppecarrizosa@gmail.com John F. Cavin (2014) Ken Crother (2013) Ben Gordon (2014) Bob Keagy (2013) Roger L. McCosker (2014) Dwight Ortmann (2013) Cordoba Hunting SA Faco Pavcovich info@cordobahunting.com California Wild Sheep is published quarterly. Please all articles and photos to rdeltoro3@cox.net. Photos should be high resolution and in color. It is recommended that digital photos be sent by . Please include photo credits and captions. Western Wildlife Taxidermy Aaron Armstrong aaronhunts@gmail.com Chungo Creek Outfitters Greg Kristoff krisfarm@telusplanet.net CA WSF 4

5 President s Letter I want to welcome you to the winter newsletter for the California Wild Sheep Foundation. As always, we have an impressive collection of stories and pictures from our members and for our members. I hope that you will find the time to curl up by a fire somewhere to enjoy reading the stories and exploits of your fellow members. As the year winds rapidly to a close, I want to extend my personal wishes to all of you who are part of CA Wild Sheep Foundation for a happy yuletide was the fifth year of sustained difficulty in our country, and we all wish it would end. Nevertheless, as we gather with friends and family, reminiscing about the successes of the year and seeking to forget the reverses, our experience of hunting can give us some perspective that many others lack. In hunting, as in life, sometimes the game we seek eludes us. When this happens, we can give up in discouragement, or we can continue on comforted in the knowledge that millions of others have had similar experiences. Theodore Roosevelt was such a man, and while he found success as president, he had many challenges of his own to overcome, challenges which prompted him to pen the now-famous words: It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat. May you find yourself refreshed this Christmas, so that you may go forth in 2013 once again "daring greatly." Ken Fish CA WSF

6 OCTOBER 26, 2012 SHEEP SUMMIT, FALL 2012 California Department of Fish and Game Summarizes Alternative Ways to Develop Reliable Demographic Data by Dr. John Wehausen and Regina Abella We have begun the process of exploring potential methods to measure demographic variables. These involve direct minimum ground counts and the use of automated digital cameras at water sources. We discuss these separately. Direct Counts Helicopters provide a method to develop direct minimum counts of desert bighorn sheep. Unfortunately, this approach provides only relatively crude data. Sightability is low with typically only about half of the sheep seen, and one of most important age classes, yearling females, cannot be reliably distinguished from adult females. We began exploring coordinated spring ground counts this year using a small group of observers in two mountain ranges: South Soda and Marble Mountains. Both counts were very successful. In the South Soda Mountains the total was 47 sheep and included 26 adult and 3 yearling females. In the Marble Mountains the total was 151 total sheep and included 76 adult and 27 yearling females. This count of females far exceeds any previous count in the Marble Mountains. These counts are most successful if they take place after females have moved close to water and after spring lamb mortality is complete, but before temperatures are too hot and female group sizes have broken down to small summer groups. Mid- May to mid-june appears to be an optimal time period for such counts in these mountain ranges, but earlier will probably work for hotter ranges in the south. During this period males are segregated from females, not concentrated around water, and thus poorly represented in these counts. In the Marble Mountains we used data from past Fall helicopter surveys to develop sex ratio statistics which were applied to our excellent female count to develop a minimum estimates 69 (95% CI: 59-79) males with at least one half curl. This direct count approach provides the following important data: (1) a minimum number of females that is a high proportion of all females in the population; (2) an accurate ratio of yearling females and yearling males to adult females both of which measure true recruitment of the lamb cohort from the previous year; (3) spring lamb:adult female ratio, which reflects survival of the most recent lamb cohort; and (4) a solid minimum estimate of rams using sex ratio statistics, which can be used to allocate hunting tags. Our spring tests this year found this approach to be very successful, but it is limited to situations where the spring distribution of females is relatively small and accessible. Lessons learned this year will allow refinements of count procedures next year when this approach will be expanded to some additional populations. Camera Data Automated analog video cameras placed at water sources have been used for 20 years to develop high resolution data on bighorn sheep in the Mojave Desert. This summer we began exploring the use of new automated digital cameras. Initial experiments explored the optimal placement to allow recognition of as many naturally marked females as possible. This was found to work if the camera was set at about 5-6 ft. from a drinker box such that the sheep faced the camera. In some situations a second camera will be needed to develop group composition data. Development of data from one water source at Old Dad Peak is in progress as a test case. In the Marble and South Bristol Mountains a total of seven cameras are currently awaiting retrieval and analysis. It is our plan to explore the data potentials of this approach from cameras run this past summer, and then begin applying this to additional ranges next summer. Hunt zones will likely be given priority, but other ranges will be considered. CA WSF 6

