Group moves forward with plan amendment

On July 8, the Bighorn Sheep and Domestic Sheep Interaction Working Group held a Zoom meeting to vote on a proposed amendment to the Wyoming Bighorn and Domestic Sheep Interaction Plan (Wyoming Plan).

According to Wyoming State Veterinarian Dr. Hallie Hasel, this is the first time in the group’s 20 years of existence an amendment to the Wyoming Plan has been considered. 

During multiple meetings held throughout the spring and summer, subcommittee members representing both domestic livestock and wildlife interests worked together to draft language to be formally added to the Wyoming Plan. 

Bighorn Sheep Restoration Area

According to Wyoming Wool Growers Association Vice President and Sublette County Sheep Producer Cat Urbigkit, this amendment was sparked by the Wyoming Wild Sheep Foundation’s Sweetwater Rocks Initiative, which plans to reintroduce Bighorn sheep to the Sweetwater Rocks of Central Wyoming, stretching 73,101 acres from Devil’s Gate to Sage Hen Creek. 

The initiative caused concern among livestock producers, due to existing federal policies mandating the separation of domestic sheep from Bighorn sheep. 

To ensure the potential planned transplants of Bighorn sheep outlined in the initiative – and natural movements of animals once they are transplanted – do not negatively impact producers, the working group coined the term and definition “Bighorn Sheep Restoration Area” (BSRA).

According to the subcommittee, the purpose of a BSRA is to “provide for the establishment of additional Bighorn sheep populations outside of the core native herds without altering or changing livestock production due to the presence of Bighorn sheep.” 

They note BSRAs may be designated within an existing Cooperative Review Area, Bighorn Sheep Non-Emphasis Area or Bighorn Sheep Non-Management Area and may be used to reestablish Bighorn sheep populations resulting from natural immigration and/or planned reintroduction.

The draft language explains designations will be made through an amendment to the Wyoming Plan in accordance with Wyoming Statute 11-19-604 and the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission’s (WGFC) Chapter 66 regulations, which are based on recommendations from the working group.

“Proposals to establish a BSRA will follow the review process outlined in Appendix L of the Wyoming Plan,” the amendment reads. “In a designated BSRA, in the event Bighorn sheep naturally immigrate into or are reintroduced, the state of Wyoming accepts any risk of contact between Bighorn sheep and domestic livestock in the vicinity of those Bighorn sheep and will hold livestock producers harmless in the event such contact occurs.”

Purposefully, the working group did not include an associated map with the new term and definition. 

“I think it is always dangerous when we start drawing lines on a map because anytime it is done, regardless of the process, it will invariably cause some controversy. Frankly, there is no reason to create any unforeseen issues or controversy by drawing a map of where BSRAs might occur because at this point we are only talking about the Sweetwater Rocks,” explained Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) Lander Region Wildlife Management Coordinator Daryl Lutz during the Aug. 8 meeting. 

“It would also require opening up the plan again if there were any modifications made to the map whatsoever,” added WGFD Terrestrial Habitat Biologist Ryan Amundson. “By not attaching a map, we are reducing this risk and keeping the deal more fluid.” 

Moving the amendment forward 

During the working group’s Aug. 8 meeting, the BSRA draft language amendment was unanimously approved and will be forwarded to the three Wyoming Plan signatory parties – the Wyoming Department of Agriculture, Wyoming Livestock Board and WGFC – to consider at their next individual meetings.

If the three parties approve the term and definition, they will make a formal amendment to the Wyoming Plan. Then, Sen. Larry Hicks (R-11) would propose an amendment to Senate File 118 during the 2025 Legislative Session to strike references to specific geographic areas – like Sweetwater Rocks – and replace it with the term BSRA. 

“Any future federal legislation which may be introduced to provide additional assurances to federal land grazing permittees would also be encouraged to utilize the term for consistency,” the committee notes.

Amundson shared he believes it will take a few months to get the amendment in front of the three signatory parties before it will move to the Senate. 

Hannah Bugas is the managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.