Dmitri Hanlon. Spring 2010 IN THIS ISSUE. A Publication of the California Chapter of the Foundation for North American Wild Sheep

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1 California Wild Sheep IN THIS ISSUE From the Editor President s Message The Hunt in Late October Wildlife Biology is a Meaningful, but Dangerous, Profession s Mr. Tough Guy Chukar: The Wild Sheep of Upland Game Hunting The Sheep Show Returns to Reno. 12 Viva Las Vegas: GSCO Recap What I Saw at the First Ever Full Curl Society Social Get Your Tickets Now Out and About in Sheep Country. 15 Nix s Last Hunt Old Rams Have Character Big Game Drawing Summary Photos from the Field An Old Warrior Are There Big Sheep in California? 24 Bighorn Sheep Monitoring Dmitri Hanlon Desert Bighorn Old Dad Mountains December 2009 A Publication of the California Chapter of the Foundation for North American Wild Sheep

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3 From the Editor s Desk I hope you enjoy this information rich issue. There is a lot to find/see, including California Draw stats for Desert Bighorn Sheep Tags; WSF, GSCO and WHCE Convention reviews; CA FANWS Fundraiser Registration; Photos from the Field; several great hunt stories most from California; and other news of interest. I am always looking for new material of interest to members. , call or write! Input due date for the 2Q10 issue is May 29. Mike J. Borel Newsletter Editor mike.borel@contextnet.com WILD SHEEP FOUNDATION MEMBERSHIPS GRANTED FOR ONE YEAR TO ALL CHAPTER AND AFFILIATE MEMBERS WHO ARE NOT ALREADY A WSF MEMBER! In January, the Wild Sheep Foundation granted a one-year membership to each Chapter and Affiliate Member (on the rolls in December 2009) who was not already a member. This over doubled the membership from ~4800 to ~10,300. Naturally, the goal is for new members to see the good work, enjoy the magazine, etc., and then renew, or better yet, upgrade to a Life or 3-year membership at the end of the free year. This included a sizable number of members. I hope you enjoy the membership and that you will renew when the time comes. Southern Hunting Safaris Scott Thomson 10 Gall Street Fairlie New Zealand newzealandhuntahr@xtra.co.nz Western Wildlife Taxidermy Aaron Armstrong 1660 Roadrunner Dr. Roseville, CA aaronhunts@gmail.com Worldwide Safaris Emil Aliyev info@worldwidesafaris.net AR Hunting Consultant Abed Radwan PO Box Anchorage, AK abed@gci.net

4 Board of Directors Events Officers President Ken D. Fish (2010) Northern California Vice President Mike J. Borel (2010) Southern California Vice President Jim Fitzgerald (2011) Vice President, Operations Kyle Meintzer (2011) Secretary Paul A. Brisso (2011) Treasurer Steve Boitano (2010) 2010 March 27 April 30 May 1 May 2 May 31 Nov Feb Feb May 6 May 7 Guzzler Repair Nine Mile Tank, Call or Gary Thomas at (951) or g.cranky@verizon.net Sheep Summit VII, Sacramento at Crowne Plaza/Holiday Inn NE Drive to 35 Fundraiser/ Banquet, Sacramento at Renovated Crowne Plaza on Date Avenue BOD In Person Meeting, 8:00 AM Due Date for 2Q2010 Newsletter to mike.borel@contextnet.com Sheep Summit VIII in Ontario WSF Convention, Reno GSCO Convention, Las Vegas Sheep Summit IX in Sacramento Drive to 35 Fundraiser/ Banquet, Sacramento on Date Avenue Matt Burke (2011) David Combs (2011) John Drummond (2010) Ben Gordon (2010) Tom Griffiths (2011) Board of Directors Debi Ramsey-Casey (2010) Brenton Scott (2010) Tammy Scott (2010) Chris Settelmeyer (2011) California Wild Sheep is published quarterly. Please all articles and photos to mike.borel@contextnet.com. Photos should be high resolution and in color. It is recommended that digital photos be sent by . Please include photo credits and captions. Trophy Room Taxidermy Keith Hopkins Sterling Ave, Ste K Riverside, CA USA Shooting Team Buddy DuVall USA Shooting, 1 Olympic Plaza Colorado Springs, CO buddy.duvall@usashooting.org The Antler Shack Jason House 2662 Horseshoe Ln. Greybull, WY jason@creationsinantler.com Timberline Outfitters Perry Hunsaker P.O. Box 490 Higley, AZ timber@timberlineoutfitters.com

5 President s Letter Welcome to the newsletter. With convention season behind us, this issue includes a report on the January convention of our sister organization at the national level, the Wild Sheep Foundation. This convention was held in Reno, NV. All members of received a complimentary membership in WSF recently. This was something that WSF offered to our members and to the members of chapters in other states, all in the name of fostering a greater sense of unity and identity among our branch of the sheep hunting fraternity. The second convention report covers the GSCO convention, which was held in Las Vegas, NV a couple of weeks after the WSF convention. Finally, we even have a report on the Full Curl Society Banquet at the WHCE convention. I hope all of these reports bring back fond memories of this year s convention season, and they will cause you to start looking forward to next year s shows even now. On May 1 our chapter will host its own mini-convention, also known as our annual fundraiser. The event this year will be held at the Marriott Hotel in Rancho Cordova just a few minutes east of Sacramento. Be sure to get your reservations by asking for the CAFNAWS room block rate of $89 plus tax. Call direct to the hotel at (916) or Marriott Reservations at (800) We have a number of outstanding hunts on our roster, including three sheep hunts, two hunts in the Yukon, deer hunts, pheasant hunts, and of course, a good array of rifles in the raffle. Our committee has worked diligently to bring you a terrific lineup of raffle, live auction, and silent auction items. There is something for everyone. Please help us out by signing up NOW on our Web site, Finally, our friends at the Society for the Conservation of Bighorn Sheep, together with the California Department of Fish and Game and the US Forest Service will be hosting a sheep survey in the San Gabriel Mountains (Southern California, near Big Bear and Lake Arrowhead) on Sunday, March 14, No prior experience is necessary, but a pair of hiking boots, a canteen and some binoculars would be a good idea. If you are interested in participating, please call the Lytle Creek Ranger Station at (909) for more information. For the sheep, Ken Fish (310) Josh Chrisman Teresa Springs Tollhouse, CA scrumbleon@yahoo.com David Combs PO Box 2767 Long Beach, CA davidcombs@earthlink.net Black Dog Outfitters Darren Puetz P.O. Box 2364 Idaho Falls, ID darren@blackdogoutfitters.com Chungo Creek Outfitters Greg Kristoff Box 32 Nordegg Alberta, Canada T0E 1N0 krisfarm@telusplanet.net (403)

6 ELECTIONS COMING UP SOON DIRECTOR CANDIDATES WANTED Have You Considered Serving as a Director? by Mike J. Borel is seeking Director Candidates. Elections are for 2-year terms that begin on July 1. We have 15 Directors and terms are staggered so half are re-opened each year. We meet by conference call 4-6 times per year and in person 1-2 times per year (after the Fundraiser and at the WSF Convention). If you are interested, please send Ken Fish or me, a short biography (max 175 words) and a picture we can use for the ballot by April 15 to either Ken Fish or me. A nominating committee reviews all applications. Following are the responsibilities and principles we ve adopted. Call if you wish to discuss any aspects. Major Responsibilities of the Board of Directors 1. Determine, and refresh as needed, the organization s Mission and Purpose 2. Select the officers President, Vice Presidents, Treasurer, Secretary 3. Support the President and review his or her performance 4. Ensure effective organizational planning 5. Ensure adequate resources 6. Manage resources effectively 7. Determine and monitor the organization s programs and services 8. Enhance the organization s public image, advocate for the organization 9. Serve as a Court of Appeal for members and/or donors 10. Assess its own (the Board s) performance 11. Participate in the majority of Board meetings, attend National Convention In addition to the above, we ve adopted the following Principles: 1. Debate of issues and exploring various perspectives on an issue is healthy and positive inside the Board. Taking that outside the Board should only occur if a Board decision to do so is made. 2. Once a decision is reached, all Board members share accountability for supporting and implementing that decision (regardless of position or vote). 3. All facts and perceptions will be considered friendly if shared directly and respectfully. 4. If an individual has an issue with another individual, they should first approach the other with it. If resolution is not happening directly, then the Chapter President should be brought into the mix to facilitate resolution. Magnolia Lodge Dennis Campbell PO Box Birmingham, AL campholl@aol.com R&R Guide Service Rob Jones 3705 Arctic Blvd. Anchorage, AK MyTimeToHunt.com Drake Dawson 8285 State Rd. J New Bloomfield, MO drake@mytimetohunt.com Sahuarita Police Dept. John Harris 5420 W. Belmont Rd. Tucson, AZ jharris@ci.sahuarita.az.us

