| Summer 2007 | Volume 7~
Issue 2 |
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| 2007
Banquet Big Success Over $10,000 Raised for Wildlife Click here for more 2007 Banquet Pictures  What
a great way to help wild sheep and sheep habitat. The 2007 Banquet and
Fundraiser was a terrific success. Thousands of dollars were raised
for research, transplants, radio collars, nets for trapping, population
surveys, habitat enhancement and the like. In the end, more than $100,000
was raised for the benefit of wildlife. Was it fun? You bet. Brent Silver, the announcer, and Jeff Mornarich, the auctioneer, made the live auction the best ever. There was a ton of live and silent auction items, and there were special raffles for the 201 men, women and children in attendance. And best of all was a 10-gun raffle valued at more than $9,000. There were some very lucky ticket holders whooping and hollering. This issue of the Sheep Fever Journal will emphasize the people and events that make the evening such a success. We will try to show the many people who came and enjoyed the evening, we will honor the individuals who spent so much time making it happen and we want to highlight the contributors and sponsors who go out of their way to ensure financial success. If we miss anyone, we apologize. The banquet is really broken into three parts. First, there is the Friday setup. Led by Mike Boethin, a number of volunteers begin to put everything together. Decorations, exhibits, placement of auction items and raffle items are the order of the day. The second part is the Tailgate Party on Friday night. In the “olden days” this was called the pre-function function. A pot-luck dinner and festive atmosphere on the fair grounds typically lasts until dark or a little beyond. Talk about sheep hunts or projects or the “next hunt,” can keep conversations lively and animated. You should be there. The third part is the banquet and fundraising for wild sheep. The work is over and the fun begins. This year we had 201 in attendance and with your help we’ll have more next year. Join the fun. Join us for all three parts. Join us in “putting sheep on the mountain". Together we are making a difference for Wild Sheep. |
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Win
a Caribou Hunt! Become a Life Member
Individuals who become Life Members between April 21,2007 and the Banquet (Late April) in 2008 will be entered in a drawing for a caribou hunt. What are you waiting for? Here’s a chance to “put sheep on the mountain” and maybe win a hunt in the far north. The details are being worked out as this is being written but count on the cost of the hunt being paid for by Oregon FNAWS. While this package does not include transportation it will cover the cost of the guide and guide service, a value of approximately $3000. In the same time frame last year Oregon FNAWS added five new Life Members. We’re hoping more than that will join this year, of course, but the odds are still going to be pretty darned good. If you’re already a Life Member, tell your friends and hunting buddies. |
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| President's
Message As we work toward summer, a couple of items to note. Hopefully you all applied for and will receive, the game tags that will meet your abilities and expectations. Larry Jacob’s continues to do an absolutely terrific job with the Payette appeal process in Idaho. The original stakeholders to the working team, that have legal standing, have filed a lawsuit in the District Court of Idaho, in Boise. This legal move is designed to prevent the domestic sheep folks in the most critical allotments on the Payette National Forest from turning sheep out this spring. The Payette National Forest, after their DOJ attorneys carefully reviewing the evidence amassed against them, have decided to settle out of court with the plaintiffs, by complying with most of the recommendations of the working team to the Forest. The AOI’s (Annual Operating Instructions) were issued by the Forest May 10, 2007. The AOI’s reflect the great recommendations of the working team with the noted exception of a trailing route called the “Salmon River Driveway.” We are expecting counter lawsuits from the defendants (the woolgrowers). The process continues to be interesting. A hearty thanks to all those participating in the recent guzzler project with members from Idaho FNAWS and Federal and State organization’s employees, in Leslie