Santa Catalina Bighorn Restoration Project

[cmc]

All,

I have mentioned this here before and hope to continue to keep an update on the sheep restoration project in the Santa Catalina Mountains on the north end of Tucson. (click her for the project committee's webpage). The restoration project is a plan to put around 100 bighorn sheep on the mountain in three phases. The first phase comes as early as November this year with 30 sheep being relocated to the Santa Catalina's and outfitted with radio collars for monitoring purposes.

This project is in need of your help in a few ways to be successful. First we as outdoor recreationalist need to understand and support the needs for hiking trail restrictions in the Catalina's. Trail restrictions for the restoration area are already in effect and will remain in effect throughout the timeline of the project. These restrictions are pivotal in the success, they are in the form of limiting access during lambing season so the herd experiences less stress during a critical time of the year. Second is a restriction to limit bring pets into the area, primarily dogs. A study was conducted where they monitored the heart rate of sheep that encounter both hikers and hikers with dogs and it the heart rate of the sheep increased drastically when the dog was present on the hike. Again this leads to unwanted stress to an animal and considering there is enough stress for them during and after a relocation any part we can do to limit that factor is needed.

Lastly the project needs your financial assistance. Relocation of around 100 sheep is not cheap and involves a lot of resources, equipment and technology for monitoring once they are on the ground in their new habitat.

You can help by giving to the project a charitable donation. Click her for the AZ Desert Bighorn Sheep Society project donation web site. There are several levels of donating but honestly any level is appreciated. If you or someone you know, even their business/company maybe, would like to "adopt a sheep" please check out the Gold level donation. If you have any questions regarding the project or donating do not hesitate to email me (cmc "at" azsj.org) and we can discuss the details.

I'll also include a link to their program/flyer in hopes you can help spread the word of the project to others. Click here to view the (PDF) project flyer.

Thank you,
cmc
(Chris McCotter)

[THOR]

I love Desert Sheep!! There is not one person that knows me that would decline that. This is, I'm sorry to say, a waist of money. The sheep left that area for a reason, and they will leave again or get killed by the lions. There is too many people up there and too many homes around. Sheep like there solitude. I mean does any one think its a good idea to re-locate sheep to a spot where you can see a Walmart from where they are going to be dropped off.? I will say it again, I am no Biologist, but to put sheep back in there is a bad idea and a waist of money....they will be gone in a few ways in a few years. No closure of trails or lack of people "allowed" in there is going to help.

PS. I am a member of the Arizona Desert Bighorn Sheep Society.

 

~Mark

[muledeerarea33?]

I dont really have a stance either way on this. However, I've seen sheep right in town in clifton/morenci. They dont mind being near houses and people there. they are rocky"s there though. does it make a difference?

[mklong40]

I normally do not get involved with these conversations but the Catalinas are my back yard and I have some questions.

 

1. What does trail restrictions mean? With all the property east of Oracle rd. that is now private due to development, there is already limited access. Not only for hunting reasons but also recreational. It gets just as bad on the back side, east side and on top. Will this limit the trail acces even more?

 

2. Again Im no sheep expert and chances are high I do not have the financial resouces to ever hunt one and we all know what it means to draw a tag..with that said, I was under the impression the sheep rut is in early winter....smack dab in the middle of rifle deer season. Would this mean the area the sheep are located are off limits to a much more regular drawn deer tag in the Catalinas?

 

These are both important questions to me. I am not standing here with cash in hand but I would like to know how this impacts an area already getting smaller by the year. Thanks.

[awatson]

A lion feeding project destined for failure.

 

I was born here, and grew up at the foot of Pusch Ridge. Killed lots of deer from Romero around to Pima Canyon, and we used to see sheep all the time through the mid 80's, but things are a lot different 30 years later.

 

This is a huuuge waste of money that could be used for more important things. The reason they "disappeared" in the first place isn't a mystery. It's because the habitat around Pusch Ridge all the way across to Ventana is way is too close to town, with far too much human interaction, and it's getting worse every year! It seems to me to be a "feel good" measure, with an enormous price and little payback, except some nostalgia for a bygone era. It's right up there with reintroduction of wolves; it makes some people all warm and fuzzy inside, but other than that it doesn't do a dang thing.