7 THE HUNT IN LATE OCTOBER (For Bighorn in Unit 2 Wyoming) by Frank Cox Finally, after 13 years of applying to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, it happened on May 4, I read those magical words, Successful - Non- Resident Bighorn Sheep I had applied for Area 2 because a good friend of mine, Stephen, just the year before took a spectacular ram from Area 2, and the draw odds were better than Area 5. As I let the great news sink in, I contacted Stephen to tell him the big news and to get started on booking an outfitter. After several calls back and forth, I knew I would book the same outfitter Stephen had Meade and Andrea Dominick of 7D Ranch Outfitting. Meade and Andrea were friendly and personable, answering any questions I had about the hunt. We settled on hunting the last two weeks of the season, October I found myself in Cody, Wyoming, on October 13, preparing to meet up with Meade and Andrea the next day. We spent the 14th preparing our gear and getting ready for the following morning s departure. At last, the 15th arrived how many years did I wait for this day? Anxious to get started, I was up bright and early to head out with Meade and his righthand man, Justin Novakovich. We headed about one hour outside of Cody to the trailhead. After packing up the horses and mules, we started our pack into a beautiful part of Area 2. We rode about three hours through gorgeous country and arrived at our camp. After unloading and getting our camp set up, we had enough time for an evening hunt. During that first outing, Meade and Justin spotted a couple of ewes and lambs feeding on the opposite hillside. With light fading, we made our way back to camp. That first evening we had a wonderful meal and a great campfire. I quickly found out that Justin is the king of the campfire! The next morning, we were on our way. With a full day of hunting and beautiful weather, we spotted more ewes and lambs. We saw a lot of tracks, but no rams. The next day we awoke to a very chilly morning, frost all around. After a hearty breakfast, then packing our lunches, we were off again to some of the most spectacular country I have ever seen! As the day progressed so did the temperature (thank God). Meade and Justin spotted ewes and lambs and one small ram. We found our way back to camp after dark and enjoyed one of Andrea s fantastic meals. We also got to enjoy another of Justin s world-class campfires. When dawn broke the next morning, I didn t know yet that this would be my lucky day! We were about two hours outside of camp when Meade spotted three rams about 400 yards away. Meade s eyes were the size of Frisbees as he turned and said, This is a great ram! We need to move quickly. Meade and Justin set up the spotting scope, and I got my rifle, adjusted my pack and set myself up. Things were happening very fast. Meade and Justin were intent on this magnificent ram, and as I looked in the spotting scope, I agreed. The big ram was in the center of the two smaller rams. When the ram presented the opportunity for a good shot, I took it. Meade and Justin felt that the bullet found its mark. The rams were right on top of the ridge when I shot and they quickly scattered over the ridge. We made our way over to where we last saw the ram standing. Immediately, we found tracks and blood in the snow, and followed the tracks down the back side of the ridge. The tracks led us into heavy timber and a lot of snow. We tread about 50 yards in, and then spotted the ram bedded down about 60 yards from us. I gave one last shot and the ram was ours! With the excitement of the hunt and such a beautiful ram, I had a lot to be thankful for. We made it back to our camp later that afternoon, and later had a celebratory drink around one of Justin s signature campfires. This was one of those moments you live for. Life could not get any better! This hunt was truly a team effort, and I want to thank Meade and Andrea Dominick of 7D Ranch Outfitting. They did a fantastic job on all aspects of my hunt, from the initial phone call to the day I pulled out of Cody. I appreciate the assistance of Justin Novakovich who is just an all-around great guy and hunter! I look forward to many more days of hunting with Meade and Justin. Last, but certainly not least, I want to thank my wonderful wife, Barbara, of 24 years, who puts up with my passion of hunting! D 7

8 WILDLIFE BIOLOGY IS A MEANINGFUL, BUT DANGEROUS, PROFESSION by Vernon C. Bleich, Ph.D. January was a tough month for wildlife biologists in several agencies and, in general, throughout the profession. As many are aware, three wildlife biologists from the California Department of Fish and Game, and their pilot, were killed during a tragic helicopter accident while conducting a mule deer survey on the west side of the Sierra Nevada on 5 January What many others probably are not aware of, however, was the loss of two U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists when their fixedwing aircraft crashed, and the injuries incurred by two wildlife biologists from the Idaho Department of Fish and Game and their pilot when their helicopter suddenly lost all power, later that month. Yes, January was a tough month for those of us who work, or worked, in the profession. Wildlife biologists are dependent on aircraft support for much of the work they do, work that ranges from capturing wild animals, conducting demographic surveys and aerial telemetry, and evaluating changes in habitat as a result of fires or other modifications. Back in 1983, one author noted that 6 of 9 (67 percent) obituaries published in volumes 2 7 of The Wildlife Society Bulletin acknowledged the contributions of wildlife professionals that died in aircraft accidents. In another article published in the same journal in 2003, a second author noted that 66 of 91 (66 percent) of deaths that occurred among wildlife biologists while performing their duties from were the result of aircraft accidents. Being a wildlife biologist is not the safest job in the world; nonetheless, it surely is one of the best. I was asked by the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) to serve on a committee charged with conducting an internal review of the accident that occurred on 5 January; that committee, which was capably chaired by Craig Stowers of the CDFG Wildlife Branch, was tasked in part with formulating recommendations to enhance the safety of Department employees involved in aerial work. Part of my assignment was to provide background information on the use of helicopters in wildlife-related work in California. To do that, I reached into the depths of my memory, did some extensive research of memoranda and other written sources, and conducted several interviews, the combination of which allowed me to generate a brief history of the use of helicopters by the California Department of Fish and Game, and to create a chronology of incidents that have occurred in California since the use of those aircraft became a somewhat regular occurrence. Helicopters were first used for wildlife work in California in the 1950s, but regular use did not really begin until the late 1960s during the Department s three-year effort to survey and determine the status of mountain sheep inhabiting the state. The majority of helicopter use by the Department involves wildliferelated projects. Included in among those projects have been the transport of hundreds of tons of equipment and construction material for use in habitat enhancement projects, the capture of many, many hundreds (if not thousands) of large mammals (mountain sheep, mule deer, pronghorn antelope, and elk), and extensive use in wildlife survey work, primarily for mountain sheep and mule deer and, to a limited extent, for tule elk. The initial use of the helicopter on the aforementioned mountain sheep project involved the transport of drilling equipment and explosives to Trap Tank in Imperial County, and that work was carried out by a private contractor flying a piston-powered Bell 47; the purpose of that mission was to modify a natural rock tank so that mountain sheep could no longer become trapped in it. Subsequently, piston-powered helicopters owned and operated by other governmental agencies (county fire departments or law enforcement) as well as private contractors were used during mountain sheep surveys in the most rugged and inaccessible parts of southeastern California, including the San Jacinto Mountains, the southern peninsular ranges of San Diego County, the Granite Mountains of eastern San Bernardino County, and the Inyo Mountains of Inyo County. Department personnel Clu Cotter Kevin O Connor Tom Stolberg Mike Donovan 8

9 were the first to use chemical immobilization to capture mountain sheep from a helicopter. Department of Fish and Game personnel began to use helicopters on a more frequent basis (1-2 times per year) for mountain sheep surveys in 1976, and such use has expanded substantially since that time. Since 1980, surveys have been flown on a near annual basis in the San Gabriel Mountains and, beginning in 1984, on a near annual basis in all of the ranges that have been opened to sheep hunting (although sheep hunting did not begin in California until 1987). During the 1980s, helicopters were used intensively over multiple years in support of a statewide effort to capture and mark mountain sheep, and to determine the status of disease among populations of those large ungulates. Helicopters also have been integral to dozens of successful efforts to translocate wild sheep and tule elk to unoccupied areas formerly inhabited by those species. In 1984, a helicopter was first used to survey mule deer, in support of research being conducted by the University of California in Round Valley, Inyo County. Since then, the use of those aircraft in mule deer management has expanded substantially, and helicopter surveys are now used annually to gather demographic data on mule deer populations throughout California. In California, three incidents involving CDFG personnel and helicopters have occurred during capture operations, and three occurred during aerial surveys. A total of five Department personnel have died, and three others sustained moderate to severe injuries during these incidents. Presented below, in chronological order, is a summary of helicopter accidents involving Department personnel that have occurred since (1) In 1970, a CDFG wildlife biologist and his pilot crashed while attempting to dart mountain sheep near Mt. Baldy, San Gabriel Mountains, Los Angeles County. The aircraft was a Bell 47, and the pilot was unable to maintain elevation on the lee side of the mountain after he had cleared a ridge; there were no serious injuries. (2) In the early 1980s, three Department personnel were involved in an incident while the pilot was lifting off of a transport trailer at an airport in Inyo County. There were no injuries but the aircraft, a turbine-powered Bell 206B, was a complete loss. The mission likely involved preparations to capture tule elk. (3) On 6 October 1986, one Department biologist was severely injured in a crash at Clark Mountain, San Bernardino County. The pilot, Don Landells, and a BLM biologist, Jim Bicket, were killed in that accident, which occurred during a mountain sheep survey. It was determined that the aircraft, a Bell 206B, was flying too low, too slow, and was too heavy for the conditions encountered suddenly during the survey. The pilot could not maintain elevation adequate to avoid striking the tail rotor after he had cleared a ridge. The aircraft was a complete loss. This incident involved an internal review, and triggered major revisions to the CDFG Operations Manual as related to flight safety issues. (4) On 26 October 1987, one Department biologist, a California State Park employee, and a representative of a non-governmental organization were participating in a mountain sheep survey in the Santa Rosa Mountains, Riverside County, when their aircraft lost power and landed hard, breaking the right skid support, and then rolling over on to its side; there were no serious injuries and the pilot and the three passengers walked several miles to call for help. The aircraft was a turbine-powered McDonnell Douglas 369B. (5) In January, 1992, two Department employees, two other passengers, and their pilot were killed when their helicopter collided with a power line while assessing the impacts of an oil spill in the vicinity of the Carquinez Strait and crashed into the water below. The aircraft, a Bell 206B, was a complete loss. (6) In 2006, two Department employees were involved in a forced landing after the aircraft, a Bell 206B, in which they were riding struck an electrical wire strung between two poles along an abandoned pole line during an elk capture at the Concord Naval Weapons Station. The wire cutter on the aircraft caught and severed the wire, and the aircraft landed safely. No personnel were injured, and the capture operation resumed shortly thereafter. (7) In January 2007, two Department employees were injured when their aircraft struck a tree while turning into the sun during a mule deer capture operation on the west slope of the Sierra Nevada in Tulare County. The aircraft, a Bell 206B, was a total loss. This incident again involved an internal review, resulting in additional requirements or revisions to existing policy involving aircraft safety issues within CDFG. (8) On 5 January 2010, the most recent loss occurred. Three CDFG employees (Clu Cotter, Kevin O Connor, and Tom Stolberg) and the pilot (Mike Donovan) were killed when their aircraft, a Bell 206B, struck an unmarked power line while conducting a mule deer survey on the west slope of the Sierra Nevada in Madera County. The aircraft was completely destroyed. Aviation accidents have long been recognized as the most dangerous duties of wildlife managers. The most recent accident took the lives of three young, energetic, and dedicated personnel, and a skilled and dedicated pilot that had accumulated many thousands of hours of flight time and whose skills contributed greatly to our knowledge of mountain sheep in California. Each of them will be missed by their families and friends, and by their professional colleagues. Their efforts and sacrifice should, however, also be appreciated by all of those who benefit from the day-to-day activities that are carried out by individuals that have dedicated their lives to the conservation of wildlife and wildlife habitat, as should the efforts of all others that have been lost in the line of duty. Tributes to Kevin, Clu, Tom, and Mike can be viewed at the following Web site: m_content&task=view&id=211&itemid=337. D 9

