June 2014 - Montana Wild Sheep Foundation

Welcome to
Wild Sheep
Summer 2014 | Volume 22, Issue 2
Spring
S
pring 2014
2014 | 1
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
President’s Message...........................................3
Board of Director Nominations................................4
2014 Annual Banquet...............................................5
2014 MWSF Annual Banquet Youth Expo..............7
An Opportunity of a Life Time...................................8
My 2013 Ram Hunt...................................................10
40 Inch Ram.............................................................12
2nd Annual Youth Conservation Expo..................14
Capture of Wild Horse Island Sheep..................16
2015 Montana Wild Sheep Foundation Banquet ..
...............................................................................19
Photo Gallery..........................................................20
All contributed material will be published at the discretion of the Editorial Board of Montana WSF. The
Editorial Board consists of the editor of the newsletter,
the executive director of the chapter, and the president
of the chapter.
Cover photo courtesy of Steve Kline.
Visit us online at www.montanawsf.org!
While there, visit the Photo Gallery page. If you
would like to have a picture posted to this page,
email ([email protected]) your name, the
photo (jpeg format preferred) along with a brief
one to two sentence description of the hunt.
You can also visit us on Facebook!
The Montana Chapter of
the Wild Sheep Foundation will give a reward of
up to $1000 for information leading to the arrest
and conviction of cases involving the illegal taking of bighorn sheep in the State of Montana. If
you have information of any illegal act, contact
1-800-TIP-MONT (1-800-847-6668).
2 | WILD SHEEP
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Jim Weatherly, Executive Director
2001 35th Avenue, Missoula, MT 59804
(406) 549-5697 [email protected]
Jack Chambers, President
3208 Paul Lane, Missoula, MT 59803
(406) 251-4082 [email protected]
Brian Solan, Vice President
855 Wolf Road, Helena, MT 59602
(406) 461-7432 [email protected]
Max Bauer Jr., Treasurer
5074 Gardner Lane, Florence, MT 59833
(406) 532-5120 [email protected]
Jeff Mortensen, Secretary
886 Wierda Way, Manhattan, MT 59741
(406) 282-7098 [email protected]
Shane Clouse
316 O’Connell Drive, Lolo, MT 59847
(406) 370-4487 [email protected]
Steve Kline
PO Box 842, Superior, MT 59872
(406) 546-1052 [email protected]
Mike Colpo
PO Box 1753, Big Timber, MT 59011
(406) 350-1880 [email protected]
Tom Carlsen
68 Lost Trail , Clancy, MT 59634
(406) 461-6742 [email protected]
Bruce Sterling
66 Sterling Drive, Thompson Falls, MT 59873
(406) 274-6023 [email protected]
NEWSLETTER EDITOR AND PUBLISHER
Traci Ulberg
Meetings Northwest, LLC
(406) 273-7224
[email protected]
Contact us at:
Montana Wild Sheep Foundation
PO Box 17731
Missoula, MT 59808
President’s Message
Greetings Fellow Mt.WSF MembersSummer will be here soon, they promise. And with it will come the 100+ sheep tags for next fall. Good luck in the
drawing.
I want to thank everyone who made our March 1st fundraiser so successful. All the volunteers and especially those
attendees who braved a good-old Montana blizzard. It proved to be one of our highest “% net” fundraisers we have
ever. We look forward to March 6 & 7, 2015 in Helena at the Colonial/Red Lion.
~ SUMMER PICNIC/GATHERING, June 21st - 22nd, 2014 ~
Please join your Chapter first summer gathering in quite some time. We will meet at the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Ranch near Duperyur, MT.(North of Choteau). RSVP SOON, THIS IS VERY SHORT NOTICE. CALL
JACK @ (406)207-6065
Ar you looki
Are
Ar
king for th
the
h perfect
f t venue to hostt a work
kshop,
h seminar,
i
or oth
ther large gath
theri
h ing
g??
g
Here is the schedule:
YOU HAVE
A FOUND JUST THE PLACE!