7 There may be a need for a clamping system to attach cameras to existing pipes, if this could provide a good field of view for the camera. Also, to create an ideal field of view for the camera, we should discuss the possibilities of a mount system that can screw in or be attached to the tops of the tanks, perhaps something similar to how a scope mounts on a tripod. As advised by Bob Burke, we will have to anticipate birds perching on these structures. These are just some ideas we ve come up with in the field, we defer to the experts on the tank systems for input. Tentative Schedule With the above methods we are currently testing or plan to test in the areas of Deep Springs (cameras, ground count), the Sheep Hole Mountains (cameras), the Orocopia Mountains (cameras), the South Bristol Mountains (cameras, ground count), the Marble Mountains (cameras, ground count) and the area of Old Dad Peak (cameras). Updates to follow as field work and data analysis commence. DRINKER PROJECTS 2012 by Gary Thomas, SCBS Project Manager We have been busy the last month and the schedule has changed a little, so this is an update. We recently completed the drinker at Castle Mine. It is collecting water, and by now should have enough so wildlife can get a drink there. Bob Burke has been working with the BLM on Saw Tooth Canyon Drinker, and we have the OK to install it as soon as we can get it scheduled. He also met with the Hanson Quarry Management, and they have given us the OK to build a drinker there as soon as we have liability insurance. We are working on it and should have it in the next month. Glen Sudmeier has been working with the Jolly Mine Management and BLM on plans to build a drinker there, and we should have the OK in the next month. He is also the lead on the 29 Palms Marine Base drinkers, and we will be there locating the sites for four drinkers. The project we had scheduled for next month will be rescheduled and our next project is the Omya Mine. We will complete the rain mat and install a plaque naming the drinker after Nancy Andrew. She was a biologist with California Department of Fish and Game and for many years worked with us in our efforts to bring water to sheep and wildlife in the desert. We will install a new tank at Burnt Spring so the sheep will have a dependable source of water there. Our meeting and camping place for both projects will be at the Omya Mine campground and we will cook supper Friday and Saturday nights and Breakfast Saturday morning. In December we will build two drinkers on the Marine base. It will probably be between Christmas and New Year s, but at this time I don t have a date to give you or where will camp. So mark your calendars, come on out and join in our efforts to keep our sheep on the mountains and in the wild places. Society for the Conservation of Bighorn Sheep Explorer Satellite Communications Andy Cool sales@explorersatellite.com 7 CA WSF

8 WYOMING RAM 2012 by Eric Wooding I started applying in Wyoming for a bighorn sheep tag the year I got my first job out of college My dad dreamed about such things, but never actually did anything more than an out-of-state mule deer hunt in Nevada when he could draw. I harvested my first buck at age 12 in our favorite Nevada spot on a day my dad was too sick to go out. He just dropped me at the end of a four wheel drive trail and picked me up carrying a liver and heart that evening. I guess a guy could get in trouble for child endangerment for that today, but I have always enjoyed hunting alone, doing things at my own pace, and enjoying company back in camp. Thirteen years ago, my application check to Wyoming bounced. My wife did not tell me about a few checks she had written, but I did not tell her about the Wyoming check. Oh well, now I was demoted to the 1 pool. So, in 2012 my number was drawn for Unit 5 in Wyoming! No question, I wanted to do this hunt on my own. Yes, it was some about the money, but mostly because I like hunting on my own. Even in grizzly country, I feel so good just getting away from it all. Plus, my job allows me the luxury of more time off in big blocks than most have. I knew enough about the area from talking with others who had hunted it in the past. I actually had a plan basically, load up my backpack with enough stuff for about a week, start going from basin to basin, look where it looks good, sleep where I end up each evening, go back to the truck when I run out of food, and pick up where I left off. I had a month of approved vacation, if necessary. I got a late start on opening day, but made it to the first basin before dark. Seeing 20 plus ewes and baby rams really told me I was on the right track. I was so zonked from the power drive that the thought of grizzlies didn t keep me from sleep. Funny think is, I never saw a grizzly or any fresh grizzly sign above the timber line. I m guessing that the drought had moth numbers down and they had to look for food lower. Whatever the reason, it does make sleeping in a bivy easier when you do not come across fresh sign nearby. The next few days, I just looked, enjoyed the scenery, and saw about sheep, including three decent rams. On day four, I set up camp in late afternoon, but decided to look around the corner of a ridge just about dark. I saw a really heavy mature ram up the canyon. It was too dark to shoot, let CA WSF 8

