I love to be in the High Uintas and see a moose taking a drink out of Glacier Mountain Lake or Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep perched on sheer cliffs seeming extremely content in what would seem to be a most precarious situation.
I like to see antelope which can blend into desolate landscapes. I wouldn’t mind seeing a bear or mountain lion in the wild, but would certainly hope they didn’t see me and/or start to pursue.
Although it is more common, I like to see deer and if I spot a big buck I feel especially satisfied with the experience.
I’m particularly pleased that in Tooele County we now have the opportunity to view Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep in the Stansbury Mountains.
According to the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources the herd which hangs out in the Timpie Springs area on the Skull Valley side has grown to 150 sheep and eventually the number of sheep will grow to 300. The sheep in Skull Valley were transplanted from Antelope Island. Some in 2005, some in 2006 and some in 2008.
One time driving near Flaming Gorge I came across five or six of these sheep clinging to some cliffs in an area close to Manila. I had to stop for a while and soak in the site.
Horns on the sheep grow throughout life and reach maximum size at 8 to 10 years of age. Another thing I learned is that rams like to get away from the crowd quite often — something that I can relate to once and awhile. Information from DWR says that rams normally separate themselves from groups of ewes and lambs, except during the breeding season, which occurs from mid October to early December. During that time, rams engage in impressive head butting clashes to establish dominance. Two lucky hunters will get an opportunity to bag two of the big rams in the Stansburys during 2010.
“We’re planning on allowing two tags and one of those tags would be a conservation or governor’s tag with some sort of bidding involved where the fee could go upward to $40,000. The other would be a typical draw and would cost about $500,” said Tom Becker, DWR wildlife biologist in Tooele County.
There are several Desert bighorn sheep herds in southern Utah, but horns are much larger on the Rocky Mountain bighorns found in central and northern Utah. Each year the state grants one bighorn sheep conservation permit where the recipient can hunt anywhere in the state. The highest bidder this year paid $110,000 for the permit, according to DWR spokesman Mark Hadley.
Bighorn sheep are native to Utah. Archeological evidence indicates they were well known to the prehistoric inhabitants of Utah, since bighorns are depicted in pictographs and petroglyphs more than any other form of wildlife.
Native populations of Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep were nearly wiped out following pioneer settlement. A few scattered sighting of bighorns persisted in northern Utah as late as the 1960s.
Becker said Big Horn sheep have not roamed the Stansburys for at least 100 years. I’m glad to see their return.
Mark Watson: mwatson@tooeletranscript.com
Post a Comment