Saturday:
10:00 am -12:00 pm - Arrive and
set up camp/get settled in your room
12:00 pm - Lunch on your own
1:00 pm -5:00 pm Activities..Skeet, Watchable Wildlife trail, Interpretive Tour, etc..
6:00 pm -7:00 pm - Catered dinner to include a protein (beef, pork, chicken or fish),
a side dish, fresh vegetables and/or fresh
salad, bread, dessert and beverages ($15/
plate).
7:00 pm - 8:00 pm - Talk by biologist or
Luke about “Grizzly Bears on the Eastern
Front”
The Rasmuson Wildlife
Conservation
ti
C
Center
t r
Sunday:
8:00 am 9:00 am - Catered hot breakfasts
will be served, along with a “cold” option
(i.e., cereal, yogurt...) and will include protein, grain and fruit or fruit juice ($10/plate).
Other costs......camping $10/person(tent or campers/
trailers).......staying in the lodge, $45/adult, $26.25/
youth, kids under 10 are free. The lodge has 5 large
sleeping rooms with 6 bunk beds each.......two large
restrooms w/4 showers. Questions??? Call me.
Hope to see you there!
Jack Chambers
Montana Wild Sheep Foundation President
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ties for
for those
those inte
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angl
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s
The Center was constructed to blend into the surrounding landscape, taking
advantage of the mountainous and big sky vistas. The building was also design
gned
with a high-efficiency rating due to the strong winds and winter weather.
For more information, pricin
ng,
or to make reservations callll
(406) 472-3311 or visit
www.boone-crockett.org
Spring 2014 | 3
Board of Director Nominations
T
he chapter is interested in hearing from members who might wish to serve on its nine member board of
directors. If you are qualified and would like the opportunity to serve please contact any board member
whose contact information is shown in this newsletter. Qualifications to serve on the board are listed in
our bylaws and are as follows:
“All nominees shall have been members in good standing for not less than one year at the time
of taking office and shall have attended at least one annual convention prior to his or her nomination. As further qualifications, nominees must manifest an abiding interest in the enhancement of wild sheep in North America, be willing to contribute time, talent, energy and resources
to further the purposes and objectives of the Montana Chapter, be willing to actively participate in Chapter functions, fund-raising and other activities, acknowledging that service as a
Board member shall have a high priority in all his or her endeavors, and meet any further qualifications determined by the Nominating Committee to be in the best interests of the Chapter.”
Nominations of members to stand for election to the board will be held at the
summer board meeting on June 21, 2014. All nominated members and their
biographies will appear on a ballot to be mailed to the membership on August
1, 2014. Board terms are for 3 years and three board positions must stand
for election each year. No board member can serve more then 3 consecutive
terms without leaving the board for a minimum of one year. The three board
members whose positions are open this year are Steve Kline, Mike Colpo
& Brian Solan. Steve Kine has served 9 years and is ineligible to stand for
reelection to the board. The board has a minimum of 5 meetings each year
with the majority of the meetings via conference call. We encourage all
interested members to apply for the board of directors we need your ideas
and assistance on behalf of Montana’s Bighorn Sheep.
Jim Weatherly
Executive Director
Jim Weatherly and Tom Grimes at the January 2014 Reno Wild Sheep Convention
4 | WILD SHEEP
2014 Annual Banquet
T
he February 28 & March 1st fundraising event was held during the blizzard of the century in Missoula,
Montana. While the weather had a huge impact on planned youth activities, seminars and our vendors
it failed to dampen the spirits of our supporters who showed up inmass for our dinner and auction. We
had very few cancellations and the walk-ins filled the available seats. After being coop up for the two day
blizzard and below zero weather the crowd celebrated by supporting wild sheep in Montana. We would like to
express our sincere thanks to all the donors and buyers who helped put and keep sheep on the mountain.
