Bighorn Sheep rest in the shade of a ridge in the Valley of Fire State Park on Tuesday, June 28, 2022, in Overton. The Nevada Department of Wildlife has relocated 30 sheep — four rams and 26 ewes and lambs — to the SkyRider Ranch in Tabiona, Utah, to grow the population. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images
Visitors take in the Beehives rock formations in the Valley of Fire State Park on Tuesday, June 28, 2022, in Overton. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images
Bighorn Sheep snack on cactus leaves in the Valley of Fire State Park on Tuesday, June 28, 2022, in Overton. The Nevada Department of Wildlife has relocated 30 sheep — four rams and 26 ewes and lambs — to the SkyRider Ranch in Tabiona, Utah, to grow the population. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images
A Bighorn Sheep stands atop a ridge in the Valley of Fire State Park on Tuesday, June 28, 2022, in Overton. The Nevada Department of Wildlife has relocated 30 sheep — four rams and 26 ewes and lambs — to the SkyRider Ranch in Tabiona, Utah, to grow the population. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images
A Bighorn Sheep snacks on green leaves in the Valley of Fire State Park on Tuesday, June 28, 2022, in Overton. The Nevada Department of Wildlife has relocated 30 sheep — four rams and 26 ewes and lambs — to the SkyRider Ranch in Tabiona, Utah, to grow the population. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images
A Bighorn Sheep snacks on leaves in the Valley of Fire State Park on Tuesday, June 28, 2022, in Overton. The Nevada Department of Wildlife has relocated 30 sheep — four rams and 26 ewes and lambs — to the SkyRider Ranch in Tabiona, Utah, to grow the population. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images
A Bighorn Sheep descends from a ridge in the Valley of Fire State Park on Tuesday, June 28, 2022, in Overton. The Nevada Department of Wildlife has relocated 30 sheep — four rams and 26 ewes and lambs — to the SkyRider Ranch in Tabiona, Utah, to grow the population. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images
A Bighorn Sheep snacks on cactus leaves in the Valley of Fire State Park on Tuesday, June 28, 2022, in Overton. The Nevada Department of Wildlife has relocated 30 sheep — four rams and 26 ewes and lambs — to the SkyRider Ranch in Tabiona, Utah, to grow the population. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images
A Bighorn Sheep stands atop a ridge in the Valley of Fire State Park on Tuesday, June 28, 2022, in Overton. The Nevada Department of Wildlife has relocated 30 sheep — four rams and 26 ewes and lambs — to the SkyRider Ranch in Tabiona, Utah, to grow the population. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images
Bighorn Sheep rest in the shade of a ridge in the Valley of Fire State Park on Tuesday, June 28, 2022, in Overton. The Nevada Department of Wildlife has relocated 30 sheep — four rams and 26 ewes and lambs — to the SkyRider Ranch in Tabiona, Utah, to grow the population. (L.E. Baskow/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Left_Eye_Images
Desert bighorn sheep are prepared for transportation to Utah after being rounded up at Valley of Fire State Park on June 28, 2022. (Utah Division of Wildlife Resources)
WWildlife officials assess the health of a captured desert bighorn sheep at Valley of Fire State Park on June 27, 2022. (Utah Division of Wildlife Resources)
A helicopter flies over the Muddy Mountains in Nevada as it participates in a roundup of desert bighorn sheep on June 27, 2022. (Utah Division of Wildlife Resources)
The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources is setting up a “nursery” for desert bighorn sheep at the privately owned SkyRider Wild
Some desert bighorn sheep from Nevada have been given an important mission: Help rebuild a neighboring state’s bighorn population.
The Nevada Department of Wildlife joined forces with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources to capture desert bighorn sheep at Valley of Fire State Park and transport the animals to Utah, where a new “nursery” is being set up at the privately owned SkyRider Wilderness Ranch in Duchesne County.
Officials say 30 sheep — four rams and 26 ewes and lambs — were captured during the two-day operation, which concluded on Tuesday.
In addition to helping establish the nursery, Nevada officials say, the roundup was meant to reduce pressure on water resources for the sheep in the Muddy Mountains.
“We have a population of desert bighorn sheep that’s doing well in this area,” said Erin Wood, a wildlife biologist with the Nevada Department of Wildlife. “But we’ve experienced pretty extreme drought the last two years, and concerns about the conditions of the range and the forage quality have led us to sort of look into ways to reduce that population” to ensure the habitat can continue to sustain the sheep.
After they were captured, the sheep received health assessments, collars and ear tags before being taken to their new home in Utah, where they will be fenced off and protected from hunters.
“We will maintain a viable number of desert bighorn sheep on this property, and the additional animals will be relocated to other Utah areas to help supplement those bighorn sheep populations or to start new herds,” Riley Peck, once-in-a-lifetime species coordinator with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, said in a press release.