10 LARRY HIGGINS: 2010 s MR. TOUGH GUY By Brenton Scott The 9th Annual Conklin Award was presented, at the Hyatt Hotel in Dallas, Texas at the Dallas Safari Club First Light convention on Thursday, January 7, The Conklin Award is the Tough Guy award. It recognizes the world s greatest active hunter who pursues game in the most difficult terrain and conditions, exhibits the highest degree of ethics, and is a strong participant in wildlife conservation. James E. Conklin, M.D. was a true sportsman. If it demanded vertical steps, a lot of sweat, danger, and miserable conditions, Dr. Jim hunted it. That was the way he was, and that is the essence of this award. The Conklin Award judges represent a crosssection of some of the most active hunters in the world today. The Conklin Award is also unique in that past recipients of the award are automatically invited to become award judges. This was done for a reason. The different species and sub species are assigned a point value that was arrived at by the judges rating the animals on a scale of difficulty. The difficulty rating of the animals that a Conklin Award candidate has taken is a major component of the award criterion Dr. Jim exhibited the highest degree of ethics in his extensive hunting career. Like Dr. Conklin, the judges feel it is of the utmost importance for each hunter to conduct themselves in the field with integrity and dignity. James E. Conklin, M.D. was an ardent supporter of wildlife conservation. He was a true visionary with a real passion for getting our younger generation involved in the outdoors. The Conklin Award applicant is likewise expected to show participation in wildlife conservation projects and organizations. This participation can include any combination of significant monetary donations to established conservation causes or organizations, voluntary leadership or assistance to the same, significant volunteerism for youth outdoor education, or political volunteerism for pro hunting and conservation causes. These three broad award components difficulty, ethics, and conservation constitute the basis of the Conklin Award, which is awarded annually to the most deserving hunter-conservationist. It was with great pleasure that The Conklin Foundation announced the 2010 Recipient of the Conklin Award: Mr. Larry B. Higgins of Gaylord, Michigan. In North America, Larry has harvested all of the big game species available except for the polar bear and walruses. In the area of mountain hunting Larry s accomplishments are truly superb. Larry has taken more than 30 different species of wild sheep and 20 different capra species. This feat has only been accomplished by 10 other hunters. In total, he has more than 37 wild sheep specimens of 32 different species and 25 wild capra specimens of 23 different species. Of particular interest is that Larry has collected every huntable chamois and ibex subspecies as well as every subspecies of blue sheep. His mountain hunting resume is extremely impressive for its longevity and diversity. He has likewise been a steward for sport hunting and a generous donor of his time, finances, and talents. Larry holds membership in numerous hunting-conservation organizations and has led many in leadership roles. He is currently a director-at-large for Safari Club International and a past SCI Mid-Michigan Chapter president. Due to his outstanding collection of the most difficult to obtain big game animals of the world, his dedication and commitment to wildlife conservation, and his adherence to fair chase hunting, The Conklin Foundation feels that Larry B. Higgins is a most appropriate and deserving recipient. Having followed Larry s endeavors and achievements with much respect and awe, this author certainly would agree. D 10

11 CHUKAR: THE WILD SHEEP OF UPLAND GAME HUNTING By Cary Jellison For those of you that love to hunt wild sheep, but can t seem to ever draw a tag or afford to buy one, I ve got the answer. Give wild chukar hunting a try. Notice I said wild chukar, not to be confused with planted chukar at a hunting preserve. As a guide, I always know I m in trouble when someone calls who is interested in booking a wild chukar hunt in Nevada and when I ask if they ve ever hunted chukar before, they say, Yeah, I usually buy a forty bird card at my club every year. I then go on to explain to them that out of everything I do as a guide, chukar hunting and cougar hunting are the two most physically demanding hunts I offer; not my elk, deer, or even my sheep hunts are as physically demanding. Sheep hunting would be up there with chukar hunting were it not for the hours I spend behind a pair of binoculars or spotting scope every day, giving me a much needed break from the otherwise grueling climbing in nasty terrain. Chukar live in country very similar to sheep, and in some cases live right with the sheep. It is not uncommon while hunting chukar for them to be above the sheep while you hunt the ridges and rim rock ledges that chukar love. Like sheep hunters, chukar hunters must be in better shape than most other upland bird hunters. This is not a South Dakota pheasant hunt on flat ground that lasts for an hour or two before you ve shot your limit. More typically you hunt steep rocky terrain, may climb 2,000 vertical feet or more in a day, cover miles of ground and hunt all day. Limits are the exception here, not the rule. There s an old saying among chukar hunters and anyone that has spent much time hunting them has surely heard someone say, the first time you go chukar hunting is for fun, after that, it s for revenge. There s a lot of truth to this since chukar have a way of getting under your skin. There are a couple scenarios that happen on a regular basis hunting these birds. You re hiking up a ridge and you hear the birds calling in front of you and you get excited thinking, They re only a hundred yards in front of me. I ve got em now. After climbing for 400 yards and watching your dog work back and forth without finding any birds, or even acting like he or she has smelled a bird, it becomes apparent that they were a lot farther off than you thought. To make matters worse, after you ve gone 600 yards up and your dog finally gets birdy, you realize that the covey you heard calling has been watching you the whole time. While you were climbing after them, they were running from you at roughly the same pace. So you really haven t gotten anywhere other than a little bit further from your truck. After another 400 yards of following an extremely birdy dog, you finally reach 11 the top of the ridge and the dog goes on point. You get up to the dog and just as you crest over the rocky ridge, the birds flush at 50 yards; they fly down the other side of the mountain, giving you no chance for a shot. You just climbed 1,000 yards up a mountain after a covey of birds you thought were only a hundred yards away and have nothing to show for it but a pair of sore legs and burning lungs. Another example of something that happens on a fairly regular basis goes something like this. You re hunting down a ridge and your dog goes on point out in front of you about a 100 yards away. You walk quickly and quietly to get to your dog. You get there, walk out in front of the dog and a bird flushes 90 degrees to your left at about 30 yards. You turn and take an off-balance shot and miss. At the sound of the shot, the rest of the covey flushes at only about 15 yards but are back to your right. You try to spin back around for the shot, but in the steep rocky terrain you just can t get spun around and get balanced fast enough to get a shot at the little rockets flying down the mountain. Quite often in situations like these, the hunter will actually end up on his or her rear watching the birds sail out of sight. This brings me to another point. Don t ever believe someone who tells you they hunt chukar a lot if they have a nice shiny gun that still looks brand new. You can always tell an experienced chukar hunter when you see that his or her gun looks like it was drug behind the pickup. The nice thing about chukar hunting is that they mostly live on public land and the season runs for four months in Nevada and almost that long in California. In the early season, try hunting around springs or water developments. You can also try locating birds in the evening or early morning by glassing the rocks where they roost and listening for birds calling. Chukar are very vocal birds and once you know what they sound like, this is a big advantage to a hunter. As the season progresses and the snow starts to fall, the birds no longer need water and might be found anywhere. Concentrate on areas with lots of rim rock or rock piles. Chukar love rocks. As we get into winter and more snow starts to accumulate, you will find most of the birds on south facing slopes or wind blown ridges. Chukar will dig down through the snow to feed as long as it s not too deep, but they prefer to be on a dry south facing slope instead of a north facing slope with six inches of snow on it. So don t be discouraged when you ve applied for all your sheep tags and find out that you haven t drawn any again this year. Instead, try hunting the sheep of upland birds, the wild chukar. I think you ll like it. Who knows you might end up being a chukar fanatic like me. D Editor s Note: Cary Jellison operates G & J Outdoors, (530) He guides for multiple species in CA and NV.

12 THE SHEEP SHOW RETURNS TO RENO By Kyle Meintzer, Director, Wild Sheep Foundation After a three-year hiatus, on February 3, 2010, the annual international convention of the Wild Sheep Foundation kicked off its return to Reno with a superb Welcome back to Reno party. Held in the beautiful new downtown Reno Ballroom, hundreds of wild sheep enthusiasts renewed friendships, shared a fine meal and enjoyed our best Welcome Back party ever. The excitement and enthusiasm that resulted from the return to Reno was evident from before The Sheep Show even opened the doors to the public. When exhibitors arrived at the Reno Sparks Convention Center to set up their booths, they were met by a small army of red t-shirt clad volunteers from Nevada Bighorns Unlimited. Within minutes, the volunteers would offload the booths and take everything to their exhibit space where they would then help set up the displays. The response to these volunteers from the exhibitors was simply tremendous. Four hundred twenty exhibitors filled the convention hall, offering a wide variety of hunts, trips, merchandise and services. A large lounge in the center of the hall offered attendees a great place to sit down together and exchange stories. The raffle area was packed with participants hopeful of drawing one of three sheep hunts along with several other hunts and quality merchandise. Their enthusiasm helped make the raffles a great success and was a big part of the show s financial success. The afternoon auctions drew hundreds of people in pursuit of a dream hunt or a special tag. The Wild Sheep Foundation convention saw a record 51 hunt permits put up for auction, with several selling for record prices, despite the economy. The Saturday night banquet was a great event as well. As has become a tradition at the Sheep Show, the generosity and dedication to the mission was on display as items would be purchased, then donated back for auction again and again! At the end, nearly $5,000,000 was raised thanks to the tremendous support and generosity of WSF members and guests! The Sheep Show will return to Reno next year. Mark your calendars now for the 2011 Wild Sheep Foundation convention on February 10-12, 2011! D VIVA LAS VEGAS RECAP OF GSCO CONVENTION By Brenton Scott Mountain hunters from around globe came together once again in Las Vegas, Nevada the week following the President s Day holiday. Some were there trying to win a hunt, others were there to book hunts and others just went for camaraderie and the chance to see old friends while making some new ones. The gathering was the 6th Annual Hunter & Outfitter Convention put on by the Grand Slam Club / Ovis. The various evening awards programs showed that the convention theme of Together We Triumph was very appropriate. Famous and accomplished hunters with decades of experience to their credit were humble with their achievements finally completed and recognized to the cheers of their peers and fellow hunters. One of those was Ray Young, completely surprised with being named the recipient of the 2010 Ovis. Ray is a quiet person that I had the pleasure and honor of sitting next to at the Conklin Award presentation earlier in the year at Dallas Safari Club s convention. Ray hunts primarily with a handgun and is one of the most accomplished yet humble hunters a person could ever hope to meet. He was introduced by his long-time hunting partner and current president of Safari Club International, Dr. Larry Rudolph. Ray was left pretty much speechless. The 2010 Legend Award was presented to the always entertaining, Dr. Robert (Bob) Speegle. Most mountain hunters will know who Bob is immediately. After having done it all with a rifle, Bob picked up a bow and has commenced to become quite adept with that weapon as well. The Board of Directors Award is not given annually, and to date has only been awarded on three occasions. This third occasion happened this year and the honorees were the dynamic husband and wife team of Chrissie and John J. Jackson III of Conservation Force. The auctioneer kept the pace fast and furious during all of the auctions this year. Book signings by famous folks such as Robert M. Anderson and Jose Pepe Madrazo were well received and an exciting chance to have a relaxed talk with the authors. Seminars on various mountain hunting topics were well attended and surprisingly interactive. The exhibits were terrific with quality time available to have a serious discussion with the outfitters or manufacturers of your interest. Many exhibitors noted that they enjoyed being able to have substantial conversations with prospective clients in an unhurried atmosphere. A record crowd showed for the Friday evening activities. Various drawing began on Friday, and Saturday evening finished the convention off with more drawings. One of the highlights of those Saturday drawings was an 80-year-old hunter from Colorado winning a desert sheep hunt to hopefully complete his long time goal of getting all four of the North American species. He had attended each and every convention attempting to win one since he could not afford to outright purchase such a hunt. The crowd was on their feet whistling and applauding when it was realized what had just happened. D 12