Raffle winners at the 2014 sheep show:
Sheep Camp
New Member Rifle
Sponsor Rifle Raffle
Custom Rifle
Fur Coat
Ladies package
KUIU Backpack
Sitka Gear
Weatherby Vanguard
Benelli Nova
Glock 9 mm
Minox Package
Grand Door Prize Rifle
Youth Grand Door Prize
Taxidermy Contest
Karl Tyler Hat Raffle Rifle
B&C Campership
Rebecca Spring
Jerry Anderberg
Jim Seel
Max Bauer Jr
Tony Croonenberg
Jana Waller
Isabella Dixon
Bill Kitchin
Max Bauer Jr
Jim Winjum
Mary Yamasaki
Brad Morlock
Dale Manning
Fred Boyer
Ramey Meinzen
Michael Davis
Shawn Clouse
Taylor Wohlers
Alberton
Billings
Missoula
Florence
Missoula
Bitterroot
Missoula
Missoula
Florence
Bozeman
Bozeman
Lewiston, ID
Missoula
Anaconda
Florence
Butte
Missoula
Hamilton
We urge our supporters to patronize the donors to our Missoula event.
ent.
WINTER 2014 | 5
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6 | WILD SHEEP
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2014 MWSF Annual Banquet Youth Expo
By Tom Powers
F
eb 28th --March 1st Our first ever (Youth
Expo) held at the Garden City Hilton Missoula. Mother nature had other plans that
weekend and delivered a mighty blow to all of us
here in western Montana. Our event received another
blow when all the schools in Missoula closed on that
Friday morning.
With that closure we lost 180 kids from the C.S. Porter science class that were to have been at the expo.
We still had other kids that ventured to the expo even
though the schools were closed. Some of our vendors
for the expo also were unable to make it because of
the storm.
We did go ahead with the archery shooting, FWPS
poaching display, The Bear aware booth, hides and
skulls, tracks & scat I.D. The building of Bird houses for the kids also took place. Our thanks to all the
volunteers who worked so hard to make this happen.
names at a later date. Amber Voss from Missoula,
Elizabeth Rice from Missoula and Turner McCullough from Missoula.
To learn more about the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Ranch outdoor adventure camps go to www.
boone-crockett.org or www.wildsheepfoundation.org.
We hope that we can keep this youth event going at
our annual fundraiser each year.
Our Thanks to Jan Varner for sponsoring one of the
youth for this summer camp. Our Chapter sponsored
one and national
sponsored two for
the camp. These are
re
five day summer
camps. It is a veryy
beautiful location
on the east front
of the Bob Marshal Wilderness.
We did go ahead and draw one winner for the Boone
& Crockett summer camps on March 1st during the
banquet. That young lady was Taylor Wohlers from
Darby. We had Jack Chambers draw the other three
Spring 2014 | 7
An Opportunity of a Life Time
By Samantha Moulding
t was June and I was at work, (I ride barrel
horses all summer long) when I got a call from
my dad he told me I had drawn a bighorn sheep
tag. I couldn’t believe it! I thought him and my older
brother Tyler had to be messing with me. They soon
assured me they were not. I was so excited not only
had I killed an awesome mountain goat at 13 but now
at 14 I was going to have a once in a life time opportunity to kill a Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep! I had
never expected to draw a sheep tag I mean people put
in for years and years and never draw!
I
Falls so he was driving through the unit everyday and
watching what the sheep were doing.
We started doing lots of research, we wanted to know
everything we could about the unit and what caliber
of sheep could come out of it.
It was November 9th as well as our 9th day of hunting when we spotted a heard of sheep on a ridge
across the river. We got out the spotting scope and
soon decided this ram warranted a closer look. Getting across the river could be a challenge but my dad
and I had it pretty well nailed. We got to the boat
ramp, got our stuff together and unloaded the boat.
It was an absolutely beautiful day and super
warm which always makes things nicer.
