Fort Berthold Big horns.



Wags2.0

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What a giant waste of money. Biologists can’t figure out a way to sustain the few herds in the badlands. I doubt this experiment will turn out different. ND ain’t meant for bighorns anymore.
 


guywhofishes

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What a giant waste of money. Biologists can’t figure out a way to sustain the few herds in the badlands. I doubt this experiment will turn out different. ND ain’t meant for bighorns anymore.

they'll be fine if they keep these vicious bastards away

shaun2-300x300.jpg
 

Retired Educator

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What a giant waste of money. Biologists can’t figure out a way to sustain the few herds in the badlands. I doubt this experiment will turn out different. ND ain’t meant for bighorns anymore.

Well, it depends on who's money. If the MHA is funding the herd I have no problem. They certainly have the money and if they want to start a hunting operation it's their choice.

Now if it's G&F money that's a different story unless the tags are available fo all, with no preferences. As I understand the Standing Rock rules, aren't the tags and hunting allowed to all who want to pay the fees? Just like some landowners in the rest of the state who have a pay to hunt operation.
 

KDM

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Well let's see......unlimited hunting of big game by tribal members on tribal lands.........tribal law enforcement on tribal lands.......no authority by ANY KIND by non tribal organizations on tribal land......no Game Management, Biology, or ecology positions staffed by trained tribal members on tribal lands.......all costs for this project are paid by an out of state organization......No statements of quarantines, inspection, containment provisions, or disease free certifications......No discussions or information concerning how these animals will be established, fed, and protected during the dead of a ND WINTER.... HMM, what could possibly go wrong??
 


Meelosh

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More wild sheep is better than less wild sheep. I hope they do well.

I know very little about any Tribal Game and Fish Department but they do have one. I've worked with a couple of their officers while doing a site inspection for a proposed pipeline. They were especially concerned about grouse leks at the time. I hope the endeavor goes well.

https://www.mhanation.com/fish-wildlife-division
 

Kurtr

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i do love seeing the wild sheep but damn they are a finicky animal. I heard some one say this but they are looking for a way to die from time they are born
 

dbllung

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Burgum will sign anything to try to save face with the tribes.....
 

guywhofishes

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Alaska native owned business are becoming the 800lb gorilla in the environmental consulting and services game as of late (think cleanups of oil, mining, etc.). They are buying up companies like nobody's business. Not sure how - but native owned entities seem to be in the catbird seat and getting more powerful/influential all the time (think return of Army Corps lake shore properties, etc.)

http://nativecontractors.org/member-services/archive/advocacy-archive/basics-of-native-8a
 


WormWiggler

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sounds like someone or some entity with too much money and not enough sense.... I am starting to put a lot of merit into the phonomenon that anything a person gets without effort is a net detrimental.. earn what you have and you stay grounded and focused... I still hope to be the first person to win the lottery without buying a ticket...
 

Nmariner

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Read the article in the paper yesterday. Sounds like very little cost covered by the NDGF. The animals were/are disease free. So I see no harm in it.

Say the bighorns managed by the game and fish started doing very well and the population expanded onto tribal lands who would manage those bighorns?

Regarding moving in the winter, Ivan Carter has a wildlife conservation show. On one of the episodes they were moving sheep around in the southwest and they wanted the temps below freezing as the sheep have a tendency to overheat during the move.
 

KDM

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Read the article in the paper yesterday. Sounds like very little cost covered by the NDGF. The animals were/are disease free. So I see no harm in it.

Are you sure? All it says is they were to be tested. Against what? pneumonia, keds, scabies, TB, liver flukes, anthrax, etc. Are they Vet checked?

Say the bighorns managed by the game and fish started doing very well and the population expanded onto tribal lands who would manage those bighorns?

Exactly my question??


Regarding moving in the winter, Ivan Carter has a wildlife conservation show. On one of the episodes they were moving sheep around in the southwest and they wanted the temps below freezing as the sheep have a tendency to overheat during the move.

We aren't in the southwest. We are in ND, in winter. Are they going to be fed? Are they going to be contained/quarantined to make sure they make it to spring? How about preventing Mountain Lion predation or even coyotes? Dumping 30 bighorns in the middle of a reservation, collaring them, then letting them just fend for themselves in the middle of a ND winter sounds a lot like hope and very little like management.

I hope my concerns are not founded and those involved have considered all these factors, but it looks to me like the governor signed a piece of paper because it looks good, makes the tribe happy, and doesn't cost much instead of making an effort to ensure these sheep have a fighting chance. 'Course I could be wrong.
 

Meelosh

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I see that Kuiu is managing the herd where the sheep are coming from. Didn’t even know that’s a thing. I do know that guys that take wild sheep seriously tend to take them VERY SERIOUSLY (<1% club). Kuiu probably has a vested interest in the transfer going well not just for their reputation but also because they probably care a great deal about the sheep. I’m optimistic.
 

dean nelson

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We aren't in the southwest. We are in ND, in winter. Are they going to be fed? Are they going to be contained/quarantined to make sure they make it to spring? How about preventing Mountain Lion predation or even coyotes? Dumping 30 bighorns in the middle of a reservation, collaring them, then letting them just fend for themselves in the middle of a ND winter sounds a lot like hope and very little like management.

I hope my concerns are not founded and those involved have considered all these factors, but it looks to me like the governor signed a piece of paper because it looks good, makes the tribe happy, and doesn't cost much instead of making an effort to ensure these sheep have a fighting chance. 'Course I could be wrong.
You act like the sheep are coming from somewhere a long ways away they're moving the Sheep a whopping 300 miles. And sheep are being moved from Badlands ground to Badlands ground and these are the best damn bighorn sheep in the United States! The genetics of this herd are second to none and produce pretty much most of the record book sheep coming out of over there including one that just tied for the world record last year. Best thing about this is it moves in a new group of sheep that will be separated from the Sheep we already have and therefore will not have the pneumonia virus already in them. We've gotten some of these sheep several years ago and the population was exploding right up until that little girl decided she needed a new herd of sheep and even with the bug are recovering far faster then the sheep we have from elsewhere. The Sheep they move in from the Missouri breaks have done dramatically better then the Sheep they were moving in from Alberta and are used to Badlands life and so they do extremely well in it and this is going to be a good thing if they can keep the pneumonia out of them which is always the problem for all Bighorn herds everywhere. As for it being winter there is basically no snow there right now so it's not exactly like they're going to be struggling for food right out of the gate and it's also not like they're just winging this and making it up as they go along or just going to dump them randomly. Hell the game and fish is looking at more or less executing all of the sheep south of I-94 to replace them with sheep from the same area as well due to the fact that they do so much better here. That way they can get rid of the diseased animals and get the herd off and running since they cannot bring a new sheep while these diseased ones remain. So if North Dakota can pick up two new disease-free herds from the best genetic herd pretty much out there in one year I for one am all for it.
 
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