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Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers Graduate School

1972

History winter range and current status of the Rock Creek Montana bighorn sheep herd

Michael William Aderhold The University of Montana

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Recommended Citation Aderhold, Michael William, "History winter range and current status of the Rock Creek Montana bighorn sheep herd" (1972). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 6498. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/6498

This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE HISTORY, WINTER RANGE, AND CURRENT STATUS OF THE ROCK CREEK, MONTANA, BIGHORN SHEEP HERD

By

Michael W. Aderhold

B.S., University of Michigan, 1963

Presented in partial fulfillment of the requirments for the degree of

Master of Science

UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA

1972

Approved by:

^ \ Board of Ekamin^s

n, Gr^duaW School^

- r —f Date

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Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This work has required the time and cooperation of many indi­

viduals and organizations. It is my pleasure to acknowledge several

o f the many who have h elp ed .

The study was financially supported by the School of Forestry

of the University of Montana, the American Museum of Natural History,

and the Montana State Fish and Game Department.

The author i s g r a te fu l to Dr. W. L e s lie P en gelly and Dr. James

Lowe, not only for the interest cney nave snown in tnis work, but also

for their friendship and counsel during his stay in Montana. Pro­

fe s s o r M elvin S. Morris and Dr. Lee Eddleroan v is it e d the sheep

range and lent valuable assistance in the range aspects of this

work. The author appreciates Dr. Philip Wright's personal inter­

est in the Rock Creek sheep and his assistance during the early

stages of research.

To Reuel Janson, Fred Hartkorn, and Liter Spence of the

Montana Fish and Game Department, Hoke Grotbo of the U. S. Forest

Service, Don Lotvedt of the Bureau of Land Management, and Ralph

Dunmire and Beach Warner of the Soil Conservation Service, the

author is deeply indebted for their technical assistance and

cooperation. He is also indebted to the U. S. Forest Service

for living accommodations at Rock Greek and the equipment necessary

to secure a good camp.

i i

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Librarians Irene Evers, Forestry School Library, and Lucile

Speers, University of Montana Documents Library, were especially

helpful in locating literature not directly related to bighorn

sheep.

I am thankful for my colleague and friend, Steve Berwick, who

continues this work where I left off, for his companionship and

unselfish assistance.

A warm thank you to the people of Rock Creek; Mrs. Harold

Wyman, the Bob Neal family, the Chester Brewer family, the Carl

Rhienhart family, and the Bill Parfitts, not only for their cooper­

ation in this study, but for the hospitality shown me during my

stay in their country.

Above a ll, I am grateful to Dr, Richard D. Taber, my com­

mittee chairman, advisor, and teacher, who guided this work and

instructively criticized this paper, and my wife, Lynn, who

shared the joys and disappointments of this work and kept faith to

the end.

I l l

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

Acknowledgments ------i i

List of Tables ------v i

List of Figures ------v i i

PREFACE 1

CHAPTER

I - INTRODUCTION ------3 Objectives ------3 Literature ------4 Methods ------6

II - THE SITE ------9 General Description of the Study Site ------9 Rock Creek Climate ------10 H istory ------13 Present Status —— ------21 Future ------32

I I I - THE ECOLOGY ------34 Geology ------34

Vegetation of the Rock Creek Bighorn Sheep Winter

W ildlife Resource ------47 Relationships ------50

IV - THE ROCK CREEK SHEEP HERD ------52 H istory ------52 Decline of 1965 57 Population Factor ------73 Winter Observations 76 Conclusions ------78

V - SUMMARY ------81

XV

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Page

Appendices ------

Appendix A - Species List of Birds Observed 3 5 on the Bighorn Sheep Winter Range

Appendix B - Species List of Mamma1s Observed on Bighorn Sheep W inter Range ------87

Appendix C - Soils Series on Bighorn Sheep Range------gg

Appendix D - Composition of the Seven Range Types Found on the Rock Creek Win ter Range ------9 3

