STATE ``SENSITIVE'' TO DWINDLING NUMBERS OF BIGHORN SHEEP.Byline: Keith Lair Staff Writer The beleaguered be·lea·guer tr.v. be·lea·guered, be·lea·guer·ing, be·lea·guers 1. To harass; beset: We are beleaguered by problems. 2. To surround with troops; besiege. San Gabriel San Gabriel (săn gā`brēəl), city (1990 pop. 37,120), Los Angeles co., SW Calif.; inc. 1913. Fabric, furniture, paper products, tools, and aircraft parts are manufactured. Mountain Nelson bighorn sheep Bighorn sheep a tall (up to 3 ft), heavy (up to 300 lb body weight) wild sheep that lives in inaccessible mountain country where it exercises its principal achievement of prodigious leaping and climbing. Called also Ovis canadensis. Several regional varieties, e.g. O. c. will probably be placed on the Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, Regional Forest's ``sensitive'' list, which will allow the animal to receive consideration when it comes to establishing forest service policy and provide aid in the study of the population. Angeles and San Bernardino national forest San Bernardino National Forest has two main divisions which are the San Bernardino Mountains on the easternmost of the Transverse Range, and the San Jacinto and Santa Rosa Mountains on the northernmost of the Peninsular Range. wildlife biologists Bill Brown and Steve Loe made the request, which is expected to be approved by Region 5 Forester Jack Lagwell. ``It gives us more money and effort to take corrective action A corrective action is a change implemented to address a weakness identified in a management system. Normally corrective actions are instigated in response to a customer complaint, abnormal levels if internal nonconformity, nonconformities identified during an internal audit or ,'' said Brown, the ANF's lead biologist. In addition, the Department of Fish and Game will collar sheep and mountain lions to study both animals. < There are 25 ``sensitive'' animals and plants listed in the Angeles and a combined 200 in the forests that make up Region 5, including the San Bernardino, Cleveland and Los Padres forests. There are approximately 90 sheep in four herds in the Angeles and San Bernardino forests, Steve Holl found in a survey commissioned by the L.A. County Fish and Game Commission last September. In 1980, there were approximately 750 sheep in the Mount Baldy/Cucamonga, Cattle Canyon, East Fork and San Gabriel Canyon Middle Fork herds. Holl, the Forest Service and the DFG DFG Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Council) DFG Department of Fish and Game DFG District Factor Group DFG Data Flow Graph DFG Difference Frequency Generation DFG Diode Function Generator DFG Dog Faced Gremlin have determined that to save the herds, prescribed burns are needed, and mountain lions must be studied to determine whether they are affecting the population. ``Those two agencies need to pull together to implement this program,'' Holl said. ``If they don't, then these guys need to be federally listed.'' Although the North American North American named after North America. North American blastomycosis see North American blastomycosis. North American cattle tick see boophilusannulatus. Nelson bighorn Bighorn, river, United States Bighorn, river, 461 mi (741 km) long, formed in W central Wyo. by the confluence of the Wind and Pop Agie rivers and flowing north to join the Yellowstone River in S Mont. population is in no danger of being listed, the San Gabriel Mountain population could qualify for federal listing as either threatened or endangered. To do so, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service would have to start its own study of the sheep, or a citizen's petition must be submitted, according to the USFWS's Jane Hendron. ``It would be best if they remain on the `sensitive' list,'' said DFG biologist Chanel Davis, who has studied the population for more than a decade. ``If it goes on to a federal list, it throws more problems into the mix.'' Holl speculates the population began declining when mountain lions began eating sheep when the deer population became too small. He said sheep might have gradually replaced the deer as their top food choice. In addition, feral feral untamed; often used in the sense of having escaped from domesticity and run wild. dogs have been found to eat sheep. Neither the Curve nor Williams fire provided relief for the sheep, all parties say, and Davis said the recent rain and snow will more than likely harm lambs. Brown admits prescribed burns will do the most good for the sheep, but burning in wilderness areas is a problem. ``Our plan is to file for a permit next year and possibly have burns by late 2004 or early 2005,'' Brown said. ``It has to be the right prescription. and the right circumstances. Fires in these areas are more difficult to put out.'' He said the extremely steep slopes will make the burns helicopter-controlled, and it's likely mechanical ground equipment could be used. ``There's a good chance the sheep would last that long,'' Davis said. ``They've been pretty stable for the past three years.'' Davis said a quarter of the herd and a few mountain lions will be captured and receive radio collars. Both animals' food source, migration patterns and mortality will be tracked. ``The key term is viability,'' Holl said of the population. ``Right now, it is questionable. |
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