9 alone try to get closer. But next morning, I had a plan. Sleeping was tough that night. Next morning, he was not to be seen. So I just eased up to where I last saw him. I found he was using the area heavy. I just eased to the top of the ridge and started looking down shoots one by one. On the sixth, there he was, bedded only about 80 yards below. Heavy, gnarly, and totally met my expectations. He even had a huge character chip in one horn. One shot and he rolled down the slide about 100 yards. It took me a bit of a detour to get to him, but I had him boned out and ready to go before noon. I decided to take the meat and cape back the five or so miles to camp and come back the next day for my gear. I did make it to camp and got him hung out of bears reach that night. It seemed too short, but my other hunt in Idaho in 99 was way too long. I m still averaging almost three weeks per self-guided ram and what quality time that is! PHASE ONE OF NEVADA BIGHORN SHEEP RELOCATION COMPLETE RENO-November 8, 2012 On November 6, 2012 the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) completed the first phase of their big game capture, transplant and monitoring program by netting twentyfour California Bighorn Sheep in the Sheep Creek Range outside of Battle Mountain and releasing them in the Jackson Mountains. This operation was the last of a four part effort starting on Nevada Day that involved capture of fifty Desert Bighorn Sheep in the Muddy Mountains near Henderson and the River Mountains near Boulder City which were transported and released on the Kaiparowits Plateau in Utah; and followed by twenty-five Desert Bighorn Sheep captured on Lone Mountain outside Tonopah and released in the Excelsior Mountain Range near Marrietta. The operation was made possible through donations from Nevada Bighorns Unlimited (NBU), the Fraternity of the Desert Bighorn, the Eastern Chapter of Wild Sheep Foundation (WSF), the Iowa Chapter of WSF and the Wildlife Heritage Fund. Estimated to take place in February of 2013, the second phase of the program will include relocating California Bighorn Sheep to the Santa Rosa Range and Hays Canyon, Rocky Mountain Bighorns to the East Humboldt Range near Elko, and one-hundred pronghorn to the Yakima Nation in Washington, as well as monitoring the population of Mountain Goats, Bighorn Sheep and Elk in all three regions of northern Nevada. NBU greatly appreciates the efforts of and partnership with NDOW and the many NBU volunteers that donated their time to make the first phase of relocations such a success, said NBU President Dennis Wilson. Wilson went on to say, NBU is a proud partner with NDOW and many wildlife conservation groups participating in this effort to manage wildlife herds throughout the state. Nevada continues to lead the lower 48 states with a Bighorn Sheep population exceeding 10,000 animals. For more information, contact NBU President Dennis Wilson at (775) ### About Nevada Bighorns Unlimited The mission of Nevada Bighorns Unlimited (NBU) is to protect and enhance Nevada s wildlife resources for sportsmen, outdoor and wildlife enthusiasts, and future generations. NBU volunteers do this through the reintroduction of big game, habitat conservation and improvement, public education and participation, biological and scientific research, and the influence of public policy. Visit Nevada Bighorns Unlimited at 9 CA WSF

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11 DONATING GAME MEAT Reprinted from National Shooting Sports Foundation A new study commissioned by the National Shooting Sports Foundation and conducted by Mile Creek Communications reveals that last year 11 million meals were provided to the less fortunate through donations of venison by hunters. Nearly 2.8 million pounds of game meat made its way to shelters, food banks and church kitchens and onto the plates of those in need. Given our challenging economic times, hunters' donations of venison have never been more important to so many people, said Stephen L. Sanetti, president and CEO of NSSF, the trade association for the firearms, ammunition, hunting and shooting sports industry. These contributions are just one way hunting and hunters are important to our way of life in America. Learning about these impressive figures makes me proud to be a hunter. I have donated game meat during the past year, and I urge my fellow hunters to strongly consider sharing their harvest. The study revealed that donations were largest in the Midwest and the South. The Midwest provided 1.3 million pounds of game meat, amounting to 46.1 percent of total donations, with the South close behind at 1.25 million pounds and 45.7 percent. The Northeast contributed 7.2 percent of total donations and the West 1 percent. Though lower than other regions, the West's contribution still accounted for 108,520 meals. Certainly the Midwest, South and Northeast benefit from having large populations of whitetailed deer, said Jim Curcuruto, NSSF's director of statistics and research. These figures are from confirmed sources, but annual donations could easily be double this amount if 'direct' donations from hunters to friends and family are included. Curcuruto added that NSSF commissioned the study to better understand the size and scope of these venison donations. Groups often cooperate to ensure a successful donation program. In Georgia, according to the Athens Banner Herald, the Georgia Wildlife Federation pays for the meat to be butchered and packaged at state-licensed processors, the state Department of Natural Resources oversees the program and the Georgia Food Bank Association coordinates distributions. Additionally, the game meat satisfies shelters' need for nutritious food items. Dave Williams, who manages food resources for a northeast Georgia food bank, said in the Banner Herald that he is focused on acquiring more nutritious items and noted, Deer venison is such a low-fat, high-protein item, agencies greatly appreciate getting it. Another recent news report out of the Indiana- Kentucky-Illinois area pointed out that one deer can feed up to 200 people. Ground venison is a versatile food, with cooks using it in pasta sauces, chili, tacos, meatloaf, burgers and other dishes. Individual hunters donate game meat and even pay for processing, though many hunters choose to work with organizations dedicated to the cause of helping the hungry. Many of these groups were sources for the NSSF study and include Hunters for the Hungry, Farmers & Hunters Feeding the Hungry, Hunt to Feed and Buckmasters, among others. Visit this website for more information about groups active in various states. CAWSF does not do a game meat drive but if you would like to donate wild game (fish, birds, venison) there are organizations in California that would be happy to receive it contact the office for information about a place in your area. Southern Hunting Safaris Scott Thomson nzhuntahr@xtra.co.nz USA Shooting Team info@usashooting.org 11 CA WSF