Bibliography ------98

Biographical Sketch ------104

V

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LIST OF TABLES

Table Page

1 Public and Private Ownership of the Rock Creek W inter Range ------22

2 Summer Traffic Opposite the Bighorn Sheep Winter Range 1960-1967 '------28

3 Hunting Regulations Affecting the Rock Creek Bighorn Sheep ------. 56

4 Summary o f Bighorn Sheep Perm its and K ills 58

5 A Summary of the Bighorn Sheep Censuses in the Rock Creek Area Since 1954 61

6 Incidence of Lungworm Infection in the Bighorn Sheep of Rock Creek ------64

7 The Results of Mr. Eugene Hughes' Tests for Tick Paralysis ------56

8 Nematodes Recovered from the Rock Creek Sheep Autopsied the Winter of 1966-67 68

VI

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LIST OF FIGURES

Page

Figure 1 Location of Rock Creek, Montana ------11

Figure 2 The Rock Creek Winter Range ------12

Figure 3 Public Ownership of the Rock Creek Winter Range ------23

Figure 4 Private Ownership of the Rock Creek Winter Range ------24

Figure 5 Geology of the Rock Creek Winter Range 36

Figure 6 S o ils o f the Rock Creek W inter Range — 40

Figure 7 Vegetation of the Rock Creek Winter Range 45

Figure 8 Former and Present Limits of Bighorn Sheep Distribution in Granite County 54

v i i

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. PREFACE

In 1870, Montana's non-Indian population was estimated at

slightly more than 20,000. Thirty years later, at the turn of the

century, the state's population was still under a quarter of a mil­

lion. In this short time, however, incompatible cultural practices,

the immense dependence of settlement on wild meat, imported diseases,

and the tremendous exploitive nature of man, combined with the deli­

cate nature of early big game herds, drastically reduced the new

state's wildlife resource to but an echo of its aboriginal status.

Among the game animals that suffered most were two races of wild

sheep, the Audubon bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis auduboni) and the

Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep (Ovis c. canadensis). The first species

inhabited the rough, broken river brakes found extensively along

the major river courses in eastern Montana and the western Dakotas.

It was described by Lewis and Clark in bands of up to 40 animals.

The animal became extinct in 1916. The second species now exists

in Montana in 17 isolated populations, the number totalling about

1,600 to 1,700 animals (Buechner, 1960).

In 1915, the Montana Department of Fish and Game, in a belated

attempt to save the endangered species, closed the state to sheep

hunting. Twenty years later, with the sheep season still closed,

the Fish and Game Commission, in their biennial report to the

governor, stated that the "increase is not as would be expected,"

- 1 -

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and th at sheep management was th is s t a t e ' s number one game problem.

In 1942-44, Faye Couey (1950) summarized Montana's wild sheep numbers,

estim ated 1 , 2 0 0 animals, and urged a more determined study of the

animals' habits, mineral requirements, and diseases. Later, in

1950, Lloyd McDowell, a Fish and Game biologist, suggested that

Rock Creek afforded an excellent place to do detailed work in disease,

breeding, and life history data. Like 32 (55 percent) of this

country's 58 endemic Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep herds, this popu­

lation normally averaged less than 100 animals. Also, like most of

these small herds, despite local interest and protective management,

it has failed to respond in condition, expand its range, or increase

beyond limited numbers.

Private, federal, and state cooperation with the Wildlife De­

partment of the University of Montana have enabled this author to

initiate what is hoped w ill become a three-year study involving

three students, each working for one year. The overall objective

of this study will be to assess the ecosystem involving the big­

horn sheep population and to determine the mechanisms limiting the

growth of this herd.

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O b jectiv es

1. To determine the extent of the bighorn sheep winter range.

2. To research the land-use history of the winter range,

3. To research the population and management history of the

bighorn sheep herd.

4. To initiate research into the geology, soil, and vegeta­

tive characteristics of the winter range.

5. To research the facts surrounding the alleged bighorn

sheep decline of 1965.

6 . To determ ine the present number and c o n d itio n o f the b ig ­

horn sheep herd.

•3-

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Sugden (1951) presented a comprehensive review of the studies

pertaining to the native sheep of North America. He stated that

over 80 percent of the major studies of bighorn sheep had been pub­

lished during the period from 1937 to 1951, at a rate of approxi­

mately one per year. Although the published material since Sugden’s

review has increased geometrically, the literature is surprisingly

slim in detailed studies of a single herd of bighorn sheep. The

first work of this nature was Spencer’s (1943) notes on the big­

horn sheep in the Tarryall Mountains of Colorado. Murie (1944)

provided one of the best overall descriptions of a herd of wild

sheep to date—in this case, the Ovis dalli dalli of Mount McKinley.