Gulch. We had an absolutely terrific turnout, with work being completed at three different sites. Thanks to Nick Berg and all others who helped coordinate and work the event! The metal plaque in memory of Mark Kind was mounted on a completed guzzler and from all accounts, the family was very pleased and moved! Terrific job to all! Planning efforts for our Summer Weekend, July 13, 14, & 15, 2007, in the Columbia River Gorge are well underway! The opportunities for bighorn sheep viewing, delivering the best possible bighorn sheep/ mountain goat orientation process at the Discovery Center, and our Summer meeting are looked forward to by many! My best wishes for a safe, enjoyable, and productive summer! My thanks continue to go out to all of those who are continually working behind the scenes, with little of no recognition, to make our programs and organization that much better and stronger! ~ George |
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| Rocky
Mountain Goats - Heard Composition and Population Report The health of the various goat herds in the Wallow District looks to be good, according to Vic Coggins, ODFW biologist. As can be seen in the chart below, yearlings per 100 adults range from a low of 13 per 100 in Goat Mountain and Cusick Mountain to a high of 52 per 100 adults in Hat Point. Kids per 100 adults range from a low of 25 per 100 in Cusick Mountain to a high of 89 per 100 adults in Hurwal Divide.  As
noted elsewhere in this newsletter, the increases in overall goat population
allows the number of goat tags to increase. Vic hopes that the number
of goat tags available to hunters could increase to as many as 10 or
11 within a few yearsPlease note that this chart counts only those goats in the Wallow District. It does not include other herds such as the important Strawberry Mountain Herd. Oregon is estimated to have more than 600 goats…and growing. |
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Banquet
Donors - Special Thanks to You!  Business
and Corporate: Skamania Lodge, Caswell Gallery,
Craig Martin Guide Service, Josh Spies Paintings, White River Outfitters,
Action Whitewater Adventures, Braggin’ Rights Taxidermy, Kah Nee Tah
Resort, Eagle Freightliner, Natural Instincts Taxidermy, Adventure Outfitters,
Lifestyle Chiropractic, Nosler, Idaho FNAWS, John Day Polaris, Wheat
Ridge Vineyard, Eden Ridge Outfitters, Leupold, Les Schwab Tires, Running
Y Resort, and the Cannonball Co. Please show your support for these
fine organizations.Individuals: Robt. And Pat Welsh, Keith Kohl, Pat Demarinis, Ed Swanson, Vic and Vickie Coggins, Larry Jacobs, Chuck Holiday, Don McClure, Chris Crawford, Troy and Liane Vest, Mike and Ruth Boethin, Shawn and Shelly Steen, Herve Dethlefs, Dr. Alden Glidden, Paula Webb, Kevin Carlin, Craig Foster, Brian Snyder, Connie Thomsen, Tom Peterson, Ron Anglin, “Lucky” Sam and Bev Mason, Don and Linda South, Steve Price, Carol Tannock, Bonnie Silver, Larry and Jane Hunts, Nick and Ann Berg, Dan Coussens, Eldon “Buck” Buckner, Ryan and Junely Torland, Stan and Sherry Washington, Herman Holm, Dennis Cain and Dave Geelan. (Note: If your editor has missed anyone or misspelled names, he apologizes. He’s only as good as his sources and his rotten typing.) |
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We
Have a Winner! Alec
Fransen, 18, is the winner of a Dall Sheep Hunt in Alaska provided by
The Oregon Chapter of the Foundation for North American Wild Sheep.
The youth hunt program created a special five-year event, at the end
of which one lucky youth would be drawn for a hunt of a lifetime, a
sheep hunt. Well, Alec is that winner.Is he excited? The best way to describe his feelings is to let Alec do it himself. He sent an email to the Sheep Fever Journal so we’ll pass on what he had to say. “My thoughts when learning I had won were a mix of shock and being thrilled. I hadn’t thought about the drawing much because we were in Astoria, busy throwing a big family party the night of the Oregon FNAWS Banquet. We had some friends at the banquet that called us and my uncle answered the phone, started smiling and pointed at my Dad. He called me out to the hall and they told me I had won the hunt of a lifetime. It was really cool to be there with all my cousins and uncles who all hunt. They were all exited about it like myself and that’s pretty much all we talked about the rest of the night.” “As for getting in shape, I’m glad I worked out all winter getting