12 STEPHEN A. HOLL ( ) Stephen A. Holl (center) was honored with by Society for the Conservation of Bighorn Sheep with the Bicket-Landells Lifetime Achievement Award, and by the California Chapter of the Wild Sheep Foundation at the Chapter's May, 2010 Banquet. Presentations were made by Presidents S. Marschke (L) and K. Fish (R), respectively. Steve became only the fourth person to receive the Bicket-Landells Award, which was established 25 years ago in recognition of the contributions of Don Landells and Jim Bicket, who died during a tragic helicopter crash while surveying bighorn sheep at Clark Mountain in the eastern Mojave Desert. Photograph courtesy of Chip Hollister. Stephen A. Holl, who is best known for his work on bighorn sheep in the San Gabriel Mountains of California, passed away on 13 January 2012 at the age of 62 following a valiant battle with cancer. Steve held B.S. and M.S. degrees from the University of California Davis and Fresno State University, respectively. Steve's graduate work centered on the relationships between habitat use, body condition, and productivity of the North Kings deer herd, which then was one of the most well-studied populations in California. As time passed, Steve became an authority on habitat management techniques and, in particular, the relationships between habitat, mule deer, and bighorn sheep occupying chaparral ecosystems. In 1978, Steve was hired as a wildlife biologist by the San Bernardino National Forest (SBNF), where his sole duty was to investigate the ecology of bighorn sheep in the San Gabriel Mountains, a Southern California mountain range dominated by chaparral vegetation. He spent the next 5 years working closely with Vern Bleich of CDFG to compile the most detailed information then yet assembled on habitat characteristics, population dynamics, behavior, and food habits of bighorn sheep in that range. In 1983, Holl and Bleich published an extensive report titled, "San Gabriel Mountain Sheep: Biological and Management Considerations." While completing that work, Steve worked diligently with conservation organizations and sportsman's groups to refine and formalize the San Gabriel Mountains bighorn sheep survey, which has continued largely on an annual basis for >30 years. While assigned to the SBNF Steve mentored two students Kathleen (Hamilton) Longshore and William Perry, both of whom completed their graduate work on bighorn sheep. He also was responsible for acquiring the data that led to the translocation of bighorn sheep to historical habitat within the San Gabriel Mountains the first translocation of desert bighorn sheep ever to occur in California and to formerly occupied habitat at San Rafael Peak, in the Coast Range of Ventura County. Steve also collaborated on two important papers positing that bighorn sheep are distributed across the landscape as metapopulations, a concept that has evolved into a conservation paradigm and that forms the basis for the management of wild sheep and their habitat throughout much of North America. CA WSF 12

13 In 1987 Steve left his position with the SBNF to pursue opportunities in private enterprise, and eventually established his own consulting firm. He maintained a strong focus on bighorn sheep and, as his interests broadened and he gained expertise in fire ecology, he spent countless hours developing ideas, analyzing data, and preparing papers on the relationships between fire history, fire regimes, and bighorn sheep demographics. He recognized the importance of fire in the chaparral ecosystems of southern California, he was critical of the fire suppression policies of land management agencies, he remained a staunch proponent of the value of wildfires, and he strongly advocated prescribed fire as a habitat enhancement tool. Steve also played a prominent role in the recent (2011) decision by the California Department of Transportation to not re-open California Highway 39 because of potential impacts bighorn sheep. As chaparral vegetation matured following wildfires in the San Gabriel Mountains, bighorn sheep declined from approximately 750 animals in 1980 to fewer than 200 in the late 1990s. That decline was of considerable concern and, in 2004 at the request of the Los Angeles County Fish and Game Commission and the USFS, Steve prepared a detailed conservation and restoration strategy for bighorn sheep in that mountain range. That document was agreed to and signed by the forest supervisors on the Angeles and San Bernardino national forests and by two regional managers from CDFG, and provides the basis for management actions on behalf of bighorn sheep that, hopefully, will someday be forthcoming. Although management agencies failed to implement most of the recommendations contained in the1983 report, the 2004 document called for extensive stakeholder involvement in an effort to enhance the probability of implementation. Following preparation of the restoration strategy, Steve published extensively on aspects of the ecology of bighorn sheep in the San Gabriel Mountains, including the demographic history, the role of fire history on habitat selection, a demographic reconstruction of the population, and the ecological relationships among weather, mule deer, mountain lions, and bighorn sheep. Steve's public service included tenure as Chairman of the Parks and Recreation Commission of the City of Folsom, where he was instrumental in setting aside land for local parks. Steve s efforts on behalf of conservation were recognized in May 2010, when he was the recipient of the Bicket-Landells Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society for the Conservation of Bighorn Sheep, and the Above and Beyond Award from the California Chapter of The Wild Sheep Foundation. Steve made a difference in the management and conservation of bighorn sheep in California, and his contributions will long be remembered. Vernon C. Bleich Eden Ridge Outfitters John McCollum edenridgehunts@aol.com Canadian Mountain Outfitters Bryan Martin bryanmartin@gmail.com Cabela s T.A.G.S. Service Eric Pawlak ericpawlak@cabelas.com Andes Safari Peru Gonzalo Paredes andesafariperu@hotmail.com Gunwerks customerservice@gunwerks.com McBride s Metal Works Ed McBride ed@mcbridesmetalworks.com 13 CA WSF

