Some Oregon bighorn sheep are moving to Idaho

BOISE – Idaho Fish and Game (IFG) is collaborating with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Wild Sheep Foundation as well as its Oregon and Idaho chapters to begin moving California bighorn sheep from Eastern Oregon to the Jacks Creek area of Owyhee County, Idaho this month. That will launch a multi-year effort to rebuild the size and long-term resilience of a herd that, while healthy, has been declining in size in recent decades.

Sheep for the project come from the area of the John Day River as it meets the Columbia River. The 30 bighorn sheep that are moving this month have all been deemed to be healthy. Most of the sheep will be females.

“We believe low genetic diversity in this isolated population could be contributing to lower reproductive success and overall population declines Idaho Regional Wildlife Manager Ryan Walrath said. “Our hope is that the augmentation will increase genetic diversity, and that will increase their ability to survive and reproduce.”

The herd at Jacks Creek grew as big as about 360 animals in the early 1990s, but has declined steadily and a survey in 2024 put the population at 111. There is no evidence that the pneumonia-causing bacteria that have caused bighorn sheep die-offs elsewhere has impacted the Jacks Creek herd.

Idaho Fish and Game is aware that one cause of death to the sheep is predation from mountain lions. The agency says it has progressively added lion-hunting opportunities over the last several cycles to address predation in the Owyhee units. IFG plans to take additional steps to remove mountain lions that target sheep in the release areas to ensure the augmentation of the herd is successful.

Photos above and below from Idaho Fish and Game

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Elkhorn Media Group