[Hagar]

The following are some of my thoughts on the future of sheep and sheep hunting in Alberta.It is fairly long and may seem unorganized but I am not an author.These are thinks I have thought about for a few years now and the recent thread on sheep hunting has finally made me organize my thoughts.

The Future of Sheep hunting in Alberta

There has been a lot of discussion on Alberta Outdoorsman Forum lately on proposed changes to sheep hunting in Alberta. Whether or not there is a problem, S.R.D. has decided to make some changes. They came up with four options:

1) Put sheep on a draw
2) 5 year wait between rams
3) Limit the # of rams per lifetime
4) Full Curl Rule for all of Alberta.

Each of these options have their pros and cons. There has been many other options put forward on Alberta Outdoorsman Forum. Some of these are:

1) Open more areas for late season draw
2) An 8 year rule
3) Increasing wait time between rams – #1 - #2, one year; #2 - #3, five years; #3 - #4, 7 years.

Each of these options also have their pros and cons. The one thing everyone seems to agree on is we all would like to see more mature rams.

Alberta is one of the only places where one can get an O.T.C. Tag for Bighorn Sheep. For those who hunt sheep this is very special. It is also something that, has to be looked after by all parties if it is to continue. We all love that we can hunt sheep every year looking for that special ram. Sheep are a special animal. They live in some of the most beautiful country and are held in very high regard by sportsmen everywhere. Sheep hunting is not like hunting any other game. It's very easy to tell the difference between a legal male and an illegal one on other game animals. This is not so with sheep.

It has also been said that 5% of the sheep hunters take 95% of the rams. Although this is an exaggeration, it does show a good point. There are sheep hunters and then there are those who hunt sheep, and the number of successful sheep hunters that are successful year after year are far fewer than the number of those who look for sheep.

As I think about his and look at the whole picture of sheep hunting I can see that something is not right. After reviewing the sheep study from 1990 and the future goals set forth in that study, the harvest numbers are much lower than planned. The number of sheep harvested is about one half of what goals were set forth in that study. Now a lot of finger pointing has been made as to who is pressuring S.R.D. For changes to sheep hunting but as I see it that study and the goals of that study not being reached may have a lot to do with the upcoming changes. Irregardless of where the pressure is coming from, the changes are coming.

What are the reasons for the shortcomings of the earlier study are I don't know. I know the Yarrow-Castle sheep have been studied for the answer as to why they have not rebounded as planned and this may be what is going on with the rest of the province. There are no answers yet so something has to be tried to change this.


Of the options put forth by S.R.D.:

1) Put all sheep on a draw: This option would be the quickest way to improve the number of mature rams as it would limit the number of sheep harvested. The number of tags in the draw would be very low as the number of sheep harvested by residents is only around 140 per year. I would guess the number of tags would be less than half this number for the plan to work. I feel this would make sheep hunting a once in a lifetime thing if you look at the current sheep draws.

2) 5 year wait between rams: As I think about this one, and remember the saying “5% of hunters take 95% of the rams”, it would over time reduce the numbers of real “Sheep hunters” in the mountains. It would in the long term have some affect and would have less of an impact on the hunters in general.

3) Limit the number of rams per hunter: This plan could also work, however the number would also have to be low (2-3) and would, in effect, be like a punishment for the true sheep hunter who works hard to be successful.

4) Full curl rule for all Alberta: This option has potential as most rams reach full curl at a young age and then broom back after as is their nature. This would allow many rams to grow old before they again reach full curl. However, many will never reach full curl and die of old age. I feel it would also reduce the size of rams as those with the genetics for full curl would be reduced.

Some of the ideas put forth on Alberta Outdoorsman are:

1) Open more areas and have more late season draws. Opening more areas sounds good on the surface as it would move hunters around to more areas thus reducing the hunter density in the current areas. However, it does not do anything to increase the number of mature rams and only adds to the reduction of sheep in the long run as it reduces areas where sheep are left to reproduce and provide sheep for the future.

2) The “8” Year Rule whereas if you harvest a sheep you wait out 5 years, if the sheep is over 8, you only wait out 1 year: Again this sounds good but there are also many problems. Using the large rams harvested in 402 as an example, it was aged by Game Branch as a seven year old, yet many others aged it much older. I can see this system ending in many court battles over t he age of harvested sheep and our C.O.'s have enough to do without having to spend more time in court battles.

3) Increasing wait time between rams, the more rams you harvest – between rams #1 and #2, 1 year; between rams #2 and #3, 5 years; between rams #3 and #4, 7 years; and 7 years between all subsequent rams. This in effect is putting a limit on the number of rams a person can harvest. Although this number would be a reasonable one, it still limits the successful hunter and limits the time one can spend hunting.

All of these plans have their pros and cons. Some will work better than others. I also have some ideas as well:

1) Sheep hunting is not like any other big game hunting, so there should be a “Sheep hunter's Education Course” for a sheep hunter The cost of this course should be such as not to make it an “elite” type hunt. I feel $200 would be a good price. This would go a long way in improving the sheep hunter in general. A hunter would have to take the course in order to not only get a sheep tag, but also to apply for any sheep draws. This would also help the current draws be less of a once in a lifetime type of hunt.

2) Have more late season trophy draws in existing W.M.U.s with the stipulation that all applicants of any sheep draw would not be able to have a general season tag. This would help reduce the number of hunters in the general season and at the same time give hunters a chance at a trophy ram. It gives sheep hunters a choice of how they want to hunt, those who love to spend time in the mountains looking for sheep can do so and take our chances at finding our sheep and those who want to hunt the late season rut for a ram can do so. By making a choice between these two hunts, it helps reduce the number of sheep harvested during the general season, but reducing the number of hunters, and help control the number of mature rams harvested by controlling the number of draw tags.

3) Reduce the number of non-trophy sheep tags. Instead of hunting for non-trophy sheep, use these tags as a number for transplanting sheep into other areas of low sheep populations. Also add some of the rams from the Cadomin area, with the ewe transplants to help increase genetic diversity. This would help sheep populations such as the Yarrow-Castle herd as was shown in a study in a herd that was transplanted in Montana.

4) Use the full curl rule but with some discretion. Meaning if a ram is harvested that is under legal and is young with lamb tips, then there should be stiffer penalties yet at the same time if a ram is mature and broomed off it should be a legal ram. This go with the “Sheep hunters Education Course”. Not all rams would reach full curl and would die of old age, if we only target full curl rams without an inclusion such as this we would lose the genetics of these full curl rams. It has been said on the Alberta Outdoorsman Forum, let's give both hunters and C.O.'s the tools to improve sheep and sheep hunting.

5) In areas where livestock graze in sheep ranges, have livestock removed by September 1st to allow better recovery of winter forage for sheep. This would improve the quality and quantity of winter feed for sheep and should improve the sheep themselves.

I have given this much thought and there are no easy answers. There are many different groups that have to be considered and not everyone is going to be happy regardless of any change. I would hate to see the future of sheep hunting in Alberta be a once in a lifetime type of hunt. I think it would be a tragedy for the future sheep hunters for us to leave them this kind of thing. We need to find a solution that addresses the concerns of all groups who care for sheep and make a better future for sheep in general. I don't have all, if any, answers, not do I know all the problems, these are just my thoughts on the subject through the recent discussions on Alberta Outdoorsman and thoughts about sheep in general. I also think anyone interested in sheep and sheep hunting should read Jack O'Connors' book Sheep and Sheep Hunting, paying special attention to the last two chapters – “The Sheep Trophy” and “The Future of the Wild Sheep”.