Western Hunting Journal, Premiere Issue whj001_premiere | Page 58

WHJ Editor Travis Moncrief
navigates the steep canyon with
the payload on his back.
to the sheep foundation. Pro-
ceeds from the raffle tickets
also go directly towards wild
sheep management in Oregon.
In 2017, the state sold 10,497
bighorn sheep raffle tags. A
single raffle ticket costs $11.50.
curred in 1939 when 23 Rocky
Mountain bighorns from Mon-
tana were released onto Hart
Mountain, located in southeast
Oregon. Despite the state’s ef-
fort, the last sheep from that
herd was observed in 1947. It
was believed that because the
Rocky Mountains were non-na-
tive to southeast Oregon they
did not survive. It wasn’t until
1954 when 20 California big-
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WESTERN HUNTING JOURNAL
horn sheep were transplanted
from British Columbia and re-
leased in Hart Mountain that
the sheep population took
hold. Those sheep were origi-
nally contained within a 1,000
acre fence enclosure. The fence
eventually deteriorated and the
sheep became free ranging.
Still today efforts are under
way to ensure bighorn sheep
continue to thrive. Wh