Faye Couey summarized several years of field observations on

Montana's Sun River sheep herd in his 1950 work on the Bighorn

Sheep of Montana. Jones (1950) surveyed the bighorn sheep of Cal­

ifornia, Ovis c. californiana, which are represented by four

small populations in close proximity to each other. This work

was brought up to date by McCullough and Schneegas (1966). Packard

(1946) , in a one and one-half year study of the bighorn sheep in

the Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, summarized the factors

limiting bighorns. An extensive study of Ovis c. c. was

-4-

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conducted by Sugden (1951) and presented in a paper dealing pri­

marily with the Chum Creek herd in British Columbia. This was

the most detailed of the recent studies concerned with a particular

bighorn herd. Ogren (1954) and Woodgerd (1964) worked with Montana's

water-isolated Wildhorse Island herd. Welles' (1961) paper dealing

with the bighorn sheep of Death Valley, Ovis c. nelsoni, focused

on individual populations to a limited extent.

The United States' populations of Ovis c. canadensis were well

summarized in Honess and Frost's (1942) "Wyoming Bighorn Sheep Study",

Couey's (1950) "Bighorn Sheep of Montana", Smith's (1954) "Bighorn

Sheep in Idaho", and Moser's (1952) "Bighorn Sheep of Colorado".

Helmut Buechner's monograph (1960) "Bighorn Sheep in the United States"

thoroughly summarized a ll of the bighorn sheep data through 1959.

Range depletion and competition as factors affecting bighorn

sheep conditions have been notably discussed in Mills (1937), Honess

and Frost (1942), Packard (1946), Cowan (1947), Cowan (1950),

Buechner (1960), Johnson (1963), and McCullough and Schneegas (1966).

Specific nutritional deficiencies were researched by Packard (1946),

Miller (1942), and Pulling (1945). Predation factors were adequate­

ly covered in Packard (1946) and Cowan (1947) , while hunting pres­

sures were discussed in Swank (1958) and Buechner (1960).

Parasites infecting bighorn sheep have recently been summar­

ized in Becklund and Senger (1967). General studies touching upon

diseases and parasites of wild sheep include Cowan (1951), Honess

and Winters (1956), and Buechner (1960). The lungworm-pneumonia

complex was in itially researched by Forrester and Senger (1963 and

1964) in Montana and by Howe (1966) in Colorado.

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Geist (1966) wrote an excellent doctoral work on the behavior

of bighorn sheep which culminated 43 months of study In British

Columbia.

This briefly summarizes work with bighorn sheep to date. The

outline, methods, and objectives for this study were derived from

the above literature.

Methods

The plan and research sch ed ule for th is study were o u tlin ed

during the early fall of 1966. The five hunters receiving 1966

Bighorn Sheep Permits for the Rock Creek area were given plastic

and canvas bags and asked to cooperate with the study by putting

the viscera of their k ill In the bags and notifying the University

of Montana. Three hunters were successful and three viscera were

collected and analyzed. The bighorn sheep literature was reviewed,

financial support secured, camera, spotting scope, binoculars, camp

gear, maps, and aerial photos were collected before going Into the

field on December 15, 1966,

Between December and mid-June, 1967, work on this study was

performed In the field. The U. S. Forest Service furnished a cabin

near Rock Creek that was less than one-quarter of a mile from the

reported bighorn sheep winter range. From here I took systematic

hikes across the sheep range from Capron Creek to Jimmy Leaf

Gulch (map, page 1^. These hikes generally Involved walking up

one draw, tracking the ridge to the Rock Creek face, then walking

down the adjacent draw. Usually these walks took from six to ten

hours and involved ten to eighteen m iles, depending on weather

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. conditions, season, and success. Notes were taken in the field and

a daily journal kept at night.*

Initial observations included existing game trails, snow condi­

tions, range availability, and animal sightings. Sheep observations

were mapped on aerial photos and weather conditions, land exposure,

flight behavior, apparent condition and band numbers and sex composi­

tion recorded. The competing ungulates—cattle, horses, domestic

sheep, deer, and elk—were also closely observed. Later, individual

sheep and sheep bands became familiar and their movements, bedding

areas, and minerals licks located and a population age/sex composi­

tion researched. The sheep were continually censused. Over 25 people

helped census the animals in January and three airplane flights were

made during early spring to find sheep missed on foot in the field.

