BILLINGS, Mont. After scattering like wildfire in a gust of wind, 49 bighorn sheep have settled in to their new home in the Little Belt Mountains. “One ewe went 24 miles north on the day of the release, turned around and came back,” said Jay Kolbe, wildlife biologist for the Montana Department of Fish, […]
BRETT FRENCH
After scattering like wildfire in a gust of wind, 49 bighorn sheep have settled in to their new home in the Little Belt Mountains.
âOne ewe went 24 miles north on the day of the release, turned around and came back,â said Jay Kolbe, wildlife biologist for the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks in White Sulphur Springs.
Kolbe was able to see the large movement because the animals are wearing GPS collars that reveal their location twice a day for as long as five years. One of the five rams trapped and relocated traveled about 10 miles east to the Judith Gap area after release before traveling back to the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest.
Two conservation groups have filed a civil lawsuit to force the federal Bureau of Land Management to remove the fences and water developments installed for cattle in the Iron Mask Acquisition area of the Elkhorn Mountains near Townsend.
The lawsuit, filed this month in U.S. District Court in Billings by the Alliance for the Wild Rockies and Native Ecosystems Council, also calls for the removal of other range developments and for the BLM to pay the plaintiffs their costs. The lawsuit names John Mehlhoff, the state director for the Montana-Dakotas BLM, and the BLM as defendants.
John Mehlhoff
The plaintiffs say the changes to the area are âarbitrary and capricious, an abuse of discretionâ and violate the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Administrative Procedure Act. They have sued the BLM twice before over issues regarding Iron Mask.
Elk arrive in NE Oregon, with appetites capitalpress.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from capitalpress.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Marvin knows how tough these animals are.
During winters when sub-zero temperatures and snowdrifts deep enough to bury cars conspire to kill hundreds of mule deer in Northeast Oregon, most of the elk make it through, a bit undernourished, maybe, but otherwise hale.
Yet, Marvin finds it amusing that when a couple of snowstorms arrive earlier than usual, while jack-o-lanterns still sit on some porches, the elk turn up, looking for a free meal.
âActing like theyâre going to starve to death,â Marvin said.
Marvin can laugh because the storms that brought a couple of feet of snow to the mountains the first half of November didnât actually imperil the elk.