14 THE ART OF CONSERVATION by Alexandra Few When conservation crosses political and cultural boundaries, bringing communities together can be challenging. The Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep Program is not alone in facing these challenges. Here in the eastern Sierra, a recent Mono County Board of Supervisors meeting about domestic sheep grazing allotments near occupied bighorn sheep habitat resulted in a newspaper article titled Show us the studies: Ranchers want proof that domestic diseases are killing bighorns. How does one combat this type of misinformed reaction? Are letters to the editor effective? Do public presentations largely attended by like-minded citizens provide information to the right audience? Perhaps we as conservationists can navigate the societal crossroads with art and science. Sierra bighorn and DFG s Recovery Program are lucky to have captured the attention of Bay Area artist and scientific illustrator Jane Kim. Kim chose to make Sierra bighorn the subject and muse of the first chapter of her National Geographic Viewer s Choice Award winning concept, The Migrating Mural. The goal of the Migrating Mural is to showcase migratory endangered species and the need to protect them. Each chapter will reveal the habits and behaviors of hard-to-see wildlife. In November 2012, Kim completed the first mural on the Mt. Williamson Motel in Independence. The painting depicts the growth stages of a ram with 7 different life-size bighorn from a 2-month-old lamb to an eight-year-old adult. Over the next year, 3 additional murals will be painted in visible locations along Highway 395 from Olancha to Lee Vining in the shadow of Sierra bighorn s range. CA WSF 14

15 Upon completion of Chapter 1, Kim will begin her next mural project in the visitor center at Cornell s Lab of Ornithology. By bringing often elusive Sierra bighorn into the towns and hearts of our community the Migrating Mural has the potential to heal old wounds. Art has the ability to influence hearts and emotions even more than "hard science can. With media coverage by National Geographic and Oprah Magazine planned for February, the Migrating Mural will elevate awareness of recovery efforts by DFG. Murals, bringing visibility to this growing yet fragile population, can inspire further cooperative efforts to save Sierra bighorn, the rarest mountain sheep in North America. The project will be celebrated February 16, 2013 at the Mountain Light Gallery in Bishop at a benefit for the Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep Foundation and the Migrating Mural. Tickets for the benefit can be purchased for $25 in advance by contacting or and include a guided field trip to view Sierra bighorn that weekend. 15 CA WSF

16 WHAT A RIDE!!! by Bob Richert My quest to draw all of the tough draw animals in California started well over a decade before. I had drawn two X-Zone mule deer tags and an elk tag in the past six years. I was gaining notoriety with my friends as someone who they didn t want to be friends with anymore. I figured someone had to draw them, so why not me. We ll call it a lucky streak, but for how long, no one knows. After being at max points for antelope and sheep for ten years, I figured I would draw an antelope tag. It was just a matter of time. I got a call one day from one of my customers, who might be the most hard core hunting son of a gun I know. If I ever need a fix, I can call Brandon and get some stories of him taking his wife on a mule deer hunt when she is 8 months pregnant or something crazy like that. It never ends with him. I hadn t spoken to him in a while and we were catching up. I told him I was waiting until Friday to find out if my middle daughter, who had just passed her hunter safety course, was successful in the apprentice hunt draw. He said, The results have been out since Monday. I should have known better since that has been the case several times in the past. After slogging through the website, I finally found the page I needed and checked on my daughter s results. Unfortunately, she wasn t successful this year for elk, antelope, or mule deer. I then checked on my results. I couldn t believe what I was reading. I asked him if he was sitting down. When I told him I drew a desert bighorn tag in the Whites, he couldn t believe it. I had to read it a couple of times before it really sunk in. Unbelievable!!!! I thought it would be a couple more decades before I caught lightning in a bottle. I ended up staying at the office late that night on the internet trying to find out as much as I could about an animal I knew very little about. I had a feeling this would be something that I needed to consult with a few people about. I have several friends in Reno that have killed sheep in Nevada, and I contacted them in the next few days. The story was the same across the board. It isn t like deer or elk hunting. Every one of them told me that hiring an outfitter for this hunt would be the only way to go. You have one shot at this and you don t want to squander this opportunity. It was the same thing that was in the back of my mind. I contacted Tim Mercier with Dry Creek Outfitters a few days later. I spoke to Tim at length that evening. I told him I had the tag and I knew, looking at their website, that they had hunted the White Mountains successfully for several years. After talking to Tim and his partner Cliff St. Martin the next evening, I knew I wanted to hunt with them. They were very careful to inquire about my level of fitness, height and weight, as well as what caliber rifle I shot and my comfort range with the gun. The White Mountains are very high in elevation and it isn t the easiest place to be. I had a little less than two months to get ready and in shape for what I was going to tackle. Climbing the hill behind my house, as well as biking up a long grade by my house a couple of times a day put me where I was hoping I needed to be before the hunt. The last two days before my hunt were too smoky, due to fires in the area, to ride or hike. I took that time to go over my checklist and be sure I had left nothing behind. The season opened on Saturday, August 18, so I planned to get there Thursday evening. When I arrived at camp, Tim, Cliff, and Jason were all set up and they told me they had located a ram earlier that day. One of their crew, Clay, was driving in late that night. Tim and Cliff decided to send Jason and Clay out early the next morning to look over some different county and see if they could locate CA WSF 16