Populations of potential predators were observed and recorded.

A collection was made of all sheep bones found and records

made of their location and condition,** Fresh bighorn winter kills

were immediately taken to the University of Montana for autopsy.

Other big game winter kills were checked for age and condition in the

field. Vegetation and bone samples were collected, identified, and

catalogued in Missoula. All during the study, a species list was

kept of the various mammals, birds, and vegetation observed. A

weather record was maintained in nearby Philipsburg by the Philips-

burg Ranger District, Lolo National Forest, U. S. Forest Service.

* Notebook and Journal on file. W ildlife Department, School of Forestry, University of Montana. **This collection of sheep bones is in the Zoology Museum, Department of Zoology, University of Montana.

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The ranching, logging, and recreation activities on the study

site were observed and recorded. Individuals working or living

in the vicinity of the sheep range during the winter were inter­

viewed about the area and their knowledge of the local bighorn

sheep herd. Contact was made with many of the former residents of

the area, and residents of nearby Philipsburg who had experience

in the area. Former sheep permit holders were likewise located

and interviewed during the field portion of this study.

On June 22, 1967, field work was terminated and library re­

search into the history and geology of the study site was resumed

at the University of Montana. Personnel of the Bureau of Land

Management, Soil Conservation Service, U. S. Forest Service,

Montana S ta te Department o f Fish and Game, and the Montana Coopera­

tive W ildlife Research Unit, who had experience in the upper Rock

Creek a rea, were lo ca ted and in terv iew ed . The f i l e s o f th ese

various agencies were searched for material pertaining to the study.

The winter range was visited three times during the summer and

portions of the alleged summer range checked twice.

The rough draft ot this thesis was begun in September, 1967,

and finished December, 1967. Military service interfered with the

completion of this thesis until 1972. The final draft was finished

in January 1972. No additional observations were included after 1967

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CHAPTER II

THE SITE

General Description of the Study Site

The area, popularly known as the "Rock Creek Sheep Range,"

parallels Rock Creek in west-central Montana. This north flowing

creek drains the western half of Granite County into the Clark

Fork River at a point 22 miles east and above Missoula. The valley

this creek forms is bounded on the west by the Sapphire Mountains

and the B itte r r o o t V a lle y , and on the e a s t by the John Long Moun­

tains and the Flint Creek Valley. Generalizing and discounting

the high mountains at its extreme head, it is possible to divide

Rock Creek in half. The higher southern portion drains an area

of low rolling hills and shallow basins, while the northern, lower

waters cut through a narrow, rugged, and rocky canyon. At the

confluence of these two land forms lies the present winter range

of the native Rock Creek bighorn sheep herd.

One hundred and thirty-nine days of field work have revealed

that the winter range is now contained within an area bounded on the

west by Rock Creek and on the east by the forest line extending

near the junction of Upper Willow Creek and Rock Creek (NW 1/4,

Sec 30, T7N, R16W) northwest to the talus slopes just above Big­

horn Campground (NW 1 /2 , Sec 32, T8 N, R16W). This range is

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approximately 8,380 acres or slightly over 13 square miles in area.

The topography about this area is distinguished by precipitous

cliffs bordering Rock Creek. These cliffs grade eastward into roll­

ing h ills which are covered by grass on the drier south and east slopes

and by timber on the more mesic west and north facing areas. The a lti­

tude in this area varies from 4,650 feet at the level of Rock Creek

to 7,000 feet at the higher limits of the sheep range.

The study site is 60 miles southeast of Missoula and 13 miles

west of Philipsburg. County Road 348 provides year-round accessi­

bility to the entire study area.

Rock Creek Climate

The weather records of the Philipsburg Ranger Station indicate

th a t summers about Rock Creek are u su a lly p lea sa n t w ith much sunny

weather. The mornings are usually crisp and clear, the afternoons

moderately warm, and the nights cool. Summer temperatures generally

run in the 50*s during the evenings and in the 80's and low 90's

during the afternoons. The relative humidity seldom reaches the

saturation point during the day and in July and August often drops

to as low as 10 percent. Summer rains are few and when they do

occur, they are of the afternoon shower type. These showers usually

occur an average of 2 0 days each summer and they are occasionally

accompanied by hail. This hail is usually small in size and

quantity and rarely causes damage.