13 WHAT I SAW AT THE FIRST-EVER FULL CURL SOCIETY SOCIAL AT THE WESTERN HUNTING EXPO By John Coulter, Dedicated Volunteer and Past President MN/WI FNAWS After attending the first meeting ever of the new Full Curl Society, I felt the need to share with all of you what I observed in Salt Lake City. Don Peay, the founder of Sportsman for Fish and Wildlife (SFW), has been much criticized for starting the FCS. Let me start by saying that in my opinion, I do not think the FCS is in any way an organization that is a threat to, or is competing with, the Wild Sheep Foundation. I believe that the new FCS will prove itself to be a very good friend of the WSF as it encourages Sheep Fever. There were an estimated 800 people in attendance the afternoon of February 13 at the first-ever meeting of the Full Curl Society at the Western Hunting Expo in Salt Lake City, Utah. Most of them were under 35 and many of them had brought their children with them. Each of them paid $40 to become a charter member of the FCS. The young people I saw in attendance were clearly passionate about hunting. I quickly discovered that many of them had been hunting antelope, mule deer and elk since they were kids. A few of these young hunters had already killed a bighorn by drawing one of these coveted tags in their home state! I must say that I would have been proud to hunt with most any of them! Don Peay began by speaking as to what the Full Curl Society was to be. There will be no paid officers or headquarters. There will be only one magazine per year. He said the FCS would never be about record-keeping, but simply about helping people realize their dreams of hunting wild sheep. Don spoke about his love of sheep hunting and told the group that taking all four North American rams was one of the greatest achievements of his life. He told the group that he and Karl Malone, the co-founder of the Full Curl Society, were committed to giving others the opportunity to hunt North American Wild Sheep. While he spoke, Don repeatedly praised the Wild Sheep Foundation and spoke of his long service to WSF. He told the large crowd that, without a doubt, the number one problem facing western and northern hunters today is the destruction of their big game herds by predators. Don told the large group that he was eager for SFW and the FCS to work together with the Wild Sheep Foundation on this issue. Karl Malone then took the podium and spoke of his growing up poor in rural Louisiana, but still having big dreams. Many of his dreams centered around basketball of course, but Karl told those in attendance that he also dreamed of hunting deer, elk, bear and sheep. He spoke emotionally of his joy of actually achieving his basketball and hunting dreams. He told the members of the new FCS that he was committed to FCS and to helping others achieve their dreams of hunting wild sheep. He received a standing ovation after he spoke. Don Peay pointed out to everyone that Karl, who had just been named to the NBA Hall of Fame, had skipped the ceremony honoring him at the NBA All Star Game to be with them this afternoon. After Don and Karl spoke of their dreams and goals for the FCS, Don honored 12 individuals by inducting them into the Full Curl Society Hall of Fame for their contributions to North American Wild Sheep. Next year, this year s inductees will pick a new group to be honored. Many of those that were inducted into the FCS Hall Of Fame had many years of service to FNAWS-WSF. Respect for the WSF was clearly evident. The Full Curl Society has several men with financial means who have generously committed funds to this new organization. Because of men like Mark Bingham, who recently gave SFW $5 million dollars, SFW was able to purchase an exclusive guiding area in the Northwest Territories called Arctic Red River Outfitters. Because of the generosity of Mr. Bingham and several others, the FCS was able to give away 10 totally free sheep hunts to those in attendance. Most of the winners of free sheep hunts were under 40. It was wonderful to see the joy and enthusiasm when their name was called! Of the 10 sheep hunts given away, 5 went to women and their joy was contagious! At the end of the first meeting of the Full Curl Society Karl Malone and Don Peay promised to do their best to provide even more sheep hunts for the group next year. They told the attendees that sheep fever was a good thing and that they should work hard and never give up their dreams of hunting wild sheep. There was a genuine excitement about sheep hunting that you could see and feel as the large group filed out. I grew up on a farm in southwestern Minnesota, and I guess I was poor, as we lived in a cold farmhouse without running water. I never realized I was poor until I was much older, because I had a mother and father who clearly loved each other and constantly displayed their love for me. I hunted gophers, squirrels, rabbits, ducks and pheasants year round in between my farms chores and school, which I was never allowed to miss! Getting an education was not a matter of choice in the home I grew up in. I became a high school teacher and coach in The love of hunting still burned deep inside of me, but I could never get time away from school to hunt in the Fall. Although I loved teaching, I came very close to quitting several times because of this. I discovered that I could hunt sheep in August in several areas, so I booked an August Dall sheep hunt in Alaska. That first hunt was $1,800 and included my wife, Muriel! My brother-in-law, who worked for Northwest Airlines, got Muriel and me Buddy Passes for the flight to Anchorage. Once in continued on page 14 13

14 continued from page 13 Anchorage, we did not have the money to get to Glenallen, Alaska to meet our outfitter, so we hitchhiked across Alaska carrying my rifle case with a sign on it asking for rides. People were very kind, and we not only got rides, we were given primitive places to spend the night. I got a Dall ram on that hunt that I had to work very, very hard for. Sadly, no one can hunt now where Muriel and I went, as it was declared a National Park. After getting that first Dall ram in 1977, I became addicted to sheep hunting and dedicated to FNAWS. I am proud of the fact that I have been able to hunt so much on the salary of a public high school teacher. For 25 years I refereed every youth, high school, college and amateur baseball, football and basketball game so I could to pay for my new addiction. I quit drinking and smoking at the same moment in 1981 so I would have more money for hunting! I have also been fortunate to have met and married someone like Muriel who actually encouraged my sheep hunting because she understood that it made be happy and whole. Why am I telling you all of this? As a high school teacher who spent 35 years working with young people every day, I just wanted to share with you the excitement of the young people I saw at the Western Hunting Expo in Salt Lake City, Utah. Backpack and hunting gear exhibitors had to be having great sales based on the number of young people I saw carrying their hunting dreams around in brand new backpacks! I also wanted to remind all of you that although many of us have achieved many of our hunting dreams, we have an obligation to those hunters who follow us. Every now and then we need to be reminded that not all of us have, or have come from, the same financial circumstances. Don Peay convincingly pointed out to those who attended the FCS social that if sheep hunting becomes only the domain of the rich, it could very well go the way of polar bear hunting. I know of very few hunters who are all that worried about the possibility of polar bear hunting being banned! It follows then that if hunters cannot dream of hunting sheep, they will not stand in large numbers to protect them. D GET YOUR TICKETS NOW FOR THE DRIVE TO 35 BANQUET & FUNDRAISER May 1, 2010 By Ken Fish, President & Fundraiser Chair and Mike Borel, VP & Newsletter Editor What California FNAWS Drive to 35 Banquet and Fundraiser When Saturday, May 1, 2010 Where Marriott Rancho Cordova Point East Drive Rancho Cordova, CA (direct to hotel) (Marriott Reservations) Ask for the room block for a rate of $89/night Who All active and aspiring sheep hunters in California Why Because as a result of funds raised by and contributed to surveys by the California Department of Fish and Game, the number of desert bighorn sheep tags in California have more than doubled in the last five years and our work is helping open new hunt zones in the near future! Additionally Ram quality has improved! You may not be aware, but through efforts, previously unknown sheep populations have been discovered, and existing population groups have been increasing. In fact, sheep hunting in California may be entering a silver age! Come join the fun and the excitement with fellow hunters and wild sheep enthusiasts. Eat well, have some laughs and relive memories with friends. Purchase or win your next hunt and gear! We will also have some fantastic tags (including 3 desert bighorn tags CA, Tiburon and Baja Biosphere!), 2 Dall Sheep Hunts, Moose, Caribou, Aoudad, Deer, and many more great hunts, trips and merchandise not to mention the opportunity to meet and talk with Sheep Hunters! 14