 

Go ahead, tell me how it's a much better ecosystem with them. There is no impact that a handful of sheep will have, one way or the other (except the lions will be full). I'm pretty shocked that many people on here would support such a thing; it's right out of the liberal tree-hugger playbook. To be successful, they'd have to restrict access to the entire area (yes, including hunting).

 

From a Catalina Mountain/Pusch Ridge local...that's my .02

[THOR]

A lion feeding project destined for failure.

 

I was born here, and grew up at the foot of Pusch Ridge. Killed lots of deer from Romero around to Pima Canyon, and we used to see sheep all the time through the mid 80's, but things are a lot different 30 years later.

 

This is a huuuge waste of money that could be used for more important things. The reason they "disappeared" in the first place isn't a mystery. It's because the habitat around Pusch Ridge all the way across to Ventana is way is too close to town, with far too much human interaction, and it's getting worse every year! It seems to me to be a "feel good" measure, with an enormous price and little payback, except some nostalgia for a bygone era. It's right up there with reintroduction of wolves; it makes some people all warm and fuzzy inside, but other than that it doesn't do a dang thing.

 

Go ahead, tell me how it's a much better ecosystem with them. There is no impact that a handful of sheep will have, one way or the other (except the lions will be full). I'm pretty shocked that many people on here would support such a thing; it's right out of the liberal tree-hugger playbook. To be successful, they'd have to restrict access to the entire area (yes, including hunting).

 

From a Catalina Mountain/Pusch Ridge local...that's my .02

You NAILED it !!!!

Well said! Its just a waist of all our hard earned money. I miss seeing them but there is a reason for everything. Someone "wants to feel all warm and fuzzy." Love it!

 

~Mark

[AZLance]

Waste of money and resources! Donate? You got to be kidding me! I donate enough with my increased license and tag fees. And why am I being told to stay out of public land that I pay for with my tax dollars? I truley hope the sheep are all eaten in a year! No more restrictions on where and when I can hunt! How many officers is it going to take to enforce this closure area? They can't even patrol unit 33 as is... now they have to babysit sheep?

[synper100]

its WASTE, not waist!!!!!!!!! get real.

[cmc]

I use to think that putting Goulds turkeys in the mountains south of Tucson was a waste of resources and would be a lost cause. For years I use to think that I would not be alive by the time a hunt opened up in the Santa Ritas. I have to laugh now as I think of the taxidermist bill I have to pay for my wifes Goulds taken out of that mountain range this past year. I also use to think putting elk in Kentucky and Pennsylvania was a lost cause. They are thriving with great success to the point that the herds can sustain themselvs and still allow for hunting. I can admit fully I was wrong on both cases. Sorry you guys feel that way but respect your opinion on the matter.

 

Best,

cmc

[THOR]

its WASTE, not waist!!!!!!!!! get real.

LOL I have never been a good speller

[WM U37B]

Hey All,

I appreciate and respect your opinions on this project. Here are some details I wanted to point out as it relates to both this project and bighorn conservation in Arizona.

 

First, some general information…did you know that?

• Since 1957, over 1800 bighorn have been captured within Arizona for restoration efforts.
• These efforts have resulted in the restoration of extirpated bighorn populations in Aravaipa Canyon (U31/32), the Superstitions (24B), Matzatals (22), Galiuros (32), Peloncillos (28) and the Minerals (37B) to name a few. Whether some of you know it or not, you have been aplying for sheep tags which were established through transplants just as we are doing with the Catalinas.
• Arizona bighorn have been used to restore desert sheep populations in Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas.
• During the years that the Catalinas were hunted for sheep (1962-1986), 37 rams were harvested and the Catalinas ranked #4 in the state for producing 170+ rams
• Generally speaking, individuals who have purchased the Commissioner auction tag for desert bighorn (low of $27,000 and high of $303,000 – 1984 to current), have harvested many of their trophy rams in restored and/or augmented mountain ranges.

Now, some specifics as it relates to the project. First, we all agree that this project certainly could fail. This is something that comes with the territory. There are always inherent risks with things like this. The best that we can do is to have plans in place to mitigate those factors which may hinder the restoration, such as a plan to address lion predation, hiking restrictions which have been in place since 1996 (nothing new here), plans to increase the fire on the mountain to restore the natural role of fire and reduce unnatural buildup of fuels, etc.

