California bighorn sheep at Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge. Credit: Photo by Zachary McCoy / Hart Mountain NAR / USFWS LAKEVIEW, Ore. – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is releasing a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for a management plan to address a significant decline in the California bighorn sheep population on Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge. The Service is opening a 45-day public comment period on the draft EIS. The bighorn sheep population on the refuge has declined by 67% in four years, dropping from 149 sheep in 2017 to 48 in 2020. This trend puts the population at risk of extirpation without management intervention.