Near mid-September, there is usually a brief period of stormy

weather. This weather brings on the first snow, parts of which re­

main in the high eleveations. These storms are generally succeeded

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C JL^H K /.'O f f f r

A, U S Hismvnr SO

U.S //Kwwfr --9 3 A

/V RocK ^ J o * v >tt»voM t/vs Cr« k

Oir-rg/^oar ! <^IV£R

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A

Figure 1. Location of Rock Creek, Montana

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33

3¥9

;?Op/r /foae/

Figure 2. The Rock Creek Winter Range

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by a period of fair weather, and October Is considered by the local

residents to be the most pleasant month of the year. In November,

snowstorms descend to the valley floors and, by December, Rock Creek

in most years, is mantled by snow.

Winters are usually cold and there is considerable cloudiness.

Occasionally, arctic air invasions reach the area bringing extreme

cold winds and heavy snow falls. More often "Chinooks," warm

westerly winds, moderate the winters and account for variations in

temperature and a partial snow melt.

Near mid-April, daytime temperatures are generally warm enough

to start the snowcover to melt in the valleys. In May, snowstorms

usually give 'way to spring showers. The months of May and June

receive the highest monthly average rainfall. During these months

the weather is cool, cloudy, and the rain showers are of low intensity.

The mountains in the Rock Creek area are well-forested and

this tempers the surface winds and precipitation run-off. In most

years, the winter snowpack produces a stable mountain water supply

that la s t s throughout the summer. Cool a ir d rain in g down the moun­

tain fronts produces "frost pockets" in the valley bottom. These

"pockets" influence crop production, forage growth, and w ildlife

distribution in certain sections of the Rock Creek valley by delay­

ing the warming of the soil.

H istory

Before 1800

The first Rock Creek visitors of whom we have irrefutable evi­

dence were members of the Flathead Indian Tribe. Present facts

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indlcate that these people have been in west-central Montana at least

since 1700 A. D., and possibly long before, as their myths and much

of their culture have roots in the flora, fauna, and physical fea­

tures of the region (Malouf, 1952).

In early times, prior to obtaining the horse, these people were

without permanent camping grounds (Malouf, 1950). Prehistoric camp­

sites, of which there is one at the mouth of Rock Creek (Griswold

and Larom, 1954), were small and limited in artifacts. Banding at

this time was probably limited to the extended family or smaller,

and use of the camp was apparently temporary and irregular. These

small bands undoubtedly foraged about the upper Rock Creek area,

but there is no archeological evidence in the literature to support

this assumption.

With the coming of the horse in 1730 (Haines, 1955) hunting and

food gathering became more efficient, and permanent trails were soon

established. The Bitterroot Valley became the center of the Flat­

head’s growing economic and religious activity* It was also during

this time that permanent contact with the Nez Perce Indians to the

west was achieved, and both tribes began making seasonal treks to

the plains for buffalo. Three major trails were used in these

travels east: one up the Clark Fork River, one over the Skalkaho

Pass, and one over the head of Burnt Fork Creek (Malouf, 1952).

According to information obtained from elderly Flathead Indians

by Montana anthropologist, Carling Malouf (personal communication,

1967), the last two of these trails were used to exploit the upper

Rock Creek Basin. The area about the bighorn sheep winter range

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was mentioned as a summer and early fall foraging and hunting

ground noted for deer, beaver, and sunflowers (balsamroot).

Matilda Wyman (personal communication, 1967), a long-time resident

of Rock Creek, knows of two temporary Indian campsites (NW 1/4,

SW 1/4, Sec 24 and the NW 1/4, SW 1/4, Sec 22) bordering the big­

horn range that were used as late as 1910.

Nowhere in the Flathead Indian literature are the bighorn

sheep of Rock Creek distinguished. This is presumably because,

during the seasons when the Indians used the area, the bighorns

were in their higher, more inaccessible,summer range. The flesh

of bighorn sheep was considered a delicacy, and, according to

Chittenden (1902), many Indians tribes rated it superior to buffalo.

The hides of bighorn sheep were desired by Flathead women for

dresses because they were soft as well as durable (Malouf, 1952).

