SINCLAIR– Twenty-five bighorn sheep from the Devil’s Canyon herd were recently released into the Seminoe Mountains north of Sinclair to augment an existing herd.
The Devils Canyon bighorn sheep herd currently exceeds its population objective of 200 sheep. These sheep were chosen because they live in an area similar to the Seminoe Mountain herd, so they are “ecotypically adapted” to the habitat.
This capture and transplant reduces the population which minimizes the risk of potential contact between domestic and bighorn sheep, a concern because of possible disease transmission. We don’t want to see this herd increase to the point they wander into domestic sheep grazing allotments on the Bighorn National Forest.
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department support public lands domestic sheep grazing on the Bighorn National Forest.
Some history: The first transplant occurred in 1973 in the Devils Canyon. Bighorn sheep were reintroduced then. In Nov 2004, 20 bighorn sheep from Oregon and in Jan 2006, 20 sheep from Montana, were released into the Devil’s Canyon area.
In Dec 2009, Game and Fish released 20 bighorn sheep into the Seminoe Mountains north of Sinclair from Oregon.
In January 2010, 12 bighorn sheep were captured from the Devils Canyon area and released on the southeast side of Seminoe Mountains to supplement. These 25 sheep will join that population.
