Domestic Sheep
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A fight is brewing over domestic sheep grazing in bighorn sheep habitat in Wyoming. The Biodiversity Conservation Alliance filed a lawsuit last year to protect the small Encampment herd of bighorn sheep from coming into contact with disease ridden domestic sheep which would likely kill the entire herd if contact between the two species were…
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A notice published by the Department of Labor in the January 8th Federal Register requires woolgrowers in several states to increase the wages of immigrant workers who are hired under the H2A program. In some states the wages have increased significantly from a measly $750/month plus room and board to a measly $1422.52/month to match…
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Do grizzly bears threaten chickens or do chicken owners threaten grizzly bears? Earlier today we wrote an article about people putting up a lot of new chicken coops in well known NW Montana grizzly bear country. The result of this is dead grizzly bears when bear “mangers” have the bears put down for eating a…
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The Idaho Statesman reports that Mike Simpson has withdrawn the rider which would have prevented the BLM and US Forest Service from addressing the ongoing issue of disease transmission from domestic sheep to bighorn sheep and would have bypassed years of analysis and a long public process which generated 15,000 public comments. The rider would…
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This week there have been two significant developments for bighorn sheep in Idaho that relate to the closing of domestic sheep grazing in occupied bighorn habitat. Payette Decision Moves Forward First, in an unusual ruling from the bench, Judge B. Lynn Winmill ruled that the closing of three domestic sheep allotments on the Payette National…
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I think it’s safe to say that this couldn’t be called a trend, but last year a funding shortfall for USDA Wildlife Services shortened their coyote killing season by two months in Montana while at the same time the number of domestic sheep that coyotes killed ended up being lower by 1,900. The effectiveness…
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Very bad news from just outside of Yellowstone National Park. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks :: Pneumonia Confirmed in Cinnabar Mountain Bighorn Sheep. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks :: Pneumonia Confirmed in Cinnabar Mountain Bighorn Sheep Friday, December 09, 2011 Fish & Wildlife – Region 3 Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks confirms the discovery of…
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Larry Zuckerman and I recently wrote about a visit to the US Experiment Sheep Station (USSES) operated by the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) in eastern Idaho near Dubois and talked about some of the conflicts which are occurring because of the presence domestic sheep in this area which is critical for many sensitive species.…