The horns were made in to spoons, d rink ing cups, and bows (Lewis and

Clark, 1806). The Flathead Indians practiced the unique custom of ,

mounting ram horns on certain trees and then respecting the vicinity

of these trees as sacred. Several of these trees have been recorded

in western Montana (Ross, 1924; Seton, 1929; Weisel, 1951).

1800-1850

The history of white activity in western Montana begins with

the 1805-06 expedition of Lewis and Clark. In Hosmer's (1902)

History of the Expedition of Lewis and Clark, there are mentioned

26 different instances of seeing or shooting bighorn sheep. The

closest to Rock Creek that this expedition sighted bighorn sheep

was in the vicinity of Gibbons Pass, about 40 miles south of the

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study site (Clark's journal, July 4, 1806). Lewis (journal, July

29, 1806) reported the flesh of these animals "extremely delicate,

tender, and well flavored" and that "the animals were in fine order

(demand)."

The 30 years between 1810 and 1840 marked the golden age of

the fur trade in the Rocky Mountains. Into western Montana came

the Northwest Fur Company's David Thompson (1808-1811) and Ross

Cox (1812), and some years later, the Pacific Fur Company's Alex­

ander Ross (1823-24), while just east of the Divide were the Rocky

Mountain Fur Company and the American Fur Company (Koch, 194o).

Trafficking mainly in the furs of beaver, otter, and mink, and

employing local Indians, imported Iroquois Indians, French

Canadians, and midwest Americans, these companies exploited every

stream in Montana from head to mouth. By 1838, the valuable fur

bearers were so reduced that buffalo robes were supplanting them in

the St. Louis market (Phillips, 1961).

As a rule, these trappers worked during the fall and early

spring (Chittenden, 1902) and so they were not likely to have seen

the winter congregations of bighorn sheep at Rock Creek. Further­

more, relatively few of these men kept journals, so it is not

surprising that there is nothing in the fur trade literature asso­

ciating bighorn sheep with Rock Creek.

Alexander Ross, during the winter of 1823-24, spent a month

snowbound in the southern Bitterroot Mountains just above Sula,

Montana, during the spring of 1824. He reported that he and his

expedition of 144 men, women, and children survived during this

time on bighorn sheep (Ross, 1956). Ross wrote that the sheep in

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thls area (which could have easily been contiguous with the bighorn

of Rock Creek 25 miles north and east) were very small, averaged

70 pounds, and possessed disproportionately large heads, which

weighed as much as a third of the total weight (Ruxton, 1916).

1850-1900

As near as can be discovered, a prospector by the name of

Glover was the first to work Rock Creek (Slrla, 1937). He

prospected extensively about 1859 or 1860, found some gold, but

not in paying quantities. Although sparse unrecorded prospecting

probably continued, little is known about the Rock Creek area

until the late 1880's.

Twelve miles east of the study site, the town of Philipsburg

was founded on a silver claim known as the Cordova Lode, discovered

by Hector Horton In 1865 (Cushman, 1959). Sixteen years later,

another claim, known as the Granite Mountain Lode, was developed

three miles south and east of Philipsburg. This claim proved to be

a bonanza and became, for a short time, the richest silver mine in

the world, supporting over 4,000 people at Its height In 1891 (not

counting the 2,000 people then In Philipsburg), and yielding over

50 million dollars worth of silver (McMillan, 1964). The massive

Influx of people put such pressure on the primitive agricultural

resources of the Flint Valley that a road was built to the nearest

source of supply in the Bitterroot Valley, This road, popularly

known as the B itte r r o o t D ir e c t, was b u ilt in the ea rly 1880's and

followed roughly the route of County Road 348 to Rock Creek, then

down Rock Creek to the old Indian t r a i l over A lder Ridge to Burnt

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Fork Creek and down to S t e v e n s v ille , Montana (P h ilip sb u rg M ail,

March 26, 1964). This road exposed the study site to its first

heavy traffic.

