Project Details

Bighorn sheep are a species of concern.  In an effort to be more effective at addressing the limiting factors of bighorn sheep across the state, this bighorn specialist will directly assist the state wide OIL coordinator on all things pertaining to bighorn sheep. Bighorn sheep live in some of the most remote areas of Utah.  Getting to know and understand these areas can demand more time than a district biologist can spare and still collect the necessary data for the other species they manage within their district.  A partnership that provides a bighorn sheep specialist with experience on the ground in these remote areas monitoring bighorn sheep populations would greatly benefit our UDWR, and its constituents. The specialist would help address; access to bighorn sheep populations, guzzlers both maintenance and and installation, seasonal distribution of bighorn sheep populations, collect field data, assist with the statewide management plan revision and committee, and work with regional personnel to review on the ground management.  Sharing this knowledge with managers will help us be better stewards of this precious resource. This collaborative effort could result in more hunting opportunity for the public as well as a better understanding of how bighorn sheep populations and hunters use these remote landscapes.

Provide evidence about the nature of the problem and the need to address it. Identify the significance of the problem using a variety of data sources. For example, if a habitat restoration project is being proposed to benefit greater sage-grouse, describe the existing plant community characteristics that limit habitat value for greater sage-grouse and identify the changes needed for habitat improvement.

Nursery Facility
1.	Set up and maintain cellular cameras to monitor sheep movement and health related issues.  Monitor cameras for potential predator threats and notify appropriate personnel to get issues resolved as quickly as possible. Assist with field necropsies and collar retrieval.
2.	Ensure that bighorns have adequate water available within the facility through guzzler installment and maintenance or hauling water to temporary tanks if necessary. Monitor water levels regularly.
3.	Identify and repair problems in the fence to prevent predator access or bighorn escape. 
4.	Establish and maintain mineral licks.
5.	Assist with monitoring of individual sheep to assess health, reproduction, or mortality.
6.	Take the lead on supplemental feeding if necessary.
7.	Help to ensure functionality of Promontory nursery facility.
8.	Ensure Promontory facility is operational and all habitat needs are met.

Lamb counts
1.	Assist regional personnel with Antelope Island spring lamb counts during May-June. Identify individuals by ear tags and match up lambs with their mothers. 
2.	Reach out to all five regional managers each year to identify and prioritize areas to assist in lamb counts where possible.

Predation
1.	Act as liaison between biologists and cougar hunters to help with issues in areas of high predation rates.
2.	Organize and orchestrate predator control in sheep units.

Pilot Mountains
1.	Set and maintain trail cameras on critical water sources on the Pilot/Silver Island Bighorn herd as part of a joint monitoring project with the DWR and NDOW. Monitor sheep numbers and lamb survival rates on the unit and possible predator problems with mountain lions.  Alert appropriate personnel of domestic issues that occur outside of the winter grazing time frame.

Quarantine Facility
1.	Work with region, coordinator, and veterinarian on updating quarantine facility (expanded and reinforced fence/gates, dividing enclosures, and obtaining/installing processing equipment). Assist with design, bid process, collaboration with contractors, and implementation.
2.	Ensure facility is completed and operational by May 2024.
3.	Ensure that facility has adequate fence, food, water, and shade at all times in case it is needed on short notice. 
 
Captures
1.	Assist regions in establishing trap sites in areas where helicopter capture is not plausible. Maintain bait and help process bighorns.
2.	Help set up and maintain trap site in Cedar Hills in winter 2024-2025.
3.	Assist with identification of potential translocation sites.
4.	Attend all possible helicopter captures and help with sampling processing, and translocation.

Disease Mitigation
1.	Provide assistance to sheep outreach coordinator and veterinarian to mitigate disease risk from domestics to wild sheep. 
2.	Assist in domestic or bighorn removals when requested. 
3.	Work with SFW president to become SFW's liaison with BLM and USFS pertaining to SFW's AUM permits.

Surveys
1.	Reach out to managers prior to survey flights and volunteer services to assist. 
2.	Perform annual ground surveys of Wasatch and Nebo units in Fall/Winter recording demographics and locations. Report findings to district biologists. Given the proximity and effectiveness of ground counts in these areas, data will help supplement three year aerial surveys. Perform other ground counts as requested.

Reporting
1.	Provide a written report to the SFW board bimonthly and meet quarterly with the board to give an update on current status of Utah bighorn related topics.
2.	Provide an annual report in June to summarize the fiscal year.

Provide an overall goal for the project and then provide clear, specific and measurable objectives (outcomes) to be accomplished by the proposed actions. If possible, tie to one or more of the public benefits UWRI is providing.

LOCATION: Justify the proposed location of this project over other areas, include publicly scrutinized planning/recovery documents that list this area as a priority, remote sensing modeling that show this area is a good candidate for restoration, wildlife migration information and other data that help justify this project's location.

TIMING: Justify why this project should be implemented at this time. For example, Is the project area at risk of crossing an ecological or other threshold wherein future restoration would become more difficult, cost prohibitive, or even impossible.

List management plans where this project will address an objective or strategy in the plan. Describe how the project area overlaps the objective or strategy in the plan and the relevance of the project to the successful implementation of those plans. It is best to provide this information in a list format with the description immediately following the plan objective or strategy.

If applicable, detail how the proposed project will significantly reduce the risk of fuel loading and/or continuity of hazardous fuels including the use of fire-wise species in re-seeding operations. Describe the value of any features being protected by reducing the risk of fire. Values may include; communities at risk, permanent infrastructure, municipal watersheds, campgrounds, critical wildlife habitat, etc. Include the size of the area where fuels are being reduced and the distance from the feature(s) at risk.

Describe how the project has the potential to improve water quality and/or increase water quantity, both over the short and long term. Address run-off, erosion, soil infiltration, and flooding, if applicable.

Description of efforts, both completed and planned, to bring the proposed action into compliance with any and all cultural resource, NEPA, ESA, etc. requirements. If compliance is not required enter "not applicable" and explain why not it is not required.

Describe the actions, activities, tasks to be implemented as part of the proposed project; how these activities will be carried out, equipment to be used, when, and by whom.

Describe plans to monitor for project success and achievement of stated objectives. Include details on type of monitoring (vegetation, wildlife, etc.), schedule, assignments and how the results of these monitoring efforts will be reported and/or uploaded to this project page. If needed, upload detailed plans in the "attachments" section.

List any and all partners (agencies, organizations, NGO's, private landowners) that support the proposal and/or have been contacted and included in the planning and design of the proposed project. Describe efforts to gather input and include these agencies, landowners, permitees, sportsman groups, researchers, etc. that may be interested/affected by the proposed project. Partners do not have to provide funding or in-kind services to a project to be listed.

Detail future methods or techniques (including administrative actions) that will be implemented to help in accomplishing the stated objectives and to insure the long term success/stability of the proposed project. This may include: post-treatment grazing rest and/or management plans/changes, wildlife herd/species management plan changes, ranch plans, conservation easements or other permanent protection plans, resource management plans, forest plans, etc.

Potential for the proposed action to improve quality or quantity of sustainable uses such as grazing, timber harvest, biomass utilization, recreation, etc. Grazing improvements may include actions to improve forage availability and/or distribution of livestock.