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California bighorn sheep at Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge. Credit: Photo by Zachary McCoy / Hart Mountain NAR / USFWS LAKEVIEW, Ore. – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is releasing a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for a management plan to address a significant decline in the California bighorn sheep population on Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge. The Service is opening a 45-day public comment period on the draft EIS. The bighorn sheep population on the refuge has declined by 67% in four years, dropping from 149 sheep in 2017 to 48 in 2020. This trend puts the population at risk of extirpation without management intervention.
If you don’t know where you re going, you’ll end up someplace else. Yogi Berra
Since 2017, the California bighorn sheep on Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge have declined by almost 70%. Refuge biologists counted just 48 sheep during aerial surveys conducted in 2020, a trend that puts the population at risk of extirpation.
To address the decline, Refuge staff, in coordination with Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and USDA-Wildlife Services, developed a Bighorn Sheep Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The EIS is focused on evaluating and managing factors influencing the bighorn sheep population including habitat and causes of mortality. In the EIS, we analyzed existing data and identified alternatives that represent a range of reasonable management approaches that reflect the urgency to implement short-term management actions in combination with mid- to long-term management and monitoring. The goal is to restore the herd to a healthy, sustainab
California bighorn sheep at Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge. Credit: Photo by Zachary McCoy / Hart Mountain NAR / USFWS
LAKEVIEW, Ore. – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is releasing a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for a management plan to address a significant decline in the California bighorn sheep population on Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge. The Service is opening a 45-day public comment period on the draft EIS.
The bighorn sheep population on the refuge has declined by 67% in four years, dropping from 149 sheep in 2017 to 48 in 2020. This trend puts the population at risk of extirpation without management intervention.