ready for baseball. We did a lot of legwork so I think I’ve got a pretty good start. My high school trainer is going to have me running lots of stairs and tweaking my training towards hiking. And my Dad and I are going to do lots of hiking. Everybody we’ve talked to says you can’t overdo our pre-hunt workouts. The hunt is set for the middle of August and the Out- fitter is named Ralph Miller. He left for Africa before I had a chance to talk to him but my Dad checked in with him and had real good things to say. Sounds like I’ll be only the second kid they’ve had in there on a sheep hunt. My Dad is going along on the hunt and will have a caribou tag.” “My current deer rifle isn’t set up for Alaska so my Dad has a .270 coming from Hill Country Rifles at the end of the month. We live right next to a big piece of state timberland so we’ll have a chance to do a lot of practice shooting. I’ve got a lot of things to think about and I’ve ordered two books on sheep hunting. I’m stoked about the opportunity to go to Alaska and I really appreciate Oregon FNAWS donating the hunt.” Congratulations Alec. This will be the first of many “hunts of a lifetime.” (Editor’s Note: Alec is scoring on more than just the sheep hunt. Hill Country Rifle Company of New Braunfels, Texas, is a premier rifle builder. That .270 he’s getting will be something he can carry proudly for the rest of his life. sales@hillcountryrifles.com phone 830 609-3139) |
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Bill
Sproul Wins ATV  Bill Sproul of Dundee, Oregon, is the proud owner of a new Polaris Sportsman 500 4X4 ATV. Unable to attend the banquet, Bill was “persuaded” to purchase six raffle tickets for $100. Like all of us with a 1 in a 100 chance, he did not expect to win. “I’ve never won anything in my life,” said Bill when he heard the news. Bill loves to hunt deer and elk and is an enthusiastic supporter of wildlife. Lucky Bill did not receive the keys of the ATV until he joined Oregon FNAWS, however. Yes, Bill is now a proud member of Oregon FNAWS. The ATV raffle is a good fundraiser for Oregon FNAWS and a good chance to win an ATV for the raffle ticket holder. Only 600 tickets are sold. Each ticket is $20 or you can buy 6 for $100. Spend $100 and have a 1 in a 100 chance, just like Bill. See you next year. |
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Hands
On Project Report Leslie
Gulch Bighorn sheep have new fresh water source thanks to sportsmen’s
groups and regional agencies Over 65 volunteers and agency employees
from Oregon and Idaho donated the weekend of May 5 & 6 to install and
repair “guzzlers” to provide water for California bighorn sheep in Leslie
Gulch in southeastern Oregon.Leslie Gulch has the most viewable bighorns in Oregon, if not the whole northwest. They’re Oregon sheep, but most people driving the Leslie road hoping to see them are from the Boise-Nampa area. This herd started in 1965 when seventeen (17) California bighorn sheep were reintroduced from Hart Mountain, Oregon. By 1992, there were over 300 bighorns. By 2000, however, they had mysteriously declined to around 100.  Monitoring
by Oregon Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) then found the chief causes of decline
were contaminated drinking water, cougar, and poaching.When summer temperatures reach the scorching conditions found in this high dessert, blue green algae grows in water in the lower third of the Owyhee reservoir and small seeps used by the sheep. As the algae decays, it can release a toxin that is fatal to animals. In 2006, BLM, ODFW, and the Bureau of Reclamation came up with a remedy: create sources of fresh water on high ridges, accessible to the sheep but protected from wild horses and predators. That same year two guzzlers were installed. Sheep started using the 2006 guzzlers almost immediately. As hoped, the water sources allowed sheep to use high, dry ridges during mid-summer. One of this year’s volunteers saw thirteen bighorns trailing into one of the guzzlers installed last year. This year, volunteers installed a new guzzler north of Leslie Gulch, fenced another guzzler to protect the sheep’s water, and repaired a previously installed guzzler that wasn’t holding water.  Volunteers
came from the Idaho and Oregon chapters of the Foundation for North
American Bighorn Sheep (FNAWS), Snake River Sportsmen, National Wild
Turkey Federation, Pheasants Forever, and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.