15 OUT AND ABOUT IN SHEEP COUNTRY By Gary Thomas, SCBS Projects Coordinator We have our work cut out for us this year because of all the renewable energy projects that are planned for the desert. All of them will remove habitat that wildlife need and some could impact sheep country. They will need to be watched so the impact is kept to a minimum. Most of the solar projects are in the flats and aren t where the sheep live but could cut the migration corridors of sheep from one mountain range to another. The wind farms are on the ridge tops and will have more of a direct impact on the sheep. A good example of a solar project that would have hurt sheep is the Bright Source Energy project in the Sleeping Beauty Valley. It would have isolated the sheep in the Cady s and stop the sheep movement into the Bristol s. SCBS went to Wildlands Conservancy and asked for their help to stop Bright Source and two others from building there. It was a long and hard battle with a lot of phone calls and meetings with people that have not always been on our side, but we were successful in stopping them from building there for now. Here is what we were trying to protect. Ten years ago there were 60 to 70 Bighorn Sheep in the Cady s and the herd had stopped expanding. Then the cattle were removed and SCBS became concerned about what would happen to the sheep after the cattle water was turned off so we started a study there to watch the sheep. The first thing we saw was the lambing area moved closer to the Cady Drinker. The herd began to grow and expand and we saw where sheep were traveling between the Cady and Bristol mountains. The sheep also moved northeast to the Soda Mountains and established a resident herd at Zzyzx. Two years ago SCBS went to DF&G and asked them to look at the Cady s as a possible hunt zone and DFG asked to fund a survey. That survey counted 106 sheep and only covered 60% of the mountains. Glenn Sudmiere was on that survey and decided to see what else was happening. In the last two years he has walked over 2 thousand miles looking at sheep in the Cady s, Bristol s and the area to the north of the Bristol s. He has found three sites where wildlife drinkers need to be built for sheep. Based on his observations and last years count of 167 sheep in the Cady s the sheep there have grown from under one hundred to over three hundred. The sheep in the Bristol s have grown from too few to count to over a hundred. The South Soda s now have a resident herd where ten years ago they hadn t been seen since I-15 was built in the early 1960s. The California Department of Fish and Game will do the E/A to establish a hunt zone in the Cady s and in a few years we will see some great rams come out of there. To recap this is just one small area that cattle were removed and we watched to see what would happen. There may be many spots like this out there that could be impacted by renewable energy projects that we don t know about and we need to keep on top of what is going on. If we are not careful we could lose a future Cady or South Bristol. One of the interesting things that is coming about is we are working with many new groups on some of these projects. Senator Feinstein has introduced a bill to create two new national monuments and they will protect some sheep habitat but we need to make sure that California Department of Fish and Game and their agents will be able to manage the wildlife and habitat in the monuments in the future. SCBS asked Dr. Vern Bleich to give us his recommendations so they could be incorporated in the bill and have had many meetings with Senator Feinstein s staff to get this done. We will continue to watch the progress of the bill through the Senate and if necessary travel to Washington and appear at committee hearings. is collaborating on this effort and COHA is involved. D Giuseppe Carrizosa Spain Giuseppe Carrizosa Libra, 47 (Aravaca) Madrid SPAIN giuseppecarrizosa@gmail.com Integrated Telecom Solutions Joe M. Surprenant 7579 St. Carlo Stockton, CA jsuper@its-co.com Grand Slam Club/Ovis Taylor Deboer PO Box Birmingham, AL gsco@wildsheep.org Jannie Otto Safaris Jannie Otto P.O. Box Centurion 0046 South Africa mwjosusa@mweb.co.za

16 NIX S LAST HUNT By Dmitri Hanlon At the end of a wonderful anniversary evening in June, I finally got around to opening the mail. I saw a letter from DFG and decided to see what was in it. I opened it to find that I had drawn a sheep tag! I looked at it for awhile, thinking This isn t real. Then I ran outside and told my husband Howie. He didn t believe me and had to look at the letter. I only had 5 points; it had to be the random tag. Then he was on the phone to our buddy, Wayne. Wayne told him to relax, we would figure out a plan. We spent the next few months figuring out what we were going to do and when to go down to the unit. We finally decided that we were going to be there for opening day, and were planning when to go and start scouting. Since the season opens December 5, it looked like we would be there around Thanksgiving. A couple months before I drew the tag, I had started the P90X workout. I continued with the program every day, and by the time we left for the unit, I was in great shape. We also went out every weekend for the last couple months and I practiced shooting my Ruger M77, 270 in every different position and distance. I was as ready as I could get. The week before we were going to leave, we lost our very special Chocolate Labrador, Nix. She had been our hunting buddy for many years and it was a very hard loss for us. It made it hard to concentrate on the hunt preparations and our excitement for the upcoming hunt. We headed to the unit Thanksgiving weekend, as planned, and spent several days scouting all the ranges. I was looking for a ram with lots of mass and a bumpy, beat up nose. As the days passed, we saw more and more rams. We found an area with several rams and were going to hunt that area come opening day. The evening before opening, we had to have a change of plans and decided to go into the range we had yet to scout. We were out there at the crack of dawn, and started hiking up into the hills. I didn t tell anyone, but I put a picture of Nix in my pocket. I knew she was with us and would give us good luck. Not long into our hike, we saw a ram with two ewes. The guys asked me if I wanted to go for him, he was probably around a 155, but I said he wasn t what I was looking for. More mass, and it was the morning of opening day. I wasn t in a hurry. We would glass the areas and then hike some more, moving higher and higher into the hills. When we had gone for several hours, we spotted a rock formation that Wayne thought looked like a vulture. When I looked at it, my immediate thought was, that s Nix giving us a sign. That s not a vulture, that s a dog sitting and looking at sheep. We went up to the next rock area and settled down to glass. We were about four miles in by then, so we decided to stay there awhile. We finally had lunch and the guys took a nap. I kept glassing, knowing there were sheep here somewhere. Nix told me so. We d been there a couple hours when we decided that it was time to start heading back to the truck. Howie checked out the scope, making sure there was nothing toward the area we were headed. Suddenly, SHEEP don t move! He saw that some rams had moved in and settled on a ridge 400 yards behind us. We started looking in the scopes and saw a younger ram and one that was pretty good looking lying on the ridge, chewing their cud and watching us. I got a look in the scope at the same time Wayne was looking in his, and right behind the bigger ram, another ram lifted his head for a brief second and dropped it back down. But, it was long enough for us to see that he was a great ram. Wayne looked at me and mouthed, That s a shooter! Oh yeah. I ll take him, I said. Then we had to plan the strategy. We were too far away for me to shoot, and either had to get closer or try again tomorrow. It looked like there was a way to creep closer without them seeing us. We did, and when we came up and into place, we were within 220 yards of them. There was a nice rock ledge to sit on with the perfect place to set my rifle. All I could see was the good ram; the bigger one was still behind him. I set up, waiting for them to get up. Finally, they got up and started moving toward us. First the good ram came over the hill and headed toward a Yucca tree to eat. Then the big ram came over the hill. I could tell he was a big boy. Through my scope I could see that he had a lot of mass and was the one that I wanted. The two rams started eating the tree, one on each side. Wayne told me to shoot him behind the shoulder, and I tried to steady myself and aim at that spot. All of a sudden sheep fever or whatever set in, and I couldn t keep my rifle still to 16

17 save myself. My eye started twitching and I was telling myself to calm down and hold still. Finally I shot, only to have Wayne tell me I missed. I couldn t believe it! He told me to shoot him again, and when I looked through the scope, I saw the other ram. He had walked up to see what the noise was about. Then my ram came up to see what was up and I shot again, this time hitting him in the neck. He went right down, and rolled once. Did I get him? Wayne said, You got him. The relief was huge. Then the excitement set in, I turned around and gave Howie and Wayne a hug. I got him! When we finally got down to the ram, it was clear he was a big one. He had a lot of mass and his horns curled way up. We wanted to stay and check him out, but it was already after 3:00 p.m. and the sun was going down. We quickly took some pictures and started dressing him out. By 4:30 p.m. we were headed down the hill. Since we were so far in, it took us awhile to get back to the road. Wayne had the head and cape, and Howie and I split the meat. On the way down, I stopped and showed Howie the picture of Nix in my pocket. He couldn t believe I brought her, but he agreed she been there with us and brought in the sheep. It was way past dark by the time we hit the road, and boy were we happy to see that white line. When we got back to camp, the guys started measuring. The more they measured, the more excited they got. When they were done, I was told the ram was somewhere around 180. Really big! I called Andy Pauli, the DFG biologist, to make an appointment to have the ram green scored and plugged in the morning. When Andy showed up at the meeting place the next day, he came out of the vehicle with a huge smile on his face. The way he acted, I knew I had to have a great ram. Andy green scored him at 181-1/8. And he was only 6-1/2 years old! I have to give very special thanks to Wayne Testolin, our sheep buddy, without whom I would have never seen the sheep we did or get to that great sheep. Also, of course, to my wonderful husband, who always makes sure we put in for all the species in California, and who has taught me so much about hunting. And our wonderful dog, Nix. I miss you so much, and I know you lead us to this ram. I hope dog heaven is full of ducks, geese and milk bones. D OLD RAMS HAVE CHARACTER! By Rory Wurfbain In December 2009 we were hunting in the Clark Kingston Mountains of California, located on the border with Nevada. My father and the outfitter, Terry Anderson, had been out scouting the area for several days while I finished my final exams for the semester at my university. There were several assistant guides Jake Franklin, Colin Jewett and Andrew Pontious and they made a great team. They had seen several rams, and all of us were excited with the prospect of taking one. By the time I arrived, anticipation was high. On the first day out we spotted a group of rams, and Terry Anderson said that it was one of the biggest male-only herds he had ever seen. Eleven rams were sitting on one of the mountain ridges. With the wind in our favor, we stalked for five hours, only to be met with a huge stroke of bad luck. The wind shifted, and the rams made a run for the hills. The next day we continued our stalk and found a huge old ram that had one horn broken off, but had a very great horn on the other side. To me this ram had character. When I was told that the ram would not likely survive another year, I decided that he was the one I wanted. We traveled along the slope but then decided to come in from below out of the of the canyon in order to get a good shot at the ram. It was either that or take a 400-yard shot with a heavy-cross wind, something that I ve had little experience doing. After making our final approach, we positioned ourselves comfortably to make a 140-yard shot at the ram, which was by then standing at the top of the canyon eating a cactus. I bagged my ram, and I have to say that this was one of the most exhilarating hunts of my life, especially since I had always been told that getting a wild sheep is no easy business. D 17

