Dutch John, Utah – SFW is putting bighorn sheep back on Goslin Mountain. A small herd of 23 Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep were released at Dripping Springs near Little Hole on the Green River. The herd includes 13 ewes, five lambs and five rams.
SFW volunteers worked with Utah Division of Wildlife (DWR) biologists and others to capture the bighorns in Desolation Canyon near Green River, Utah. The sheep were then moved to begin a new herd on Goslin Mountain. Dripping Springs is at the base of Goslin Mountain, between Dutch John and Little Hole in northeastern Utah.
“SFW is very committed to Utah’s bighorn sheep program and has committed over $150,000 to similar projects in the past three years,” sad Josh Horrocks, SFW Uintah Basin Chapter Chair. “We get pretty excited about the opportunity to participate in the capture and release of these animals where they can thrive and expand.”
This project marks the second time a herd has been reintroduced into the area.
About 40 years ago, biologists with the DWR, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) began enhancing range along the Goslin Mountain/Green River corridor so Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep could be reintroduced to the area.
In 2001, the range enhancement was given a big boon when a fire near Dutch John cleared away large expanses of pinyon-juniper trees. Following the fire, the UDWR and the USFS were able to reseed much of the burned areas in preparation for the bighorn sheep reintroduction.
The first attempt to start a herd on Goslin Mountain began in December 2004. The new herd was supplemented in January 2007 with bighorns captured in Montana.
Unfortunately, after a quick growth spurt between 2005 and 2007, recruitment leveled off, and then the herd started to lose numbers.
In early 2014 DWR biologists hired helicopter crews to capture animals from the herds near the Green River in Desolation/Greys canyons. After capture crews brought the sheep out of the canyons, biologists gave the bighorns health checks and fitted them with ear tags. Some of the sheep were also fitted with tracking collars before being loaded onto modified horse trailers for their trip north.
“It’s good to see bighorns on the mountain again,” Dax Mangus, a UDWR biologist in northeastern Utah, said as the captured bighorns were released. “Hopefully, the capture team can catch a few more to bring up later this week.”
Dan Abeyta, a USFS biologist, agreed. “I’ve got my fingers crossed that these [sheep] will do better than the previous herd.”
