Bighorns in the Catalinas and Mt. Lions

[Outdoor Writer]

While I agree re-introduction CAN be a good thing, The reasons for Bighorns dying out of the Catalinas have NOT changed, if anything the conditions are worse now and there are better places for this program to be used...

 

"To restore a viable population of bighorn sheep (Ovis Canadensis) in the Santa Catalina Mountains of GMU 33. Recent habitat assessments have confirmed suitable, but unoccupied habitat in the Catalinas. Krausman et al. (2004) reevaluated bighorn sheep habitat in the Catalinas following the Bullock and Aspen fires in 2002 and 2003 respectively. Using their GIS model, they calculated 39,201 ha of potential habitat in the entire Santa Catalina Mountains and 9,017 ha of historic habitat in the western portion of the range. Approximately 21% of the potential bighorn sheep habitat and approximately 24% of the historic bighorn sheep habitat was burned during the Bullock and Aspen fires."