18 BIG GAME DRAWING AND PREFERENCE POINTS SUMMARY By Tony Straw, CA DFG Editor s Note: This information and the summary table of draw statistics for desert sheep in California are included due to the interest members have in this. Feedback is always appreciated! Current System put in place in Hunters that have applied since 2002 and have been unsuccessful have 8 points. Goals of System were to: - Provide an advantage to hunters that applied continually and were unsuccessful - Provide hunters with some predictability in the time frame it would take to be drawn - Avoid discouraging new hunters from applying in the drawing As the first two goals are in conflict with the third, the system implemented was a modified preference point system where a percentage of the tags are awarded to customers with the most points (those that applied the longest without being drawn) and the balance of tags are awarded in a random drawing. The system allows for weighting these conflicting goals by changing the percentage of tags awarded in the two methods. The current splits are: - 75 preference/25 random for elk, antelope and sheep hunts - 90% preference/10 % random for non-apprentice deer hunts - 50 preference/50 random for apprentice deer hunts - Note that the current regulation requires that at least one tag is available in the random round. Therefore, hunts with only one tag (generally very premium hunts) are issued with no advantage based on points. Current System Performance - System provides predictability to maximum years to get a tag. For moderate demand hunts like the X zone deer hunts, this is typically 2-5 years. For hunts with extreme odds like bull elk, antelope and bighorn sheep hunts, this can be many years, even beyond life expectancy. However, because of high demand and very low quotas, the only way to shorten these wait periods would be increases in tag quotas. - Statistics indicate that the system has not discouraged new applicants. The application volume has steadily increased since the implementation of the system. Species Summary - Deer All consistent X zone general and archery applicants have received at least one tag, with the exception of X5B. For most of these hunts, hunters will receive a tag about every 2-5 years. For X5B, where the applicant-to-tag ratio is over 20:1, the most unlucky applicants will receive the tag this year (a 9-year wait). The ultra-premium hunts such as G3 (Goodale), G37 (Anderson Flat), and M3 (Doyle) have applicant-to-tag ratios of approximately 120:1, 80:1, and 50:1, respectively. These hunts will not guarantee applicants tags for many years. However, a consistent applicant can make a reasonable estimate of the time it will take to get a tag. Based on 2009 application data, the maximum wait for a max point applicant would be: - G3 - another 35 years - G37 another 15 years - M3 - another 14 years Note that actual wait (assuming tag quotas hold steady) would likely be further reduced as some hunters may drop out of maximum point status by applying for other easier-toobtain tags or not applying at all. Also, some max point applicants would be awarded 18

19 random tags. It also must be noted that most max point applicants would receive the tag in about half that time. - Elk, antelope and sheep Non-apprentice hunts have applicant-to-tag ratios consistent or even higher than the ultra-premium deer hunts. Actual ratios vary significantly by hunt and go from 30:1 to over 1000:1. For max point applicants (based on 2009 application data) the high and low extremes for maximum waits are as follows: - Elk (bull or either-sex) From 483 (Northwestern California) another 8 years, to 438 (Grizzly Island) another 600 years. - Antelope (general weapons) From 710 (Mount Dome) another 14 years, to 760 (Surprise Valley) another 26 years. - Sheep - From 507 (White Mountains) another 135 years, to 502 (Kelso Peak/Old Dad Mountains) another 265 years. Non-apprentice, antlerless elk hunts are relatively easy to obtain. Some hunts have less max point applicants than tags while others have around 2-10 max point applicants per tag. Apprentice elk hunts have applicant-to-tag ratios from 28:1 to over 200:1. Since eligibility is limited to the 4 years where applicant is age12-15, the point system can only serve to improve odds over that period. Estimated waiting periods are not relevant. Applicantto-tag ratios range from 464 (La Panza - antlerless) 16:1 to 472 (Fort Hunter Liggett bull) at over 200:1. Half (4/8) the hunts have only one tag, so the draw is completely random. For the four with preference tags, the odds for max point applicants (those with 3 unsuccessful junior applicant years) range from 489 (Bishop - antlerless) 5:1 to 409 (Northeastern California) at over 33:1. AK Dept of Fish and Game Juneau, AK Faunafrica Safaris Ken Du Plessis PO Box 1203 Ellisras RSA 0555 SOUTH AFRICA ken@lantic.net

20 PHOTOS FROM THE FIELD Bob Gerber Desert Bighorn Sheep November 2009 Marbles, CA Frank Cox Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep Octoer 2009 Wyoming (Unit 2) Dmitri Hanlon Desert Bighorn Sheep December 2009 Old Dad, CA Jim McIsaac Desert Bighorn Sheep January 2010 Old Dad/Kelso Peak, CA Peggy DiPrima Desert Bighorn Sheep December 2009 Old Dad, CA Scott Butterfield Aoudad February 2010 Texas 20

21 Richard Sievers Desert Bighorn Sheep 2009 Marble Mountains, CA Stephen Perez Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep 2008 Wyoming Randy Boyd Desert Bighorn Sheep December 2009 Old Dad/Kelso Peak, CA Wild Sheep Foundation Gray Thornton 720 Allen Ave. Cody, Wy Archery Only Wayne Piersol Cedar Blvd, Suite C Newark, CA Dama Dama Safaris Resit Kaan Ozmen Yesilbahce Mh SK 10/13 Antalya Turkey resit@damadamasafaris.com Front Sight Training Institute P. O. Box 2619 Aptos, CA info@frontsight.com Diamond Outfitters LTD Dan Adler PO Box 1432 Cortaro, AZ azdiamondoutfitters@hotmail.com Furs by Robert Brian and Jeanne Smith PMB # Market St. N.E. Salem, OR jemsmith@onlinenw.com

22 AN OLD WARRIOR By Randy Boyd It all started on Sunday June 21, 2009, Father s Day. I stopped to check the mail, which my wife usually does. However, she asked me to stop and pick it up on this day. I was surprised by a letter from the California Department of Fish & Game License and Revenue Branch. I ve been applying for both archery elk in the Owens Valley and desert bighorn sheep in the Kelso Peak/Old Dad Mountains for the past 12 years and have maximum bonus points for both. When I opened the letter from DF&G I was more anticipating elk than bighorn sheep, so while I was seeing Successful for Bighorn Sheep in the Kelso Peak/Old Dad Mountains I was reading ELK. What a Father s Day gift. I just hit the lottery. The first person I called was my best friend and hunting partner my son Garrett. He was every bit as excited as I was. Then I called my good friend and hunting buddy Johnny Carey, who 14 years ago drew this tag as the second alternate. Talk about luck. Johnny was hoping some one he knew would draw the tag so he could help them out. Well his wish came true. Johnny suggested that I do it self guided as there were plenty of sheep in the unit and we would have plenty of help from people who knew the unit and knew sheep. Right away I received calls from the three local outfitters, and I told them I was undecided as wether to use a guide or go self guided. I was also put in contact with John Henson of the Society for the Conservation of Bighorn Sheep (SCBHS) who put me in contact with several other members of the SCBHS. They all encouraged me to go self guided as long as I was willing to do the work to learn the unit and the sheep. This is a once-in-alifetime hunt, so the decision was not easy. However, I chose to go self guided through the month of December, and if unsuccessful, I would hire Terry Anderson from San Gorgonio Outfitters to help me find and harvest my sheep in January. I m fortunate as this unit is only two and a half hours away from my home. So after attending the one day mandatory sheep clinic, I gathered up maps and obtained as much information about the unit as I could and put a game plan together. My son and I spent a total of nine days scouting, seeing 22 rams, 6 ewes, 1 lamb and probably overlooked several more. I grew more and more confident that my hunt was going to be successful with each scouting trip. The season opened up on Saturday, December 5, 2009, so my son and I headed out on Thursday, December 3 to set up camp and scout for another day and a half. Thursday afternoon/evening scouting turned up fruitless; however, I was not discouraged because I knew there were plenty of sheep in the area. Friday morning we decided to hike back into Kelso Peak to see what might be back there. About an hour into the hike we pumped seven rams, of which two were definite shooters. This is the second time in this area we have had this happen to us. Fortunately they did not see us and we were able to watch them for several hours. We waited until they bedded down, then backed out of the area undetected. It was decided that we would hunt these seven rams in the morning. My friend Johnny arrived in camp Friday night to hunt with us on opening day, which was also his birthday. When he arrived we put a game plan together for the next morning and were quite hopeful for a shot at finding these sheep in the morning. There were two other hunters hunting this unit opening weekend. One was hunting with Terry Anderson of San Gorgonio Outfitters and the other, Dmitri, was hunting self guided with her husband, Howard. We all talked Friday night about the areas we were hunting and agreed to not intrude in each others area. This is a oncein-a-lifetime tag, so we all had mutual respect for each other. My son and I had spent a lot of time in this particular area scouting, so it made the hunt all that much better not having to worry about another hunter bumping sheep we were stalking. Opening day arrived and we were out of our truck at first light. At 7:00 a.m., an hour into the first morning, we spotted the seven rams we put to bed the night before, feeding towards the top of a ridge a mile away. It was where we had anticipated they would be. After two hours we reached our pre-determined spot only to see they had fed up over the top of the ridge. After checking the next drainage and finding nothing, we decided it would be best to back out and not push them into the next mountain range. We spent the rest of the day glassing, turning up nothing. Day 2, Sunday There was a storm that was suppose to hit us Sunday night and Monday, so in anticipation of not hunting Monday, we put a little extra effort into Sunday s hunt. We spent most of the day hiking a little and glassing a whole lot. Except for three small rams and six ewes, it was a pretty uneventful day. The other hunters self-guided Dmitri and Peggy 22