17 some more rams. I would be hunting with Cliff every day. Cliff and I sat on the bank ram all day on Friday and watched him. At the end of the day, the results were the same. We had one ram located and we decided to keep our eye on him on opening day while the rest of the guys kept looking for more sheep. We found the ram on the same cliff face he was on the previous two days. We watched him for about an hour before two coyotes, chasing marmots on the ridgeline above him, spooked him into the next draw over and out of our sight. We sat there for the rest of the day to see if he would make it back to our side of the ridge, but he never showed up. At about 2:30 in the afternoon, it started to hail. It started getting real western in a hurry. With lightning and loud thunder claps, we decided to get out of there. We had a wet and cold 2-1/2 mile hike back to the truck. By the time we got back there, we had over two inches of hail on the ground and it was 34 degrees. This is in the middle of summer. Welcome to the Whites!!! Since the guys had come up empty in their search for more sheep, we decided to get after the ram we had been sitting on. Jason found him the next morning two draws over from where we had seen him before. Cliff and I met up with Tim at the head of that drainage and they discussed the stalk. We would descend from above with the wind in our face down to a rocky point where we could get a shot. How Cliff and I got down there without making any noise on that loose shale was nothing short of amazing. We got to the point where we intended to shoot from and Cliff ranged the ram. He looked back at me and said, 480 yards. I said, Not me. Not today. He smiled and told me that they had never had a hunter kill a ram at that range. I told him he was going to need to wait, because it wasn t going to happen on this hunt. Being that far out, we had very few options. Cliff told me we could try to walk toward him in the open. He said the percentage of it working was slim, but it had been done before. We didn t think he would go too far if we bumped him, so we gave it a go. Within 20 minutes, we had closed the gap to 300 yards, a range I was confident with. We sat down in an old sheep bed and I got set up. The ram was bedded and we waited for a bit. He stood up and started to feed. I was comfortable and ready, my trigger finger tapping methodically on the bolt of my rifle. Cliff had him in his spotting scope and was trying to get a solid look at him from the side. He said, Don t shoot. I couldn t believe it. I am ready, steady, and calm. I have never been any more calm in a hunting situation than I was right then, looking through my scope at a desert bighorn and I can t shoot. When I asked him why not, he told me he wasn t sure he was legal. The ram s right horn had broomed off and his left was a lot longer. Unfortunately, we could never get a look at him from the left side to be sure that horn was long enough. He bedded down at least three more times and walked to within 240 yards of us. In the mean time, Jason was on a mountain across from us watching the whole thing. He was wondering why we hadn t shot, as the opportunity was there more than ten times over the course of 2-1/2 hours. Ultimately, the ram crested the ridge and dropped into the next draw. Hunt over for the day. We packed up our gear and made the hour-long climb out of that bowl. The walk out to the truck and the drive back seemed to take forever as my stomach was twisted up in knots over the day s events. I didn t talk much on the way out. I was on day two of a three day hunt and had a ram in my scope and couldn t shoot. Who knew how fortunate that series of events would be? We got back to camp and, after a beer or two and a good dinner, my stomach had settled and we discussed the final day of my hunt. We would go after this ram on Monday and see if we could get a shot. As we were driving up the road on day three with the sun coming up to our right, I saw something on Sheep Mountain a mile and a half away to my left that didn t look right. I told Cliff to stop the truck and I grabbed my glass. I couldn t believe it! There were seven sheep standing on the ridge line. Are you kidding me? Everyone was scrambling! Tripods unfolded, big glass was flying and 17 CA WSF