 

We have a solid plan place. When we decided to move forward with this, with the support from many conservation groups and individuals, we discussed failure many times and accept the fact that this is a possibility. One can’t fail at something without first attempting it. In our discussions about when and how we would attempt it, we decided that if we were going to do it, let’s do it right, hence the large collaring effort and cost associated with the project. Our worst case scenario is that the project does indeed fail, but we learned why it failed and at least attempted it. The local community will benefit from the significant information and education outreach opportunities this project will bring to them. I can guarantee that the general public will gain some knowledge and understanding from the project which results in more appreciation for our natural resources and for us and our role as hunters in the very successful North American Model of Wildlife Management. Any hard earned accomplishment I’ve or anyone for that matter has ever succeeded with in life has been met with some risk of failure. We accept this and move on.

 

There were a few statements about why they disappeared in the first place. While human disturbance and encroachment have been suggested as one of the many possibilities, there has never been any solid evidence on this. In fact, in digging up all of the history associated the Catalinas, in my professional opinion; the best evidence for why the original herd disappeared in the first place may be disease. In 1986, the AGFD documented a 4 year old ram which moved over 70 miles from the Superstitions to Pusch Ridge in the Catalinas. He was ear tagged which is how they tracked him. For many decades, there has been a domestic sheep drive from the Phoenix/Apache Junction area through the Superstitions and Matzatals along the Salt River drainage eventually leading to the high country near Big Lake. Domestics and native bighorn do not do well together (pneumonia and other diseases). Many people said that the 4 year old ram “appeared” to have something wrong with it. In looking at the graph below, there is quite a sharp decline post 1986.

 

There is also some benefit to starting fresh in a range like the Catalinas. Typically, biologists would augment a low population with new sheep in hopes that the existing sheep carry on their herd memory to the new ones. Herd memory is built up over generations and generations and includes good lambing/nursery areas, water locations, travel corridors, etc. If human encroachment did indeed have something to do with the original herd dying out, this has been lost as no sheep = no herd memory. Therefore, any new sheep placed into the Catalinas must make ends meet with the conditions available. This could be looked at as a plus.

 

If anyone has any additional questions or inquiries, please contact me at 520-591-7636 or email at bbrochu@azgfd.gov as I would be happy to assist. I am only one of many individuals working on the project for the past 3 years. Your support would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks,

Ben Brochu

Wildlife Manager U37B

 

[tjhunt2]

Thank you Ben for coming on here and providing us with that information.

 

TJ

[Becker]

Hey Ben,

 

I think you should take note of the nay sayers and if this transplant holds and we eventually get to hunt the Catalina's for sheep again, don't let those guys apply! Obviously some of you haven't been around the sheep units and watched the sheep much. In arivaipa they hang out right above the road and houses, they hang out in the silver bell mines all day long, they are all over the superstitions where people hike, four wheel, target shoot, and some are right up to the edge of town. I think some of you underestimate the size of the Catalina's and the chance is worth the risk. I think the main concern is when the sheep are initially released. It's going to take some time for them to adjust and G and F doesn't want extra pressure before they get settled in. As far as lions go you can't tell me that 31,32,22,24b, or just about any sheep unit doesn't have the same lion issue! Come on guys! Like I said if it takes hold and a new sheep hunt opens, better not see you applying for it!!!

[Cowman]

Thank you WM U37B for taking the opportunity to further discussion and at your attempt to steer this conversation in a constructive direction.

 

I am with Becker on this one.

[AZLance]

Hey Ben,

I think you should take note of the nay sayers and if this transplant holds and we eventually get to hunt the Catalina's for sheep again, don't let those guys apply! Obviously some of you haven't been around the sheep units and watched the sheep much. In arivaipa they hang out right above the road and houses, they hang out in the silver bell mines all day long, they are all over the superstitions where people hike, four wheel, target shoot, and some are right up to the edge of town. I think some of you underestimate the size of the Catalina's and the chance is worth the risk. I think the main concern is when the sheep are initially released. It's going to take some time for them to adjust and G and F doesn't want extra pressure before they get settled in. As far as lions go you can't tell me that 31,32,22,24b, or just about any sheep unit doesn't have the same lion issue! Come on guys! Like I said if it takes hold and a new sheep hunt opens, better not see you applying for it!!!

 

Devin, we already know how corrupt our department already is, and your now suggesting that they start a black list for anybody who criticizes them? This will go over great with the hunters in AZ...