As September 15th (the opener) drew closer we
decided not to get to excited because the rut had not
even started. My dad was working in Thompson
My dad and I started going on the weekends looking
at lots of rams. We would take pictures through the
spotting scope and judge them. We were being patient and waiting for “the one”. I had already decided
I was going to shoot a really pretty ram even if it did
not score the best. We only live 30 minutes from the
unit so we knew the area and have friends that know
the area really well.
Dad fired up the boat, I gave it a shove, and
hoped in. I was so excited, just happy to be
outside doing what I love. We got to the edge
of the river, docked the boat, and off we went.
There were two ewes on the ridge and they
were looking right at us. They soon moved
off a little nervous. I was worried that they
might just blow the whole thing but we kept
hiking. As we got to the edge of the opening I saw the sheep. We crawled to a dead
tree and set up but the sheep were wondering away and soon out of sight. So we got up
and moved down the draw a ways. The sheep
were soon in sight but not for long they were
headed back up into the cliffs for the evening.
We turned around and hustled to the other
end of the opening and then hustled down the
opposite side of the opening. The sheep had
seen us but had not blown out of there. During all this my mind was running wild. What
if I shoot the wrong one that was my biggest
fear all along? The sheep had kind of split
8 | WILD SHEEP
into two groups and I did not know where the big one
was. Dad and I made it to a rock; he threw his pack
up on it and I set my rifle up. We quickly scanned
the sheep and spotted our ram. I pulled my thoughts
together,took a deep breath, and squeezed the trigger
gg
of my Remington 30-06. The ram took a stride
forward and crashed to the ground rollingg
150 yards down the straight up and down,
n,
cliffy rock slide of a mountain. My dad and
I cringed as we watched him tumble off the
mountain, worried he would bust his horns
rns
up.
I pulled the trigger he was there all the years prior.
Also a thank you goes out to Shawn Andres at Alpine
Artistry for all his wisdom. Again thank you dad for
working so hard and long to get me an awesome ram.
In the end my ram grossed 182”.
Finally after crashing 150 yards my ram
came to a stop. My heart was racing and I
was so excited! As we climbed up to myy
ram I knew this was the perfect sheep.
My dad and I checked out the ram and
knew he was an amazing kill. We soon
began caping and quartering the ram,
we did not have
much daylight
left.
Every bit of my
Rocky Mountain Bighorn
Sheep hunt was
amazing. How
blessed I was to
have this opportunity at 14 still
blows me away.
I definitely
could not have
done it without
my dad! I would
like to thank my
brother, Tyler
for his service
to this country.
Even though
he could not
be there when
Spring
S
i 2014 | 9
My 2013 Ram Hunt
By Bill Burton
W
hen the mail came and I saw a letter from
Fish Wildlife and parks, I was expecting
my usual refund for my special permit
applications. To my surprise, I had drawn both a ram
and a goat permit!
Now the panic set in. How am I going to have time
to pursue both? I received all kinds of advice on
which order and when best to plan my hunts.
I decided to pursue the ram first. I spent the opening weekend scouting out the Rock Creek area with
a hunting buddy. I got advice from several of the
locals I visited
ited with. I saw a number of sheep on the
weekend but
ut
all on private
ate
inaccessiblee
land.
I returned
the following
ng
Sunday, and
d
took a day
long hike in
n
the Sandstone
one
Ridge with
h on
the locals I had
met the previevious weekend.
nd.
I arrived late
ate
having to run
un
in with a deer
eer
on my early
y
morning trek
Phillipsburg. Late in
ek from Clancy to Phillipsburg
the day we spotted a band of sheep with 2 large rams
lying in their vicinity. A stock proved futile and with
no snow to track them the trail went cold.
A third trip was met with a cold and rainy weekend.
Again sheep were spotted by again on posted property.
