What to know about big horn sheep in Sanders County

Along the rocky ridges and the winding roads of Sanders County, locals are blessed to experience the beauty of the snowcapped peaks, the winding rivers and creeks and the chance to explore what is around the next bend in the road.

To hear the bugle of the bull elk in the fall, to look into the blue sky and watch the flight of the U.S. national bird, the bald eagle. To also stop and watch along area roads, the majestic big horn sheep. This is why we live and breathe in this land we call Montana.

The Lewis and Clark expedition first encountered big horn sheep while traveling along the Yellowstone and Missouri rivers. Early estimates suggested that big horn sheep lived throughout the western mountains and the badlands of eastern Montana. Settlers moving to Montana, looking for gold and open land, began what was to become the rapid decline in the sheep population. Hunters killed sheep, selling them for meat and early settlers shot them for food. Cattle replaced them in their winter ranges. But it was the introductions of domestic sheep that caused the decline with new diseases, such as mange and pneumonia.

The Montana Legislature addressed the decline in 1915 by setting hunting limits and closing the big horn hunting season in that year. In 1916 the last known big horn sheep in the badlands of Montana, once considered as a separate species called Audubon’s bighorn, was illegally killed near Jordan.

The decline of sheep numbers, with estimates below 1,000 statewide, ended hunting for 38 years until in 1953, with a limited ram hunting season.

In the early 1940s, Fish Wildlife and Parks started their capture and transplant program, moving over 2,000 sheep over the years. FWP continues to this day, the program to control herd populations, reintroducing them to old habitats in the Gates of the Mountains, West Fork of the Gallatin, Missouri River Breaks and other locations.

Big horn sheep require a diverse habitat to survive, with wild grasses, reliable water sources and wide-open steep views to scan for predators. The ideal size herds for both protection and reproduction is around 125 sheep. This keeps a diverse gene pool available for a healthier herd. Although many herds in Montana thrive with lesser numbers.

As of 2010, Montana has 45 established herds with 40 having huntable populations.

From the National Bison range to the Idaho border, along highway 200, residents will encounter four distinct herds of big horn sheep: The Thompson Falls herd, the St. Regis Cut-Off herd, The Berray Mountain herd and the Perma-Paradise herd.

Each herd, in the Sanders county area, have been carefully monitored since 1980 by the Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks (MTFWP), with the Perma-Paradise herd being jointly managed with the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribe (CSKT).

Observation flights during the spring are made to assess their condition and numbers.

• Thompson Falls herd District 121

The peak count for the herd in 1984 was 425 with the count in 2021 being 50.

Decline not linked to any one cause

• St Regis Cut-off herd District 122

The peak Count for the herd in 2008 was 41 with the count in 2021 being 21.

Decline likely disease related

20 sheep were transplanted into the herd during 2018

Berray Mountain herd District 123

The peak count for the herd 1990 was 129 with the count in 2021 being 31.

• Perma-Paradise herd District 124

The peak count for the herd in 1994 was 428 with the count in 2021 being 248.

The mortality rates in the big horn sheep of Montana can be attributed to a pathogen not specific to big horn sheep, which has significantly reduced the population size in some areas. The spread of the disease can be transmitted from domestic sheep and goats to the wild sheep population. When infected the life expectancy of the sheep is measured in several weeks. No treatment has been found for bighorn sheep pneumonia.

Several other contributing factors for reductions in sheep numbers have been through loss of habitat, predators, disease, and vehicle collisions.

Hunting Bighorn Sheep in Sanders County

Sanders County has three hunting districts for bighorn sheep, (121,123,124) District 122 is currently closed to hunting.

FWP has several types of special bighorn sheep drawings, landowner, landowner non-resident, resident and non-resident. Quotas have been established for each district.

Drawing a tag in one of the four hunting districts in Sanders County can be quite a challenge with only 11 Rams and 2 Ewe permits given out each year. A little over 2600 hunters applied for those 11 Ram tags making one’s chances quite low.

Another contributing factor in the mortality rates, within Sanders County, have been through vehicle related accidents. During the years 1985 to 2021 approximately 450 sheep have been killed by vehicles. This number is only for vehicle accidents along highway 200 and should be considered as a minimum for the above time period.

Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks and the Department of Transportation have taken several steps to lessen the number of sheep killed on our highways that include the following:

Flashing lights and signs have been installed and speed limits were lowered to 55 in some areas in 2013.

New fences were added between mile markers 58-59 in 2019.

Electric roadway mats were installed to keep sheep off of the roadway near the Thompson River area. These mats shock the sheep when stepped on.

These efforts have contributed to a reduction in vehicle collisions

Residents should be aware of cautionary signs listing wildlife crossing areas.