23 hunting with San Gorgonio Outfitters had tagged out. Peggy harvested a 164 ram & Dmitri a 181-2/8 ram. It was down to just me and my son Garrett in the field. Johnny had to return home on Saturday to celebrate his birthday with his family. It would have been a great birthday gift to Johnny if I would have harvested a ram on Saturday. Johnny is the most unselfish hunter I know and have ever hunted with. He has helped both me and my son on countless hunts, and in fact was with Garrett when he harvested his first archery buck. Day 3, Monday We woke up to very cold, cloudy and windy conditions. While it was not raining yet, it was all around us. So we spent the morning perched on a ridge with the west wind howling in our faces, glassing until about 11:00 a.m. It appears the sheep were the smart ones. I was only able to glass up one small ram, and he was tucked away in the rocks out of the wind. By noon the rain had hit, so we headed into town for some needed supplies. We were back in the unit by 3:00 p.m. in the afternoon, and the rain had stopped or so it appeared. We spent the last couple of hours glassing, spotting two ewes and an old one-horned ram. Tomorrow s forecast called for a clear, cold and breezy day. We anticipated a pretty good hunt for Day 4. Day 4, Tuesday It was clear, cold and breezy, just as predicted, and there was a good feeling in the air. We set out for a long day of hiking and glassing. We started out where we hunted opening day, and about a half hour into our hike I spotted a lone ram on a ridge about three quarters of a mile away. He was sky-lined and looking back down the ridge. We were hopeful he was part of the seven we saw on Saturday. We sat and watched him for a while, eventually spotting another, bigger ram. This appeared to be one of the shooters we had seen on Saturday and deserved a closer look. They fed over the ridge. As we reached the point on the ridge we wanted to get to, my son snuck up to a boulder, only to see the rams 100 yards below us. Unfortunately they were at the bottom of the drainage and we never did see where they went, so we just sat and glassed. I eventually found four rams on the opposite ridge about 1,000 yards below us, bedded. So we sat patiently for three hours watching them. When they decided to get up, they fed over the top of the ridge. We gave them some time. When we reached where they had gone over the ridge, once again my son snuck up over the ridge to a boulder to see them bedded 200 yards across the drainage. There was an old beat-up warrior in the group; it was the one I had seen earlier. We sat and watched and studied the rams for some time, trying to decide if I wanted to take the old warrior. I still had two months to hunt, yet we had scouted and hunted hard and looked over a total of 45 rams to this point. After some discussion with my son and God, I decided he was the ram I wanted. I made a clean 200-yard shot and the ram went down right where he stood. I could see through the spotting scope that his horns were all beat up and his face was all scarred up from fighting. He was an old warrior and fighter, and that is just what I wanted. He was a 9-1/2 year old ram scoring 155-4/8. He is a magnificent animal and I thank God for the opportunity to hunt them. God gave me a second chance at life and it has never been better or more blessed than it is today. This hunt is extra special because two years ago I spent two weeks in a medically-induced coma, not knowing if I was going to live or die. That medical problem finally ended just this last May and this sheep tag gave a lot of incentive to get back in shape. After a one-hour hike straight up, we made it back to my truck in time to see one last beautiful sunset over the southwest desert. What a gift! In closing I would like to first thank my Higher Power whom I call God for giving me a second chance at life and giving me the opportunity to hunt this magnificent animal, second my son Garrett who was with me on all my scouting trips and right next to me when I harvested the ram what a gift, and finally to my beautiful wife who allows me to chase all my dreams and supports all that I do. There are several other people to thank and they know who they are. I am eternally grateful for all of your help. And to the wonderful job the Society for the Conservation of Big Horn Sheep has done to help reestablish the population of the desert bighorn sheep. Remember to take a child hunting it s our future. And for me, it has kept my son and me really close. He has hunted with me since he was five; he s now 24. How lucky can a father be? What a blessing! D Arctic Rivers Guide Service Jake Jacobson 4010 Woodland Drive Kodiak, AK huntfish@ak.net CA DFG Sacramento, CA tstephenson@schat.com Hayes River Lodge Craig Fletcher PO Box Wasilla, AK hrl2007@hotmail.com Joshua Spies Fine Art Joshua Spies 201 Craig Street Tracy, MN

24 ARE THERE BIG SHEEP IN CALIFORNIA? By Felix Munguia Are there big sheep in California? That was the question my brother asked me when I showed him the famous California Fish and Game success letter. My response We ll find out! I had drawn the Clark/Kingston zone, and I started thinking of a guide since I didn t know the area and had never hunted sheep before. After receiving a call from Terry Anderson from San Gorgonio Outfitters, I decided to go with him. Terry described my hunt as a very challenging unit to hunt since the sheep tend to migrate to Nevada, which could make it difficult to locate them. However, the plus was that there were some big rams in the unit. The only time available to get off from work was around Christmas time, and I booked my hunt. Orientation day arrived quickly for the lucky tag holders. I didn t know what I had until the sheep orientation came along, and I must say George Kerr and Andy Pauly put something together that you don t want to miss. They really did do an excellent job. During the orientation I met Terry and the other hunters. After speaking to Terry, I knew I had made the right decision about going with him. And having the opportunity to participate in the orientation just added to my excitement about the hunt. Very soon I would be hunting sheep for myself for the very first time. My father would be joining me for this hunt, and honestly there is no one else I d rather have since he and I have had many hunts together. My hunt date was scheduled for December 28, and that came around very quickly. Terry Anderson and his crew were there two weeks before to scout the area, and when I arrived there were two other sheep hunters sitting by the side of the road. I immediately noticed that they were looking through spotting scopes at a mountain that was at least five miles away and I remember thinking, What are those guys looking at? We got into camp, and two hours later the same guys I had noticed earlier also arrived and introduced themselves as Colin and Andrew. They were with San Gorgonio Outfitters and had been looking at the mountain all day for sheep. Needless to say I was very much impressed by that. After settling in to camp, we started to talk about our plan of action as well as the sheep they had spotted. Soon the adrenaline and excitement kicked in, and all you hunters know what comes after that! I am speaking of course of a sleepless night. Yep, I was a victim. I have not had a sleepless night in a while thanks for that, Terry! After a long night, morning finally came around. Colin, Andrew and I went to our vantage point and set up our scopes. Within a half an hour I heard someone say, I see sheep. I was going crazy because I couldn t see anything. We were approximately five miles away looking at a big mountain with sheep on it, yet I could not see one sheep. What is wrong with this picture? I thought to myself, I m an experienced hunter, why can t I see these sheep? To me, it was like looking for a needle in a haystack. But I finally saw them after Colin pointed them out to me. Sheep really blend in to the country and I was again thankful I went with Terry and his crew, who are truly second to none. They really know the terrain as well as the sheep. We studied the sheep and determined there were five potential shooters, but at five miles away we had to get a closer look if we wanted to get a shot. We made our way up the mountain with the hope that the wind wouldn t change. The trek up the mountain was a challenge because of the terrain, but the excitement kept me moving. We got to within 500 yards and the wind shifted. Yep, busted! The sheep took off like there was no tomorrow. We tried to determine their whereabouts and tried again, but we agreed it was better to back off and try to spot them later. The next day, we spotted a group of sheep and immediately worked up a stalk. We headed out after this group. Not long after, Terry came around into a canyon locating a different group lower on the mountain, with improved access. One ram looked very nice, but it was hard to judge him because of the cold waves. Even looking through the cold waves, I could see he was very dark and had extremely long horns. The sheep were low on the mountains and in a very stalkable area with a wind in our favor. Terry and Jake decided that they would spot for us while Andrew, Colin, Pat and I moved into a closer position. Eventually we were able to get within 800 yards of the rams. They were bedded down after their morning feed, allowing time to study them through the spotting scope. There were four possible rams. The dark ram was definitely the one I wanted. His horns had great length and mass all the way to the end. This ram stood out 24

25 more than any of the other rams. While we were spotting, we realized we had one BIG problem we couldn t move over to the next canyon and close the distance. With what seemed like hours, but was only ten minutes later, the ram group stood up out of their beds, beginning the feeding into the next canyon. Once the rams were out of our view, we immediately started closing the distance between us and them. The wind conditions were perfect. The terrain was easier, allowing us to top out of the next canyon that would set us up perfectly for the shot. Wait did I say perfectly? The rams could only be 200 yards below us and across the canyon, but we were unable to see them. I was so nervous I couldn t breathe. But fortunately our plan was working. Terry and Jake could see them below us. Catching my breath and calming down, the rams appeared across the canyon in my sight. Colin prepared me for the shooting position, Andrew ranged the rams at 200 yards and Pat told me that the big ram was the second one from the front of the group. Have you ever heard of ram fever? My heart was beating out of control and I was breathing deeply, amazed at the size of the ram. Once I had him in the crosshairs, breathing calmly, I slowly pulled the trigger. With dust flying, the rams scattered, running over the ridge into the next canyon. I missed, was going through my mind. We waited a few minutes before we walked to where we lost sight of the sheep, and as we walked over, I was recreating the shot in my mind. It was unbelievable to me that I could have missed. I felt confident in my shot. Then, suddenly three rams came running out in view across the canyon. The ram I shot at was nowhere to be seen. Slowly working our way to where the rams had disappeared over the ridge, we saw a silhouette of a downed ram. The closer we got, the bigger the silhouette appeared. It is down! The bullet had hit its mark after all, and we all yelled in joy. I was still in disbelief and never thought it was as big as it was; what a majestic animal! After a picture session we cleaned it up and came off the mountain. What a great hunt, great people and great sheep management! In two days my hunt was over, but I was very satisfied. I remembered the question my brother had asked me, and to answer that question YES, THERE ARE BIG SHEEP IN CALIFORNIA! My ram scored 177. It is the biggest taken out of that area in years. I would like to thank my father for making this hunt possible. And thank you Terry Anderson and all the staff of the San Gorgonio Outfitters a great bunch of guys. D FIRST BABY OF THE NEW YEAR! (DESERT BIGHORN BABY, THAT IS) Trail Cam in the Cadys courtesy of Bob Burke, SCBS 25