On my forth trip I planned to spend 5 days hunting
with a friend. At the last minute my hunting partner
10 | WILD SHEEP
had to cancel due to an emergency business development. Much to my wife’s concern, I was on my
own. I spent the first day back on National forest on
Sandstone Ridge. Right of the bat I spotted a band
of sheep with several rams. It was a foggy morning
and the visibility was off and on. Once gain I tried a
steady stock and when the fog lifted, the sheep were
nowhere to be found. The following day I walked
the Hogback Ridge trail. It was a gorgeous day, and
beautiful country but no sign of my pursuit.
The next day I headed up Flat Gulch and again it was
a beautiful fall day on Rock Creek. I spotted a large
band of sheep with several nice rams but th
they were
on the
th move.
After
Afte an hour
or so,
so I got
off a couple
of long
lo shots
at a large ram
running
across
runn
an oopening. It
got m
my adrenaline pumping,
but I missed
and the sheep
disappeared
disap
over another
distant
dista ridge.
The next day
I spend
spe hiking
Flat Gulch in
another direction
direction. In the afternoon I spotte
spotted a band
of sheep lying in a distant opening. There were no
legal rams in the bunch, but I sat and observed for a
couple of hours, hoping I might catch a ram moving
in the area. No luck again, and another long hike
back to my vehicle.
I had decided to hunt a new area the following day
after talking to another person in Phillipsburg at dinner that evening. My plan was to hike the back side
of Ram Mountain.
As I was diving to my intended destination, I spotted some sheep on Flat Gulch. With my binoculars
I could tell there were at least 2 rams in the bunch,
but they were too far away for me to judge their size.
Since I was nearing the end of my hut I decided to
make the walk back up Flat Gulch since I had spotted
these and had seen sheep on the 2 previous days in
this area.
As I was approaching the area I had spotted the sheep
earlier in the morning, I saw movement to the adjacent ridge. Two large rams running over the top and
away from my position. Not knowing if these were
the same rams I had seen earlier or not, I decided to
hunt in the direction they were last headed.
After a long trek over to the next ridge, I was disheartened to see them again heading over the next
ridge. Tired and hungry, I decided to sit and have
lunch and contemplate my next move. All of a sudden I hear what I first though was a shot come from
somewhere above my position. My first though was
the other ram hunter must be hunting ahead of me!!
Then I heard it again, and again. I continue to glass
the area above me, and then I spotted a group of
rams in a large sagebrush bowl. I watched in awe as
several of them were butting heads and of the large
crashing sound that soon echoed down the gulch to
my location.
The group was still here looking my way and all in a
bunch! I could see several large rams and a number
of smaller ones. My heart was pounding as I waited.
I could tell they were getting nervous and I just could
not seem to get a clear shot. They started to move
out slowing but still all in a tight bunch. Then one
broke off to the side of the group. I determined it
was the third largest of the group of 8. I took the
shot and ram dropped in his tracks. I was elated, but
then, it sank in I was along and a long way from my
truck late in the day.
As I dragged my animal down the mountain, I continued to hear the echoing sound of rams butting their
heads echoing from various directions around my
location. At that moment, the beauty of Rock Creek,
the awe of these beautiful Rocky Mountain Bighorn
Sheep, and the hunt all came together in a way that
will always be a special Montana memory and experience for me.
I would like to give a very special thanks to the Clark
families for allowing me the opportunity to hunt on
their property. They provided me a Montana opportunity that I am very grateful for and will never
forget.
As I started the long trip up the mountain and
well out of sight, I could hear the continued
sound of the heard butting going on as I circled in over the next hour or so. As I finally
got to the area I made my sneak and looked
over into the bowl. My heart briefly sank as it
appeared the sheep were once again gone. It
was getting late in the day and I stood up and
was contemplating my long walk back to my
truck. Suddenly I some movement at the very
bottom of the bowl that had not been able to
see from my prone position. There they were,
but I had been spotted. I once again dropped
down and crawled to a better vantage point.
