The following is a letter from Craig Gehrke. Please contact Fish & Game Commissioners about this issue. Thanks!

Hello:

I hope you call can take some time to contact the three following Idaho Fish and Game Commissioners to urge them to reject an attempt by Gov. Otter and the State Dept. of Agriculture to develop a bighorn sheep management policy that protects domestic sheep operations on public land at the expense of bighorn sheep.

We have been making progress in Hells Canyon and main Salmon River canyon in forcing the U.S. Forest Service to keep bighorns and domestic sheep separate. Disease outbreaks through contact with domestic sheep are commonly attributed to bighorn sheep declines. The viability of bighorns in Idaho continues to be in jeopardy in Idaho because of disease transmission. Idaho Dept. of Fish and Game survey trends indicate a 70% decline in bighorn sheep surveyed across management units on the Salmon River upstream from Riggins.

What is needed is a statewide policy that promotes the restoration of bighorn sheep to its historic ranges in Idaho. What is underway is an attempt to confine bighorn sheep to specific already-occupied areas and protect existing domestic sheep grazing allotments. The draft policy under consideration relies heavily on a single management tool - removal of bighorn sheep - to keep the two species separate.

Gov. Otter and State Dept. of Agriculture want to adopt the draft policy within the next few weeks.

Please contact these Idaho Fish and Game Commissioners and ask them to:

• Change the State's focus on bighorn sheep from "management" to "recovery" to historic ranges;
  
• Any policy proposed for bighorn sheep must be circulated widely in the state for public comment before adoption;
  
• The State Department of Agriculture is not charged with wildlife management; that is Idaho Fish and Game's job.

Fred Treavey
ftconsult@cableone.net

Bob Barowsky
P.O. Box 79
Fruitland, ID 83619
452-3812
(no e-mail available)

Gary Powers
1503 Old Leesburg Road
Salmon, ID 83467
756-3850
(no e-mail available)

Thanks for taking the time to do this.

Craig Gehrke