Educational Bulletin #16-2

A publication of the Desert Protective Council protectdeserts.org

Peninsula Bighorn Sheep

by Janene Colby, Wildlife Biologist

Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada. Photo by Terry Weiner

Photo by Jeff Young

On a brilliantly clear February morning, I sit

quietly on the saddle of a ridgeline looking through
my spotting scope at a group of bighorn sheep
bedded on the opposite slope. So far Ive counted 6
ewes (females) and a couple of lambs napping near
their moms. Fortunately, Im far enough away that
my presence has not caused them to get up and move
away. This group does not know it has a Judas ewe
among them, allowing me to find them in this remote
corner of the desert. Ewe 292 sports a collar that emits
a radio signal I have tracked to this location using a
hand-held receiver and directional antenna.
Desert bighorn sheep that reside within the
Peninsular Ranges of Southern California were
federally listed as an endangered segment of the
population in 1998 due to a number of factors
such as habitat loss, habitat fragmentation, human
disturbance, and disease introduced by domestic
livestock. As a wildlife biologist working for the
California Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW),
it is my job to document habitat use and movement
corridors, estimate population abundance, and
monitor the health, reproduction, and survival of
these sheep. In order to accomplish these objectives a

representative sample of the sheep population within

the Peninsular Ranges is captured and radio-collared.
While DFW has monitored sheep for over 20
years, it has only been in recent years that we have
begun to fill in the gaps in our understanding of ewe
group structure in several areas of the Peninsular
Ranges. We define a ewe group as a discrete group
of ewes that share the same areas for raising their
lambs (lamb rearing habitat) and for obtaining
water during the hot summer months. Ewe 292
was one of several sheep captured just north of the

Photo by Jeff Young

US/Mexico border in the fall of 2013. Global

Positioning System (GPS) location data from these
radio-collared sheep as well as direct observations
have provided us with invaluable information
concerning ewe group structure and movement across
the international border. As I wait for ewe 292 to
stand up so I can see if she has a sleeping lamb tucked
behind her, I think about all the challenges ewes face
in providing enough nutrition and protection for their
growing lambs in a harsh desert environment. And,
added to all the natural challenges faced are those
imposed by human disturbance and encroachment
within the desert landscape.
This group of ewes, dubbed the Jacumba Ewe
Group lives in an area of approximately 45 square
miles between Highway 2 in Mexico to just south of
Interstate 8 in the United States. These ewes spend the
hot summer months in Mexico within a few miles of
water sources. Presently, there is not a fence along this
section of the border, allowing sheep to freely travel
north across the border to pre-lambing and lamb

Photo by Miguel Lizarraga

rearing habitat within the Jacumba Wilderness in the

United States.
This wilderness area, managed by the Bureau of
Land Management, is a Wilderness in name alone as it
has an extensive system of dirt roads that are used by
the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol. Border security
activities include regular vehicle patrols, foot patrols,
horse-mounted patrols, and helicopter flights both
night and day within lamb rearing habitat. Directly
east and adjacent to the wilderness area is a WindEnergy Facility. Any additional energy developments
within or adjacent to this area combined with
disturbance by border security activities may have
significant adverse effects on this ewe group. This vital
lamb rearing habitat is not within the current U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Services (USFWS) 2009 Revised
Final Critical Habitat (74 FR 17288). This may be a
good time for USFWS to revise the revision and
reinstate the original 2001 Final Critical Habitat (66
FR 8650) which included all essential sheep habitat
within the Peninsular Ranges.
I look through my spotting scope and see that ewe
292 continues to rest quietly as she chews her cud,
so I turn my thoughts to the problems faced by the
In-Ko-Pah ewe group directly north of the Jacumba
ewe group. In 2009, a group of ewes and rams were
captured just north of Interstate 8 and fitted with solar
GPS radio-collars. In the transition from the desert
to the mountains, the west-bound lanes of Interstate
8 wind up through Devils Canyon while the eastbound lanes pass down through In-Ko-Pah Gorge;
this divergence creates an approximately 7 mile by 1.5
mile island surrounded by the Interstate. The In-KoPah ewe group spends the hot months of summer and
early fall within a few miles of a spring located north
of the Interstate. As the weather cools, and vegetation
surrounding the spring has been depleted by months
of heavy use, the pregnant ewes move back and forth
across the west-bound lanes of Interstate 8 within
Devils Canyon in search of adequate amounts of
forage. Typically, ewes move into the north section of