Spring
S
i 2014 | 11
40 Inch Ram
By Kirby Swanson
M
y cell phone rang, the first words out of my
cousin Troy was “you got another one.”
“I said what”, he said “Another sheep tag.”
I couldn’t believe it. I went home and went
On the Internet and there it was.
All summer I was thinking about going on another
sheep hunt. I live in the same area the tag was good
for. This would be the sixth sheep hunt I’ve been on.
Fall finally came and I couldn’t really go until all the
cattle were gathered and all cattle were worked and
calves weaned.
The 1st part of November came and my good friend
and hunting partner of 40 years
Ken Kovatch came over to pack in with me.
We were going to camp with other friends that were
going in a different way than we were. Ken and I
packed all the horses up and headed in. A mile from
the pickup Ken and I were in sheep country. The ride
in went good no wrecks, but didn’t see any sheep.
We arrived at camp and greeted the Vandenboss’,
Jere, Len and Gina along with Will Christiaens.
The first thing Jere said they ran into a few rams
on the way in. Ken and I unloaded the packhorses
and threw our stuff into the tent. I turned to Jere and
asked “WHERE” “Let’s go Kirb” was Jeres’ reply. A
way we went 3 or 4 miles from camp we got
g off our
horses and looked way up and there they
heyy
were 10 rams. From the bottom I wasn’t
sn
n’tt
sure any that I wanted. The only way to
to see
see
what was there was to Climb! It would
ldd be
be
dark in an hour or so, we had to go; Ken
Kenn
and Will stayed with the horses and too keep
keeeep
an eye on the sheep. Jere went with me
me and
anndd
we started up the mountain. The snow
w was
was
as
a foot deep or so, but went up as fast as
as we
we
could. We finally got within 250 yards
dss of
of
the rams. With binoculars up and checkck-ing them out. After 20 minutes of trying
inng
to make their horns grow didn’t work,
k,, I
looked at Jere and said “No”. We climbed
mbeed
mb
ed
off of the mountain and went back to camp.
cam
mpp..
12 | WILD SHEEP
For the next 3 days Ken and I rode, stopped, glassed,
climbed and glassed some more.
Finally on the fourth day we saw 1 ram, thought
maybe but no, he wasn’t what I was looking for. This
is my third sheep tag and I was looking for a monster.
Time was up we had to go home for a while.
November 21st called a neighbor to see if I could
ride thru, she said “sure anytime”.
She also said another sheep hunter asked to park in
her yard to hunt the same area. I was.
I said that’s ok. I’ll be ahead of him ...
Morning of 22nd 4:00 a.m. I had my horse and packhorse saddled. Went to house and had a cup of coffee.
Ken couldn’t go with me today, thought he could go
in a couple days. By 6:00 I was in the pass that overlooks a breeding area for big hom sheep. Sun was
slow this morning, stood by horses out of the chilly
west wind. Finally sun came up enough to head out
again. Y2 hour later saw my first sheep, 3 ewes. I had
to get by them, they were up high in the rocks, and I
stayed on my horse and went ahead. They stayed, I
went up thru a little saddle and right over the top, 100
yards away in front of me 7 ewes 2 lambs and a small
ram, they took off. DANG IT! I took after them on
foot because I knew there was more sheep up there.
I went around the comer and there he was. Trotting
away with his band of Ewes. BIG RAM! I stopped
and watched 4 rams 25 ewes and lambs. I was sure
it didn’t bug them that much so I went back to the
horses and waited 15-20 minutes to let them settle
down. I saw the ram I wanted at least full curl ram.
The other sheep hunter had me worried the sheep ran
towards the way they would come, I had to go. I rode
down the mountain and got off went ahead on foot.