18 we were looking at a band of seven rams lit up by the morning sun. Their tan coats contrasted the dark shale and the adrenalin was pumping. Tim said Definite shooter, third one from the right. We weren t there more than five minutes before Tim and Cliff told me to grab my pack and rifle. Cliff and I loaded up and started hiking at a quick pace. The sheep had rolled out of sight, but we figured they would be pretty close to where we saw them last. It took us about 30 or 40 minutes to get to where we would eventually lay down to shoot. As we walked along, we noticed another person on Paiute Mountain, just to our north. He was at the top of the basin we were in the afternoon before and at least a thousand yards from where we thought the sheep might be. Cliff was to my left and he was looking at the person to our right. When he looked to his left and I looked past him, we spotted the sheep at the same time. Cliff turned back to me with a look on his face that meant one thing. Hit the dirt!! Cliff pulled his pack off and kicked it down to his feet, where I would shoot from. In the mean time, one of the rams had us made. We were pinned down by one ram while the other six were feeding behind him, oblivious to us being there. We were inside 200 yards and couldn t move. We lay on our sides for what seemed like an hour. Realistically, it was probably more like 5 minutes. My gun was leaning on my right hip and my left arm was still in my pack and binocular strap. We were lying down in the middle of a large, flat bench between the two mountains. We were pinned. As if by design, the guy on Paiute Mountain started to descend toward us and that got the attention of the rams. This gave me the window I needed to get in position to shoot. I slid down and got my rifle set up. My heart was pounding and I couldn t catch my breath. At 12,000 ft elevation, breathing becomes more difficult. My ram was on the right and my only shot was straight on. This wasn t the shot I was hoping for, but Cliff let me know they were getting nervous and would not be there for long. The ram that spotted us started walking toward the ram I wanted and, as it seems to happen, stopped broadside in front of my ram. I now had a view of his head and nothing else. The only thing I had in my favor was that the other rams were balled up to the left of these two and they were 6 or 8 feet from them. That gave me a small lane to shoot through. I knew they would go to the left and I just watched his head. He was the lead ram and I knew he would go first. When I saw his head turn, I was ready. When he started to move and cleared the other ram, I touched off the shot. I heard the hit, but couldn t tell where I hit him. All hell broke loose and they were gone in a flash! We didn t know it at the time, but Tim and Clay were 2 miles north of us and were able to watch everything unfold from that distance. The only thing they couldn t tell was when I shot. The report took a few seconds to get to them. They told us they watched one ram peel out of the line to the right as the rest of the rams went to the left. Cliff and I headed up to where the rams were and started looking for blood or hair. Cliff found the ram less than 100 yards from where he was when I shot. It was a double lung shot and my ram was down. Another 3 shots from a shaking hunter on a shale slope and the ram was down to stay. What a rush!!!! I couldn t believe what we had just done CA WSF 18

19 and I couldn t believe how it all came together. I had filled one of the hardest tags to draw in arguably the toughest sheep zone in the state, and I took the first ram of the 2012 season. I was out of my mind!!! Jason, who didn t even know I shot, was the first one to get to us. He was heading for the top of Sheep Mountain to the same spot he watched us from the day before. The wind changes his mind and he was on the other side of the mountain during all the excitement. Hugs went all around as we looked at my ram. Tim and Clay showed up 45 minutes later. It was then we got their version of the hunt from the vantage point they had. The same words that Cliff was saying to me as we were watching the rams were coming out of Tim and Clay s mouths. They are getting nervous and He better shoot here pretty quick. After the accounts from everyone were told, we got ready for the photo shoot. The pain in my arms and back didn t register until after we took pictures. I shot the ram at 7:45 a.m. and we were back to the trucks by 1pm. We headed back to camp and got to celebrating. Tim and Cliff measured the ram and came up with a rough score around 162. The official measurement at the office of Mike Morrison with Fish and Game came up with 162-1/8 gross and 159-7/8 net. My ram had been captured and tagged with a radio collar 4 years prior. He was 8 years old and he was just a beautiful as I could have imagined!!!! I dedicated this hunt to my late father, Mike Richert. Although he wasn t a big game hunter, he always enjoyed the passion I had for it and I know he would have been proud. I would like to thank Tim Mercier, Cliff St. Martin, Jason Lyman, and Clay Gibert with Dry Creek Outfitters for making this a hunt of a lifetime. They made me feel welcome and were very organized in every facet of the hunt. Their experience and skill hunting bighorn sheep, as well as their enthusiasm, is as good as it gets. McBride Hunting Services Rowdy McBride rowdymcbride@sbcglobal.net R&R Guide Service Rob Jones rcjones@gci.net White Goat Gallery Rick Taylor wildworld@netiidea.com Kingfisher Charters and Lodge Chuck Haydu rico@aptalaska.net Mule Shoe Outfitters Justin or Sandy Wright muleshoe@wbaccess.net Big Racks of Montana Michael Beattie rev7v@live.com Montana-Outfitters California Dept of Fish and Game Likhulu Safaris Matt van Vuuren info@likhulusafaris.com 19 CA WSF

20 Wild Sheep Foundation, California Wild Sheep Foundation, and Society for Conservation of Wild Sheep work closely with the California Department of Fish and Game to enhance sheep habitats, monitor sheep populations, and study sheep patterns. Providing financial support is only a part of what we do both in direct donations and in successfully auctioning fundraising sheep tags each year. We also put feet on the ground to assist in projects and provide expertise and coordination. This past summer we requested a report from the CA DFG as to sheep funding and expenditures. The letter below and report on the following page gives a glimpse into how we are helping to KEEP SHEEP ON THE MOUNTAINS in California. CA WSF 20

