FY20 Bighorn Sheep Captures
|
Project ID: 5030
Status: Completed
Fiscal Year: 2020
Submitted By:
860
|
Project Manager: Jace Taylor
PM Agency: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
PM Office: Utah Field Office
Lead: Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
WRI Region: Statewide
|
|
Description:
DWR plans on capturing nearly 300 bighorn sheep in FY20 including potential transplants from Oregon, Nevada, Montana, and New Mexico as well as test efforts on Oak Creek, Potash, and San Rafael units.
|
|
|
Location:
These captures are scheduled to occur in many locations throughout the state.
|
|
Project Need
Need For Project:
We are proposing to capture and GPS-collar BHS for disease testing and translocation efforts.
Objectives:
The objectives are to bolster populations and build disease profiles.
Oak Creek - 20 animals (disease testing)
San Rafael - 20 animals (disease testing)
Potash - 20 animals (disease testing)
NV - 50 animals to the Mineral Mtns (This includes radio-collar and disease costs -not the costs of the actual translocation)
OR - 25 animals to the Stansbury Mtns, Oak Creek Mtns, and/or Newfoundland Mtns (This includes radio-collar and disease costs - not the costs of the actual translocation
MT - 25 animals to Antelope Island (This includes radio-collar and disease costs -not the costs of the actual translocation)
NM - 25 animals to Antelope Island (This includes radio-collar and disease costs -not the costs of the actual translocation)
Project Location/Timing Justification (Why Here? Why Now?):
N/A
Relation To Management Plan:
Management plans instruct us to understand disease histories on bighorn sheep units and to manage to population objectives. These capture efforts will help us make progress in these areas.
Fire / Fuels:
N/A
Water Quality/Quantity:
N/A
Compliance:
N/A
Methods:
Capture plans will be submitted for all bighorn sheep captures that are conducted from a helicopter. These plans will outline methods used to secure and transport animals, take biological samples, and ensure safety of personnel and animals.
Monitoring:
Monitoring will be conducted by DWR staff.
Partners:
We will partner with sportsmen and federal agencies on capture efforts.
Future Management:
Bighorn sheep captures are needed to reduce densities, bolster existing populations, establish new populations and monitor survival rates of populations. They will also give us a disease profile which will facilitate future decisions regarding translocation.
Sustainable Uses of Natural Resources:
N/A
| Budget | WRI/DWR | Other | Budget Total | In-Kind | Grand Total |
| $277,000.00 | $146,500.00 | $423,500.00 | $0.00 | $423,500.00 |
| Item | Description | WRI | Other | In-Kind | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other | $277,000.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | 2020 | |
| Other | Out-of-State Captures and Collars | $0.00 | $146,500.00 | $0.00 | 2020 |
| Funding | WRI/DWR | Other | Funding Total | In-Kind | Grand Total |
| $297,000.00 | $185,083.94 | $482,083.94 | $0.00 | $482,083.94 |
| Source | Phase | Description | Amount | Other | In-Kind | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Utah Wild Sheep Foundation | S022 | $29,489.43 | $102,327.57 | $0.00 | 2020 | |
| Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF) | S025 | $8,024.33 | $16,975.67 | $0.00 | 2020 | |
| Safari Club International | S026 | $1,604.87 | $3,395.13 | $0.00 | 2020 | |
| Sportsman for Fish & Wildlife (SFW) | S027 | $29,489.43 | $62,385.57 | $0.00 | 2020 | |
| Utah Archery Association | S052 | $641.94 | $0.00 | $0.00 | 2020 | |
| Internal Conservation Permit | C009 | ICP Bighorn | $5,000.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | 2020 |
| Federal Aid (PR) | P651 | $222,750.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | 2020 |
Species
| Species | "N" Rank | HIG/F Rank | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bighorn Sheep | N4 | R2 | ||||
|
||||||
Habitats
| Habitat |
|---|
Project Comments
| Comment | 08/21/2020 | Type: 2 | Commenter: Alison Whittaker |
| This is just a reminder that completion reports are due August 31st. I have entered the expenses in the Through WRI/DWR column on the finance page. Please do not make any changes to numbers in the Through WRI/DWR column. Any "Through Other" or "In-kind" expenses will need to be entered by the PM or contributors. Be sure to click on the finalize button on the completion report when you have your completion report ready to be reviewed by WRI Admin. Don't forget to upload any pictures of the project you have of before, during and after completion. Thanks. | |||
| Comment | 09/03/2020 | Type: 2 | Commenter: Alison Whittaker |
| Jace - Do you have copies of the paid invoices for the out of state stuff that you could upload to the images and documents? We just need some type of backup docs to show that those ECP funds were actually spent on this project. Thanks. | |||
| Comment | 09/22/2020 | Type: 2 | Commenter: N/A |
| I'm so sorry, I didn't realize we needed to upload proof that the Conservation groups made the direct payments. I should have thought of that. So I did not consistently ask for copies of the checks. Unfortunately, this is my last week before I change jobs. So I think the best bet would be to work directly with the Conservation groups. But I will try to help as much as I can. Give me a call if I can help | |||
Completion
Start Date:
07/01/2019
End Date:
06/30/2020
FY Implemented:
2020
Final Methods:
Funds from this WRI project were used at least in part to perform the following bighorn captures. 1 Willow Creek, 2 Jack Creek, 1 Nine Mile, 2 Avintaquin, 17 North San Rafael, 15 South San Rafael, 15 Potash, 15 Oak Creek, 51 Mineral Mountains, 25 Stansbury Mountains helo, 25 Antelope Island State Park.
This included 101 bighorns being translocated into Utah from other states. All of these animals received iridium GPS collars. Nearly all were tested for a comprehensive health profile.
Project Narrative:
The legacy of recovering bighorn sheep in Utah using translocation projects has been very fruitful, and this past year was an historic success by all measures. In addition to capturing 68 bighorns in Utah for health sampling, we successfully translocated 101 bighorns from other states into Utah. This is the most bighorn sheep that the UDWR has ever translocated into Utah during a single year, more than we've translocated into Utah in the past five years combined, and more bighorns translocated across state lines than all the rest of the western states combined in the past year. Two of the most notable translocations were the reintroduction of bighorns onto the Mineral Mountains and Antelope Island. Fifty-one desert bighorns were translocated from the Stillwater Range in Nevada to begin a new herd on the Mineral Mountains where they have been absent for decades. Twenty-five Rocky Mountain bighorns were translocated from Rocky Boy's Reservation in Montana to reestablish a healthy nursery herd on Antelope Island. These two reintroduced herds will not only provide memorable opportunities to view and hunt bighorns, but also produce many bighorns that will be translocated to augment other herds or establish new herds in Utah for years into the future. We hope that countless once-in-a-lifetime hunting experiences will result from the success of the bighorn sheep captures performed this past year.
Future Management:
We will continue to monitor the performance of the collared bighorn sheep that were captured as part of this WRI project. We will use the results of the disease sampling to make management actions ensuring healthy bighorns in Utah. We will pursue augmenting both the Mineral Mountain herd and the Antelope Island herd with a FY21 WRI project.
Map Features
N/A
Project Map
N/A