I figured they were close, got my binoculars out and
started glassing. There they were 300 yards away
straight across from me. I found my ram he’s bigger
than I thought. Found myself a big rock set up, laid
the 338 across it found the ram. 300 yard pin on his
shoulder at the shot I heard the whack and saw the
sheep running. My ram tumbling for only about fifty
yards and got hung up on a dead tree. As I stood up
and looked down the mountain the other sheep hunter
was standing there looking at 3 other rams and ewes
run by. I LUCKED OUT!
I got to my ram and was very very happy 40-inch
ram that was 9112 years old. I made my mind up
right there full body mount because of respect of this
great animal. I thank God on where I live and the
opportunities I’ve had hunting, also my wife Rita
for supporting all my hunting endeavors. Also to
Ken Kovatch I hope that I’ll be helping you on your
sheep hunt next. Got my sheep dressed out and off
the mountain, onto my packhorse and headed home. I
was home before dark! By 8:00 people were stopping
by to look at my 40” sheep. WHAT A HUNT!
WINTER 2014 | 13
2nd Annual Youth Conservation Expo
By Tom Powers
May 10th 2014 Teller Wildlife Refuge. Our second annual
Youth Conservation Expo took place. This event started
off with dismal weather conditions. But it’s hard to hold
back the nearly 400 kids when it comes to the outdoors.
We opened the event with Arnold (Smoke) Elser and Dale
Burk talking about the (Wilderness Act) of 1964 and the
Legacy of the act. About how important it is for our generation and future generations.
Some 32 wildlife
organizations working
together made this event
very special. After attending a series of work
stations throughout
the day the kids where
allowed to put their
names in for a drawing
for outdoor adventure
summer camps. These
included the Theodore
Roosevelt Memorial
14 | WILD SHEEP
Ranch. The Lubrecht State Forest Natural Resources
Camp. The Jack Creek Preserve all of these are Wildlife Conservation Youth Education Camps. These
were available for the 11 to 17 yr old kids. We gave
away 50 camp spots through drawings. 20 of these
for the T.R. Ranch, 10 for Lubrecht and 20 for Jack
Creek Preserve. 30 of the camps were sponsored by
the local wildlife groups. 20 were sponsored by the
National Wild Sheep Foundation and 10 by MOLF
(Montana Outdoor Legacy Foundation).
3 more float fishing trips were given to the 6 to 10 yr
old kids. There were 83 of those kids putting in for
the fishing trips.
Our thanks for all the hard work of our Wild Sheep
volunteers, Paul Crockrell whom preassembled some
40 bird houses that the kids finished putting together
and took home with them. To Jan Varner, Frank
Cudia, Karen Powers and Luke Coccoli for manning
the registration booth.
This expo is a great project to get these kids started in
the outdoors as shown by the interest. Teaching them
the basics at an event such as this is the first step in
the world of the great outdoors and all it has to offer.
Spring 2014 | 15
Capture of Wild Horse Island Sheep
By Bruce Sterling
O
ver a two day period in February 2014 (26
& 27) a total of 61 bighorns were capture
off of WHI. Twenty-one ewes, one male
lamb and 39 rams ranging in age from 1 ½ to 7
½ years of age.
There was one mortality during the capture operation where a ram suffered what appeared to be a
broken back and was later euthanized. The meat
was donated to a local food bank. In addition,
one yearling ram escaped the trailer when it was
parked at Big Arm State Park.
Two release sites where chosen to receive the WHI
sheep. One release site was in the Bull River of
NW Montana on Berray Mountain in HD 123,
a total of 15 ewes, one lamb and 11 rams where
released. All of the ewes were fitted with radio
collars. The second release site was in HD 100 on
16 | WILD SHEEP
the Kootenai Falls Wildlife Management
Area just west of Libby. This release
consisted of six ewes, four with radio collars, and 26 rams. As of last month, 14
of the 15 ewes released on Berray Mtn.
remain alive and all four of the radio collared ewes released near Libby are alive.