the Island where the majority of radio-collared ewes

give birth each year in an area outside of designated
critical habitat. In February during the peak of lamb
rearing season, a nursery system is formed on the
warm southeast facing slopes overlooking the southbound lanes of the Interstate.
Sadly, I can observe ewes and their lambs while
sitting in my truck on the shoulder of the busy
Interstate. I often find myself holding my breath as
I watch one ewe remain on the slope with the lambs
while the rest of the ewes move down-slope and
forage in the low-lying areas of the canyon alongside
the Interstate. Alongside the shoulder of the road,
where plants grow larger and greener due to rain runoff, ewes consume plants greedily in order to meet the
high energy demands during lactation.
Each year, several non-collared sheep are struck and
killed by vehicles along this stretch of the Interstate.
Fortunately, since 2009, only one radio-collared ewe
has been struck and killed while attempting to cross
the east-bound lanes. In fact, several radio-collared
ewes cross the east-bound lanes numerous times
a day during the first month of the lamb rearing
season. Obviously, sheep do look before crossing the
road. Eventually though the Interstate will become
an impenetrable barrier as traffic volumes increase
each year.
As a wildlife biologist, it is hard not to become
discouraged. But, sheep numbers have increased
and stabilized since Federal listing in 1998, possibly
due to a variety of measures including removal of
domestic livestock that spread disease to wild sheep,
land acquisition and protection in some critical areas,
and removal of non-native invasive plant species that
deplete natural water sources for sheep. Lying within

Photo by Jeff Young

the heart of sheep habitat is Anza-Borrego Desert

State Park (ABDSP) with approximately 400,000 acres
of state wilderness area. ABDSP is a stronghold for
sheep; however, connectivity to the north and south
of the Park needs to be protected in order to maintain
genetic diversity and population viability. The long
term health and survival of bighorn sheep depends
on protecting and maintaining intact wilderness
areas that allow sheep to adjust their movements
in response to changes in resource availability and
climate change. All gains in sheep recovery will be for
naught if faced with continued highway expansion,
border fence construction, and habitat loss due to
urban developments and renewable energy projects
within sheep habitat.
I am roused from my thoughts by the sound of
rocks rolling down the opposite slope. The ewes have
finished their morning nap and are starting to feed
and move across the slope. I quickly look through my
spotting scope just in time to see a small gray lamb
run up to ewe 292, latch onto an udder and start to
suckle. The lamb waggles its tail while bumping the
ewes udder to increase the flow of milk. The ewe turns
her head and lightly touches the lambs tail with her
nose, once, then twice, as if to confirm that indeed
this is her lamb and it is safe and healthyall is good.
Yes, I think, if as a society we care enough to protect
and preserve what wilderness remains, there is indeed
hopeall will be good.

This article is based on the field experiences

and insights of biologist Janene Colby and does
not represent the official views of the California
Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Passage from a biologist field journal:

For Additional Information

In my pursuit of tracking sheep, I have the unique

opportunity to step into wilderness areas that few
people willingly choose to go. For here in this hot, unnamed canyon wash, there is no lofty peak to climb, no
desert palm grove to sit beneath, no mapped cultural
sites to seek. It is in these quiet places that wildlife can
go about the daily business of survival. I take a break
and sit in the shade. All is still. I absorb the features
of the canyon. The rich, red, sunbaked patina on the
large stacked boulders creates shapes and shadows
more beautiful and elegant than by the hand of the
most creative sculptor. As I become just another feature
of the landscape, the animals start to appear from the
shadows. An antelope ground squirrel runs by and
scurries up to the top of a barrel cactus and vainly
attempts to pry loose a fat, seed laden fruit. I hear the
high pitch whirr of a hummingbird, the call of a male
phainopepla attempting to attract a mate as he sits
atop a nearby catclaw. A whiptail lizard passes beneath
my feet in pursuit of a tasty insect. Its long tail slices a
trail in the sand. Just beyond I catch sight of fresh sheep
tracks. A light smell of desert lavender wafts down the
canyon on a very warm morning breeze. These quiet
places, where the natural world reigns, are harder to
findthe loss weighs heavy on my soul. Then, I hear a
rock fallI think there are sheep just around the next
bend!

Desert Bighorn Sheep: Wilderness Icon offers a glimpse

into the lives of the elusive desert bighorn sheep: their habits,
their social lives, and their natural habitats. It is written for
the general reader in a casual and engaging writing style
that contains enormous amounts of fascinating information
without feeling like a science lecture.
Author Mark Jorgensen has served as a state park ranger,
resource ecologist, and superintendent of Anza-Borrego
Desert State Park in his 36-year career in California State
Parks. He has spent 5 decades studying desert bighorn
sheep and is clearly dedicated to sharing his love for and
understanding of these amazing animals.
Within the pages you will find Photographer Jeff Youngs
most comprehensive photographic work assembled into what
is the finest collection of desert bighorn photos ever published.
The book features some 200 high quality photographs
featuring rare behavior, sheep in their rugged desert habitat,
ewes nurturing newborn lambs, and massive rams in
stunning ritualized combat for dominance.

Special Note