Friday, May 25, 2012

Woollies to wander through valley

Sheep to begin trailing early next month

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By KATHERINE WUTZ
Express Staff Writer

Sheep move through the Wood River Valley, trailed by a team of horsemen and dogs. Photo by David N. Seelig

Viewed by some as a nuisance that devastates the vegetation and by others as the warm, woolly lifeblood of the valley, one thing is for certain: Sheep will be nearly impossible to ignore starting early next month when they begin moving up toward northern grazing lands.

The U.S. Forest Service announced this week that at least one band of sheep will make its way into the Greenhorn Gulch drainage north of Hailey by June 5, with 13 others following closely behind.

"The bulk of them come on in the middle of June, give or take a few days," said Bill Whitaker, the Ketchum Ranger District's range technician.

The first band—from Plateau Farms in Hagerman—was expected to sweep into the Croy Canyon area near Hailey on May 20, moving into the Bullion Drainage on May 25. According to a press release from the Idaho Rangeland Resource Commission, roughly 14,000 domestic sheep will move through the valley this year.

With that many sheep come complications, Whitaker said. First, they don't always run on time, and linger in some drainages longer than others.

"The sheep as such are constantly moving," he said, "but they may be in a drainage, say Greenhorn, for two to three weeks, because it's a big drainage."

Whitaker said sheep will start in lower portions and move their way up drainages. But no matter where they are, they are sure to be near a trail or other recreation area—which complicates matters further as they encounter hikers and mountain bikers.

"What we recommend is that if people encounter sheep, if they know there are sheep in the area, they want to avoid that area," he said, but acknowledged that that isn't always possible.

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The Blaine County Recreation District has made anticipating sheep movement easier this year with the addition of a new feature to its trails website. Trails Coordinator Greg Martin said the district's trails site, http://summertrailink.bcrd.org/, will feature sheep icons on the trail map that will show where grazing is occurring.

"The idea here is for people to see in advance what they're going to see out there on the trails," he stated in a press release. "If they want to see sheep, here's where they can find them. Or, if they don't want to run into sheep, then perhaps [they] pick a different trail for that day."

The Sawtooth National Forest will also include sheep movements in its trail report updates all summer.

"There are a lot of areas where the sheep aren't currently, or they've already been there and left," Whitaker said. "[The trails site and trail updates are] about the only way to get a good idea of where they are and where they are going."

Whitaker recommends that if dog walkers encounter a band of sheep, they should put the dog on a leash because of the potential for conflict with the herd's guard dogs.

"The guard dogs could take Fido as a threat," he said. "The best thing is to keep the dog on a leash if you think there are sheep in an area."

Guard dogs are not usually a threat to humans, but they can be. Whitaker said mountain bikers are more at risk, due to the fact that the dogs may not recognize a biker as human.

"All these dogs are different," he said. "Some actually want to get petted, and some don't. If you're a mountain biker, we recommend you get off the bike and talk to the dog, then walk deliberately and slowly on your way. The big key is to get off your bike."

Whitaker said for pure avoidance, Adams Gulch north of Ketchum is likely the best place to recreate, as only one band of sheep passes through for one or two days.

Katherine Wutz: kwutz@mtexpress.com

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