NEBRASKAland Magazine is dedicated to outstanding photography and informative writing with an engaging mix of articles and photos highlighting Nebraska’s outdoor activities, parklands, wildlife, history and people.
Issue link: http://mag.outdoornebraska.gov/i/760935
DECEMBER 2016 • NEBRASKAland 67 "From people who are unfamiliar with our region, we often hear, 'We don't want to hunt sheep in a cornfield.' The Nebraska bighorn sheep hunting experience is certainly not that, and it's far from being a guaranteed hunt." Johnny Barta, the 2014 bighorn sheep permit lottery winner from the eastern Nebraska village of Western, Nebraska, said one of the biggest bonuses to the hunt was the opportunity to expose his adult son, Justin, to northwestern Nebraska's beauty. "A highlight was being out here seeing these buttes with my son because he's never been here before," Barta said. A Big Impact Since the first hunt in 1998, $627,900 has been raised through the $25 permit application fee in the 14 years a permit has been offered by lottery, with an average of about 1,800 entries per year. Another $638,000 has been raised from the seven permits that have been awarded by auction. Almost all of that money goes toward bighorn sheep management, or at least toward management of big game. A number of factors go into deciding whether or not permits are issued each year. The Commission looks at total population and the population of rams and number of mature rams. Deaths from outbreaks of disease are also considered. The Commission has yet to issue more than two permits per hunting season. Since 1998, there have been five years in which no permits were issued. In 12 of the years that there's been a hunting season, only one lottery permit was issued – such is the case for 2016. Those permits are only awarded to Nebraska residents. "When you have small herds like we do, it's difficult to put a percentage or number on a threshold. With disease events that limit lamb production, you can have a pretty significant age gap," Nordeen said. "You could have 6-, 8- or 10-year-old quality rams, but then you might not have any more rams that are close to that in age." Part of the Hunting Heritage After years of monitoring bighorn sheep, one might expect Commission staff members to become attached to the animals and wince at the thought of them reaching the end of their lives. Nordeen said that's not the case. "When we're looking at some of these older-aged rams that are close to being at the end of their lives anyway, getting harvested by a hunter is a good thing for them compared to going off somewhere and slowly dying on their own," he said. "Those hunting dollars come back to the conservation of the species." Similar to other big game animals, a harvested bighorn sheep serves as a resource for meat and is another respected part of Nebraska's rich hunting heritage. In December, Brett Roberg of Kearney will become the 21st hunter to pursue a bighorn sheep in Nebraska and will be working to fill the tag he won in this year's lottery. Those who support conservation can be reassured that his hunt will help ensure that bighorn sheep are around to serve as a poster species for the Panhandle's beauty for generations to come. ■ Bighorn sheep are native to Nebraska, but they haven't always been present within its borders. Audubon's bighorn sheep (O.c. auduboni) once roamed the butte country of the Nebraska Panhandle, but they disappeared from the landscape in the early 1900s because of disease, unregulated hunting and habitat loss. Sadly, that subspecies became extinct in 1925. In an effort to remedy the negative consequences brought on by humans, Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep (O.c. canadensis) from Custer State Park in South Dakota, were reintroduced to Nebraska in an enclosure at Fort Robinson State Park in 1981. Those sheep were released to the wild in 1988 and 1993. Release efforts of sheep from Montana, Canada and Colorado in 2001, 2005, 2007 and 2012 have resulted in about 320 sheep that reside in areas of the Pine Ridge between Harrison and Chadron, and the Wildcat Hills south of Gering and east to McGrew. Using proceeds from the hunts and from conservation partners, many of the sheep have been fitted with collars, and their movements are monitored by staff. The monitoring helps keep tabs on population and herd health – both important factors in conservation and decisions about hunting seasons. The reintroduction efforts certainly haven't been without their challenges. Bighorn sheep are highly susceptible to disease, the main one being Pasteurella pneumonia. While domestic sheep owners can vaccinate against the malady when problems arise, it's usually unfeasible to capture and treat wild sheep in the same manner. ■ Bighorn Sheep in Nebraska Workers collar a bighorn ram during one of the Commission's capturing efforts.