WWPBlog

Another massive bighorn die-off has taken place in the Hay’s Canyon Range of northwest Nevada. The Nevada Department of Wildlife believes that disease is responsible following lab results. Over 100 bighorn fell victim.

State believes disease responsible for big horn die-off

The results show that disease is responsible but as the case with bighorn die-offs throughout the west the vector of the disease transmission is omitted from coverage of the story ~ as if it was a mystery:

Unfortunately it may be some time before NDOW biologists have a good understanding of the factors that initiated this disease event or how many resident bighorn survived it. Respiratory disease in bighorn sheep is especially complex, usually involves multiple factors and specific causes can be very difficult to determine. NDOW will continue to investigate this bighorn sheep die-off and through collaboration with the Department of Agriculture, University of Nevada Reno, NBU, BLM and local ranchers hopes to be able to shed light on what may have contributed to this disease event.

What ?! Is it too controversial to mention the domestic sheep allotment adjacent this range ? The Tuledad Allotment ! That the presence of domestic sheep in wild sheep habitat has historically and continues to inevitably result in disease stricken bighorn sheep is no mystery at all ! But alas, even in the good ol’ 21st century we have Livestock apologists within wildlife departments shrouding this tragedy in alleged “mystery” :

Why are bighorn sheep dying ?

A significant event occurred in Arizona this past week:Livestock grazing was retired on parts of the Sonoran Desert National Monument. Four allotments were closed south of Interstate 8, with a fifth one to be closed in 2009, pursuant to the establishing Proclamation. The occasion passed quietly, even somberly, because the lands in questions are so beat up that its unlikely livestock removal will make a difference there in our lifetimes. It wasn’t much of a celebration, just me, a scant bit of annual growth, and some carcasses.

The BLM asserts that cows die of all kinds of natural causes, and that is probably true. But five don’t die at a fenceline and three more don’t die at a water tank within a matter of weeks of natural causes. They die because the “green up” hasn’t happened yet, and they die because they’re hungry. I’ve seen more cattle bones spread on the Sonoran Desert National Monument than I’ve seen on any federal lands anywhere, and I don’t suspect it’s because they get bloat or get poisoned. They starve, dehydrate, give up. The desert is no place for cattle, but the ranchers will try and try and try.

And so, apparently, will the BLM. Tasked in 2001 with making a “Compatibility Determination” for livestock grazing and the protection of Monument objects, the BLM hired The Nature Conservancy to help them find a method of managing cows that won’t harm the Monument. After an extensive review of the literature, TNC came back and said, “There is no known system of grazing that is compatible with resource protection.” Then the BLM hired a scientist to assess vegetation conditions on the Monument, and the report concluded that livestock are adversely affecting Monument objects. The BLM replied that the scientist didn’t use proper methods, even though BLM signed the contract and agreed to the study.

In the meantime, the BLM used categorical exclusions to renew the permits north of the Interstate until 2015. No NEPA, no public involvement. Just a sly little nod to the forthcoming Resource Management Plan which will supposedly house the Compatibility Determination. That RMP is already a few years late and there is no real expectation that it will actually be in effect anytime soon. In the meantime, it’s business as usual on the remaining seven allotments on the Sonoran Desert National Monument.

Except for those four allotments in the Vekol Valley. For them, it’s a brand new day.