BLM and Bureau of Reclamation employees worked with ODFW to make sure
things ran smoothly for the volunteers, who had traveled from as far
away as Coos Bay, Oregon to participate.Extending the spiritual link between humans and bighorn sheep that has existed for millennia, the newest Leslie guzzler was dedicated as a memorial to Mark Kind, an avid Oregon outdoorsman who died in July, 2006. A dozen of his relatives donated funds, traveled all the way from Mountaindale in western Oregon to Leslie Gulch, and then worked together on the guzzler dedicated to his memory. When the guzzler was finished, they placed a bronze plaque on a vista point with views across the beautiful Oregon desert. For a second year, Terry King of Nampa gave permission for the base camp to be on his land. Having a good campsite close to the project sites has been essential to project success. Installing a guzzler consists of hand digging 8 cubic yards of dirt, installing a water collection surface as big as the roof of a small house, burying an 1,800 gallon plastic holding tank and pipelines, and constructing a fence to protect it all. The end result: fresh drinking water for California bighorn sheep. Guzzlers are located on saddles and ridgelines so sheep don’t have to travel through drainage bottoms to reach water, which reduces their exposure to predators and poachers. “It was a long hike to two of the projects, fortunately materials and many volunteers, including several kids, were flown up by the Bureau of Reclamation helicopter,” said Gretchen Fitzgerald, Reclamation’s project coordinator. “Around 20 people were so eager that they hiked up to where the work was.” Local sportsman Nick Berg summed up the experience: “All & all, it was a great weekend! Everything was very well organized, the food was great, and a lot of work was completed.” Said John Caywood, Idaho FNAWS board member, “The two most important things about bighorns are how excited people get when they see one and what they indicate about our environment. These noble animals are like canaries in a coal mine. If sheep are healthy, so is the environment.” |
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| Bighorn
Sheep Orientation Day Do you have a tag to hunt wild sheep in 2007? Are you interested in wild sheep and their habitat? A great time and place to learn more about whit it takes to hunt wild sheep, where to hunt, and how to hunt is at the 2007 Bighorn Sheep Orientation Day at The Dalles on July 14, 2007. For up-to-the-date information and the agenda, please check our Bighorn Sheep Orientation Day Page. |
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| More
Hunts in 2008 According to Don Whittaker of the ODFW there will be some changes in the number of tags available for wild game in Oregon in 2008. Compared to 2007, there’s some good news and some bad news. First, the good news. Bighorn Sheep tags will rise by 10. California Bighorn tags will go from 65 resident/5 nonresident to 75 resident/5 non-resident, an increase of 10. Rocky Mountain Bighorn tags will remain the same at 11 resident/1 non-resident. That’s 92 tags available for sheep hunters. We’re not back to the “good old days’ when there were 120 tags available but we are making a nice comeback from the effects of disease in the 1990’s. Mountain Goat tags will go from 7 in ’07 to 8 in ’08. Pronghorn tags will increase by 62 and buck deer will jump by 413. Additionally, there will be some new youth doe hunts added to the mix. The bad news? Elk and doe tags will see drops of 528 and 263 respectively. |
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| Mountain
Goats In 2005 the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife proposed to release mountain goats to historic habitat in the Columbia Gorge, the northern most tip of the Cascade Range in Oregon. However, the transplant was put on hold due to a court appeal by opponents who contend that mountain goats were not native to the area. Specimen based evidence for the occurrence of mountain goats in Oregon’s Cascades is lacking, yet literature published in the nineteenth century suggests otherwise. In addition, healthy mountain goat populations are known for their ability to pioneer and expand into vacant habitats. Mountain goats occurred in the Mount St. Helens and Mount Adams areas of the Washington Cascades, just 50 miles distant. It is very unlikely that during the many hundreds of years that goat populations inhabited the southern Cascades of Washington, they did not move further south along the mountain range to additional habitat. To illustrate this, in Oregon a small population of mountain goats became established in 2002 in the Strawberry Mountains as a result of dispersal from the Elkhorn Mountains population which was established in the mid 1980’s. Distance between these two mountain ranges is approximately 50 air miles, and habitat between the ranges is dominated by lower elevation conifer timber stands. The short time period over which the Strawberry Mountains population became established demonstrates the propensity of mountain goats to pioneer adjacent habitats. In September 2006 two separate individual mountain goats were observed at locations in north central Oregon. The first individual was observed in the sagebrush steppe habitat 25 miles south of Hermiston. Later reports indicate this animal moved back to the east toward the Elkhorn Mountains where it is believed both individuals originated. The second individual was first reported along the west breaks of the lower John Day River. During the next three weeks the young billy was observed at various locations moving west toward the Columbia River and The Dalles. On October 19th the billy was reported near The Dalles Dam. In late December the goat was captured and radio collared by wildlife personnel from The Dalles. Since December the goat has remained along the Columbia River east of the dam within the Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area. On several occasions the billy has moved west to The Dalles city limits, but then returned to the rim rock habitat east of the dam. Does this animal have its eye on the Cascade Range which lies west of The Dalles? Only time will tell. Perhaps individual goats pioneering from northeast Oregon will inhabit the north Cascades on their own. Meanwhile watchful motorists continue to enjoy viewing the mountain goat while traveling along Interstate 84 east of the Dalles Dam. Pat Matthews Wildlife Biologist ODFW, Enterprise |
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