The capture prescription from WHI was
heavy with rams because of the large
population of rams living on the island
and the desire by wildlife biologists to
reduce the ram population on WHI and
bring it back into a better balance between ewes and rams remaining on the
island. After this capture the population
of bighorn sheep on the island is somewhere between 100-120 sheep which is
the target population for the island.
Spring
S
i 2014 | 17
Capture of Wild Horse Island Sheep.....
.........................................................continued
18 | WILD SHEEP
2015 Montana Wild
Sheep Foundation
Banquet
March 6th & 7th
Colonial Inn - Helena, MT
LAND OWNERSHIP
HUNTING MAPS FOR:
GPS
SMART DEVICES
COMPUTERS
HUNTINGGPSMAPS.COM
W
ith the 2014 annual banquet a success and
in the rear view mirror, the Montana Wild
Sheep Foundation is looking forward to
the 2015 Annual Banquet and Fundraiser at the Colonial Inn in Helena, MT. Mark your calendars for
March 6 & 7, 2015 as the planning as already begun.
Next year’s fundraiser will include our typical youth
events, hunting seminars, custom rifle raffle, sheep
camp raffle, incredible auction items and great conversation with fellow sheep hunting fanatics!
New this year, in order to set the stage for a night of
“Putting and Keeping Sheep on the Mountain”, we
are looking for more wild sheep mounts and taxidermy to display from our members. For everyone that
brings their wild sheep taxidermy to display, they will
be entered into an additional drawing for a hunting
rifle!
Another new addition to our banquet will be the Life
Member raffle. All life members in attendance (must
be present to win) will be entered into a separate raffle! Upgrade to a Life Member today and then attend
the banquet in March and you’re in the hunt!!
po
po box
box 444
444
sterling,
sterling, alaska
alaska 99672
99672
www.alaska.net/~silverb/index.html
www.alaska.net/~silverb/index.html
More details on the additional raffles, auction items,
seminars, speakers, youth events and the banquet will
be coming throughout the year. The MT Wild Sheep
Foundation is looking forward to another successful
event March 6 & 7 at the Colonial Inn in Helena. Remember, this is our one and only fundraiser that is
used to “Put and Keep Sheep on the Mountain”.
We’ll see you there!
Spring 2014 | 19
Photo Gallery
Larry Wambach HD 122
Greg Rolandson HD 680
Linda Schott HD 210
Dean Leninger HD 502
20 | WILD SHEEP
Scott Courtney HD 424
Tom Tabor HD 261
Troy Smith HD 203
Paul Meyers HD 680
Spring 2014 | 21
Photo Gallery
Amy Braaksma HD 301
Brandon Bartholomew HD 482
Andrew Bardwell HD 482
Doug Degroot HD 122
22 | WILD SHEEP
Doug Leeach HD 680
2013 Auction Tag Buyer
Eric Bachofner HD 124
(406) 826-3084
Rifle Barrels
Long -Range Optics
www.riflebarrels.com
Spring 2014 | 23
NONPROFIT ORG
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
MISSOULA, MT
PERMIT NO.74
Montana Wild Sheep Foundation
PO Box 17731
Missoula, MT 59808
Advertising Rates
Business Card
(3 3/4” x 2 “) - $25/yr
1/8 page
(3 3/4” x 2 1/2”) - $25/yr
1/4 page
(3 3/4” x 5”) - $50/yr
1/2 page
(7 1/2” x 5”) - $100/yr
Membership Information
Interested in becoming a member? Simply complete the below form and return with payment.
Name:______________________________________
Phone:__________________________________
Address:_________________________________________________________________________________
Email:______________________________________
Select category (one only please per form) and membership length:
Youth
1 year - $15.00
3 year - $35.00
Regular
1 year - $30.00
3 year - $80.00
Family
1 year - $50.00
3 year - $120.00
Life - $350.00
Corporate (1 year only) - $100.00
24 | WILD SHEEP
Mail this form and dues to:
Montana Chapter WSF
PO Box 17731
Missoula, MT 59808