26 BIGHORN SHEEP MONITORING IN SE CALIFORNIA Using Monitoring Data to Project Population Size Forward 1-2 Years By Dr. Mary Conner, California Department of Fish and Game In an earlier article, Tom Stephenson reported on new approaches for monitoring desert bighorn in southeastern California. Specifically, Tom discussed that we were reducing costs by not surveying every population each year, but rather projecting population size for 1-2 years for populations with adequate data. He promised some explanation of the methods used for this projection. This article follows my first, wherein I reviewed the fundamentals of monitoring and the data it generates. Here I describe the particulars of monitoring data for California desert bighorn sheep and how they can be used in population models and to project population size forward 1-2 years. Costs, danger, and the need to distribute funds so that more populations can be surveyed motivated the development of methods to project population size some ears rather than estimate by surveys for longterm monitoring. Annual surveys of desert bighorn sheep are expensive; helicopter time costs $1,000/hour and total flying hours has ranged from 28 to 60 hours/ year, depending on the number of ranges surveyed, and survey conditions. Moreover, flying in helicopters is inherently dangerous (there have been two serious crashes during wildlife survey work in the last year). And, there has been pressure to survey additional ranges, although budget has not increased. Skipping surveys on some ranges each year would free up funds to fly addition ranges. For these reasons, a plan to survey every other year rather than every year, and project population size for non-flown years was instituted in The long term goal is to develop an approach that combines periodic helicopter surveys with quantitative modeling. Such an approach will allow broader monitoring of desert bighorn populations through more efficient use of expensive helicopter time, while minimizing risk to Department personnel and maximizing statistical rigor and precision. Aerial population counts of desert bighorn were conducted on a total of 13 ranges in southeastern California. In recent years the focus has been on conducting surveys of hunt zones to determine harvest quotas. Each survey, which was close to a census count of the bighorns on the mountain range surveyed, included counts of lambs, ewes, rams of class I- IV, and in some years, yearling ewes. (Remember from my previous article that although the bighorn range was censused, not all animals were counted due to vegetation, topography, and other impediments to sightability. However, these counts are a good index and we consider them censuses for this paper.) There are three general approaches used to project population sizes into the future. The best known is the age-structured Leslie matrix model, which is a special case of the general class of models called population matrix or population projection models. Population matrix models require data on demographic rates (e.g., survival, recruitment, dispersal) for each age or stage (e.g., lamb, yearling, adult) group included in the model. Count-based projection methods are a second approach that has recently become popular because counts are the most common population level data available to wildlife managers. Finally, there is the multiple data sources approach, which utilizes both demographic rate and count data. Because the bighorn sheep surveys in Region 6 consist primarily of count data, I used a count-based method to population sizes for The data required for count-based projections are counts of the individuals in an entire population or subset of the population over multiple (not necessarily consecutive) years. Such data are easier and typically less expensive to collect than more detailed demographic data (e.g., age or stage specific demographic rates). Conceptually, these counts can be used in an exponential model of population growth: N(t+1) = λ*n(t), where λ is population growth rate. So, if there was a 10% increase in population size between two years, the population growth rate would be 1.10 and the model would be N(t+1) = 1.1*N(t). If there were 50 animals at year t (N(t) = 50) then there would be 55 bighorn the following year (N(t+1) = 55) (Figure 1). Figure 1. Example of exponential population growth for the model N(t+1) = λ*n(t) for three different population growth rates; 10% or λ = 1.10, 5% or λ = 1.05, and 1% or λ =

27 Typically, counts do not change smoothly over time, but rather show considerable variation around long term trends, primarily due to environmental variation. Skewness in the distribution of predicted population size is a characteristic of models of population growth in a stochastic (random) environment. In particular, projected population sizes will be log-normally distributed, but the log of population size will have an approximate normal (bell shaped) distribution when the number of survey counts becomes large. Consequently, the normal distribution, with its well understood statistical properties, can be used to calculate measures of population projection. Dennis et al. (1991) developed methods to estimate the key parameters from count data that are used to project population size and other projection outputs; I refer to this method as the Dennis method or approach. The Dennis method has been primarily used for population viability analyses (PVA). Typical PVA outputs include estimation of the number of years a population is likely to be above a threshold, or the probability of falling below a threshold for a specified number of years in the future. But, PVA measures are based on the projection and distribution of future population sizes, and can easily be adapted to project population size forward 1 or more years. The Dennis approach has been examined in simulation and theory, and works well for projecting count data when model assumptions are met. The key assumptions of the Dennis method include: 1) Most variation is environmental (low sampling variation); 2) No rare catastrophes or bonanzas are in data set; 3) Population growth rates are independent (e.g., a good year does not always follow a bad year); and 4) Density dependence (reduction of population growth when carrying capacity is approached) is low or minimal in population growth. This approach is applicable to the data collected from aerial surveys for bighorn sheep in California s Region 6. In general, the surveys for bighorn should meet assumptions 1-3. While there is sightability bias, it is likely consistent from year to year. However, there could be variation in effort hours that could result in relatively high sampling variation; this issue can be identified using additional analysis. In some areas, populations could be experiencing density dependent effects on growth rate. There issues can be addressed in more complicated extensions to the Dennis model. One of the strong recommendations for the Dennis method is that 10 censuses (i.e., 10 years of data) is a minimum requirement for PVA modeling, but PVA typically involves projections far beyond 1 year. Population modelers have contended that PVA may offer provisional guidelines for future population performance with only 6 years of data. Thus, I took 6 years as an acceptable minimum number of counts for projecting population size forward for 2008 because a one-year projection will have much higher certainty (because variance increases through time) than the typical year PVA predictions and projections. Of these 13 ranges surveyed , a total of 10 met the assumptions and had adequate data for projecting population size (Table 1). 27 continued on page 28

28 continued from page 27 The projected 2008 population sizes appear to be reasonably aligned with the trends of survey counts. Below are examples from three areas that illustrate the projection for relatively short and long time series of counts, and with moderate and high population growth rates (there were no low population growth rates) (Figure 2). The Clark/Kingston/Mesquite and Marble Mountain populations had long time series (16 surveys) and moderate (λ = 1.05) to relatively high (λ = 1.10) population growth rates respectively, while the Clipper Mountains population had a shorter time series (9 surveys) and high population growth rate (λ = 1.16). To conclude, for the goal of population projection forward 1-2 years, our desert bighorn survey count data are adequate and the Dennis approach (i.e., a countbased projection method) is appropriate. I still need to determine how many years are required as a baseline before projecting (skipping) years as well as how many years can be projected without loosing too much precision. Future work for the Dennis method will include testing for density dependence, serial autocorrelation, and outliers in each data set, and then incorporating or accounting for these factors in the model where necessary. It is likely that correcting for these factors will have little practical impact on values projected forward 1 year for the observed range of population growth rates. However, no matter how the model is finetuned, count data typically have high variance, which makes it difficult to detect trends. In addition, count data do not include demographic rate information, which is essential for determining mechanisms driving population change. Consequently, future work will also focus on evaluating costs and benefits of methods that use demographic rate data compared to the Dennis method. D Figure 2. Example of historical population survey counts and projected count for 2008 (represented by the red circle) for 3 desert bighorn sheep populations in Region 6, California. Point Blank Hunts Joe Jakab 527 McNeilly Rd. Pittsburgh, PA joejakab@pointblankhunts.com ACISA Spain Fernando Saiz Vereda De Las Penas 53 La Moraleja Madrid SPAIN f.saiz@teleline.es Amazon Tours Steve Foster PO Box 3106 Coppell, TX steve@amazontours.com Action Whitewater Adventures Verle Duerden PO Box 1634 Provo, UT info@riverguide.com Society for the Conservation of Bighorn Sheep Gary Thomas 1039 W. 7th Upland, CA g.cranky@verizon.net 909/ Zulu Nyala Group Veena Joory PO Box Bryanston RSA 2021 SOUTH AFRICA hvjoory@mweb.co.za Cordoba Hunting SA Faco Pavcovich Los Andex 600 Villa Carlos PA3 Cordoba, Argentina info@cordobahunting.com

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31 Danny Smith s Utah state record ram from 2006 Nor-Cal s Big Game Specialist 6-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! E r i c G o u l d, O w n e r Lloyd Lane, Suite D, Anderson, CA Sh op: Ce l l: w w w.art isticwildlife taxidermy.com art isticwildlife@sbcglobal.ne t Artistic Wildlife Taxidermy Nor-Cal s Wild Sheep Specialist! GET YOUR MESSAGE TO CALIFORNIA SHEEP HUNTERS Advertise in the California Wild Sheep Quarterly Newsletter or on Our Web Site Full Page $250 b&w; $350 color Half Page $150 b&w; $250 color Quarter Page $100 b&w; $200 color Business Card Size $50 b&w; $150 color Brian S. MacDonald Vice President Financial Advisor Richard D. MacDonald Vice President Financial Advisor Kristin Villasper Client Associate Global Wealth Management 101 California St., Suite 2575 San Francisco, California Direct Toll Free FAX brian_s_macdonald@ml.com Book 3 consecutive issues and get the 4th free (same ad and size). Make check payable to and send e-version or camera-ready ad to our office. Blackfeet Nation Fish & Wildlife Browning, MT gscfwd@3rivers.net Web Site Advertising Rates Rotating Banner, shows on All Pages - $100/month or $1000/year 423 Broadway #617 Millbrae, CA (650) cafnaws@cafnaws.org Born to Hunt Toby Cilliers PO Box 423 Humansdorp 6300 South Africa safari@bornhunt.co.za www.bornhunt.co.za 31

32 WINNERS OF THE FIRST ANNUAL OLDEST & BIGGEST DESERT BIGHORN RAM FROM CALIFORNIA BY A MEMBER Background We announced these new award programs mid 2009 in an effort to: Boost membership by hunters drawing a Desert Bighorn Tag in California Increase awareness among the sheep hunting community of the quality/age class of Desert Bighorns in California Promote Tagholders being selective in the rams they hunt and harvest. Criteria Most recent, past hunting season in CA Scoring and Aging as done by CA DFG when the animal was checked in Only open to persons who are members prior to the taking of their ram. A beautiful and unique plaque recognizing the accomplishment will be given at the May 1 Event in Sacramento! Please join us in congratulating Dmitri Hanlon for the largest Ram 181-6/8 from the Old Dad s. Also her support team: husband Howie, friend Wayne Testolin and Nix s spirit (Black Lab to whom the hunt was dedicated!) A Tie for Oldest Ram Kenneth A. Wilson Jr. 9+ years and 170-6/8 from the Whites. Also his support team: Terry Anderson, San Gorgonio Outfitters. Jim McIsaac 9+ years and 157-4/8 from the Old Dad s/kelso Peak. Also his support team: Tim Mercier, Dry Creek Outfitters 423 Broadway #617 Millbrae, CA w w w. c a f n a w s. o r g