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22 NEWS OF INTEREST FOR CA WSF MEMBERS Collected and Submitted by Beverly Valdez On November 6, 2012 the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) completed the first phase of their big game capture, transplant and monitoring program by netting twenty-four California Bighorn Sheep in the Sheep Creek Range outside of Battle Mountain and releasing them in the Jackson Mountains. Read more: News/230 Be careful in your camp - hantavirus precautions outlined. Read more: precautions-hantavirus-urged.html Using DNA to study mountain lion populations and history. Read more: mountain-lions-dispersing-nevada-california.html We once again have good news on growth of hunting and fishing in the U.S. as study shows more Americans are hunting and fishing -- including more women and kids. Read more: story/2012/09/23/hunting-fishing-rebound-inus/ /1 For 33 years, Billings hunter Jim Tuell has been putting in for a bighorn sheep tag. When he finally drew one this season, his goal was to take a trophy ram whose heavy, curled horns would score 200 inches or more. Read more: sheep-hunt-fulfills-billings-hunter-s--year-long- dream/article_c306ead6-4ff4-59f4-9e ba.html#ixzz2eoq0zocv Start someone new hunting! Special first time hunter hunts available from DFG. Read more: fish-and-game-q-and-a-oct-25-hunting-fishingoutdoors.html Be careful when you buy from ebay or any other non-known outfitters. Best option: Buy at the CA WSF fundraiser! Read more: outdoors/2012/nov/08/local-rallies-salvage-nonresidents-botched-guided-hunt/ Tejon Ranch Brian Grant bgrant@tejonranch.com The Gatlin Brothers and Gold Country Casino CA WSF 22

23 PHOTOS FROM THE FIELD Bob Keagy Alpine Ibex October Austria Bob Keagy Balkan Chamois October Macedonia Donnie Bertagna Rocky Mountain Bighorn October Oregon Bob Keagy Mountain Goat November Alaska Roger McCosker Desert Bighorn November Nevada 23 CA WSF

24 THE UPS AND DOWNS OF BIGHORN SHEEP RESEARCH from Bureau of Land Management California News.bytes Extra, Issue 559 Peninsular Bighorn Sheep are airlifted to base camp for evaluation by an inter-agency research team to better understand threats facing this endangered species. Photo: BLM/S. Tyson Peninsular Bighorn Sheep living in certain remote sections of Eastern San Diego and Western Imperial Counties were captured earlier this month in a joint agency research effort to better understand population dynamics and to determine -- and address -- threats to the population. While captured, the bighorn sheep had their general health assessed, and were radio-collared so that scientists could track their movements and behaviors. The sheep were released back into the area of their capture. The BLM El Centro Field Office, the U.S. Border Patrol, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the California Department of Fish and Game worked together over 1 1/2 days to capture a total of 21 bighorn sheep. The steep and remote terrain required that the sheep be located with a helicopter, and captured with a net fired from the aircraft at close range. Once netted, biologists restrained the animals for airlift to a base camp where they could be physically examined and fitted with a radio collar. The sheep were then airlifted back to their area of capture, and immediately released. The entire process, from capture to release, took approximately 60 minutes. A veterinarian was on hand throughout the operation, to monitor and ensure the safety of the animal. After release, all animals were active. These 21 radio collared bighorn sheep will be tracked and monitored for potentially the rest of their lives. Biologists hope the data they obtain will help with recovery efforts of this endangered species. Scientists are interested in obtaining CA WSF 24

25 information about population status and trends, increasing their understanding of sheep movement between the U.S. and Mexico, determining the impact of roads as barriers, as well as the impacts of human activity on the species, and any diseases that may affect the population. The BLM El Centro Field Office supports research of this kind to help sustain the ecological balance of the natural environment. 15 animals were captured on BLM non-wilderness public lands managed by the El Centro Field Office. Here, the research team works quickly to examine and fit a collar to a captured animal. Photo: BLM/S. Tyson This ewe is measured while blindfolded and hobbled. Biologists minimized stress levels to the sheep by keeping capture-torelease times to an average of 60 minutes. Photo: BLM/S. Tyson Point Blank Hunts Joe Jakab joejakab@pointblankhunts.com Wild Sheep Foundation Alaska Department of Fish and Game Lowa Boots Dan Hill danhill4@me.com Front Sight Training Institute info@frontsight.com Hunt In Europe Srdja Dimitrijevic info@huntineurope.com State of Nevada Department of Wildlife Silver Spur Outfitters Trent Snyder coloradobigracks@aol.com 25 CA WSF

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28 OPEN ZONE BIGHORN SHEEP TAG to be AUCTIONED at CA WSF FUNDRAISER April 27, 2013 Don t miss the opportunity to bid on this tag! It s one of only two CA Bighorn Sheep tags available for auction for Registration information will be coming soon - look for it in your inbox, mailbox, and on Facebook. CA WSF 423 Broadway #617 Millbrae, CA Non-Profit Org. US POSTAGE PAID Millbrae, CA PERMIT 31 w w w. c a w s f. o r g