Biological Feasibility of Introducing Bighorn Sheep to the Jicarilla Apache Nation

The biological feasibility of introducing Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis canadensis) to the Dulce area of the Jicarilla Apache Nation (JAN) depends on the availability and condition of potential habitat and the potential for disease risk, as pneumonia is the largest current threat to wild sheep populations. USGS researchers at the New Mexico Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit modeled quality and quantity of potential bighorn sheep habitat, incorporating the three most recent fire scars around Dulce, determined potential winter range within preferred habitat, assessed on the ground vegetation characteristics, and examined potential for disease transmission via risk of contact with domestic sheep and goats. Abstract narrative source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Cooperator Science Series.