Domestic Sheep
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Bozeman, Mont.—Conservation groups entered into a settlement agreement today that will require the U.S. Sheep Experiment Station and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to prepare a new Biological Opinion before grazing domestic sheep this summer in southwest Montana. Cottonwood Environmental Law Center, Western Watersheds Project, Gallatin Wildlife Association, Native Ecosystems Council and Yellowstone Buffalo Foundation…
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An article in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle today discusses several recent incidents where small farm flocks of domestic sheep and goats have come into close contact with bighorn sheep and, in some cases, have caused large die-offs of bighorn sheep due to the pneumonia caused by pathogens transmitted from the domestic animals. In other cases…
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Provisions would increase rancher base property value solely by issuing longer grazing lease and waving public participation- An article in fiscally conservative Forbes Magazine looks at the real effects of the “Grazing Improvement Act.” It is yet more money for the elite (or just plain lucky) set of ranchers who hold a public grazing lease.…
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It may already be too late Throughout the west, bighorn sheep are seeking out mates and the rams are giving an incredible display by butting heads in competition for ewes. This is a very visible spectacle in the Gardiner Basin of Montana that lies just north of Yellowstone National Park which is filled with many…
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Bighorn sheep in the Mojave Desert of California and Nevada have been dying of pneumonia for some months now but, as with many of these outbreaks, the original source of infection hasn’t been conclusively identified. Some reports noted that an angora goat had been shot by a hunter and that it may have been the…
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They have a right to trample your property rights. Some say they take even more than that- Urban folks have rarely heard of open range laws, but people who own land outside town in “open range” areas certainly have. It is a long time and contentious issue that is heating up as more people own…
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Suspected to have come from a domestic goat- The entire population of bighorn sheep in the Mohave National Preserve could die from pneumonia transmitted, probably, by a lone domestic Angora goat found in the desert near where the outbreak originated. The number of bighorn near Old Dad Mountain (200 to 300) has clearly declined and…
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I recently visited Yellowstone National Park and, while there, my father and I used a friend’s place as a base camp in Gardiner, Montana. From there we would drive about 10 miles to the Park where we watched wildlife, took photographs, and just enjoyed some of the solitude that Yellowstone provides during this part of…