At the mouth of Rock Creek,during the early 1880’s, men were

working on the Northern Pacific Railroad, which was completed in

1883. Both the miners at Philipsburg and the railroad workers on

the Clark Fork River required meat. Market hunting at the time was

big business. Carl Siria (1937), in his short history of Rock

Creek, reports Peter Walbeck, a market hunter at this time, received

25 cen ts a pound for 500 pounds o f trou t per week and 11 cen ts a

pound fo r dressed v en iso n . Walbeck reported taking 32 deer on Rock

Creek one winter, and said that other hunters took more. No men­

tion was made about bighorn sheep, although Couey (1950) said that

oldtimers about Missoula described great losses of bighorns near

Missoula dying of "scab" infection, possibly contracted from the

psoroptic mite of domestic sheep introduced in the Bitterroot

Valley in 1867. The heavy market hunting of wildlife lasted many

years, according to Siria (1937), and was climaxed the winter of

1889-1890, when four men reportedly removed 300 to 400 deer from

Rock Creek winter range (no mention of bighorn sheep). Bighorn

sheep were reported more plentiful than deer in the Rock Creek

area between 1890 and 1895 (Montana State Department of Fish and

Game, 1956 Annual Report).

Prospecting continued about the upper Rock Creek area. Two of

these prospectors stayed long enough to settle land, and became the

first recorded residents of the Rock Creek study site. The first

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was a man by the name of Fisher (after whom Fisher Peak is named)

whose land was bought and later deeded by the Wyman family in 1887

(Matilda li^man, personal communication, 1967). The second recorded

settler was Jimny Lee (misinterpreted Leaf), who settled where Upper

Willow Creek enters Rock Creek, and whose name (mispelled Leaf) is

on the southern-most gulch of the sheep range.

In 1893, Samuel Watson discovered one of Montana's richer

placer diggings in Basin Gulch, opposite and about a half a mile

from the southeast portion of the sheep range. This discovery soon

filled Rock Creek with prospectors whose diggings are evident in

every gulch in the area. These prospectors worked at a time when

Philipsburg (the nearest town) was a two-day wagon journey away

(yjyman, personal communication, 1967). They undoubtedly took what

food the land provided and th e ir year around hunting and the fa c t

that most of the range land in the area was then being used to

raise draft stock and domestic sheep (G illis, personal communication,

1967),pushed the Rock Creek wild sheep herd to near extinction. In

1903, the Rock Creek area was closed for sheep hunting (Table 3).

The Rock Creek area had its last mining boom just after the

turn of the century. Sapphires were discovered about five miles

south o f the sheep range in 1892 by a p rosp ector named Myers (Rowe,

1941). The American Gem Mining Syndicate eventually bought this

claim, and, in 1906, began to develop it. Claims for sapphires

were made in Basin Gulch, Cornish Gulch, and Quartz Gulch, all

three of which are just across Rock Creek from the sheep range.

These three gulches were worked intensively with hydraulic pumps

for about f iv e years and then abandoned.

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1900-Present

In 1906, settlers and land speculators pressured the Forest

Service and the President to open the agricultural lands within the

Forest Reserves to homesteading. The result was the Forest Home­

stead Act of 1906. This Act allowed the settlement of 160 acres

of land not more than a mile long in the Forest Reserves with the

permission of the Department of Agriculture. Six years later, to

speed settlement, the Second Forest Homestead Act was passed which

removed the authorization of the Department of Agriculture. These

two Acts brought a rush of people to Rock Creek, eager for free

land (Kerlee, 1962). Many people homesteaded these isolated tracts

of land without fully realizing the hardships and dangers attendant

to such a venture. Unfamiliar with the land and the human toll that

would have to be paid for success, homesteaders came to the area in

unprecedented numbers. Today, where there are three fam ilies, there

were twenty earlier. The Upper Willow Creek Valley, which today

supports ten people in three families, once had over a hundred

people living on it (Wyman, personal communication, 1967). The

main V^man Ranch bought e ig h t homesteads and the G i l l i s Ranch

another sev en , and so i t went.

Most o f th ese hom esteaders came in the la te 1910's and l e f t

during the 1920's. The small size of the ranches, the harsh winter

climate, semi-arid summer conditions, the distance of markets, and

the lack of capital to float the bad years caused disillusionment

and failure. These people were forced to overuse their land, and

take what food the wild offered. It can be said with fair certainty

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that the 1920*s were the lowest years for game in the upper Rock

Creek Valley.

Between 1925 and 1960, economic activity decreased along the

Rock Creek Valley. The draft stock industry died with the develop­

ment of the internal combustion engine. The death of the silver

mines in Philipsburg and the sapphire diggings along Rock Creek,

the homestead bust, and the Depression all served to reduce the

population of Rock Creek. Subsistence farming gave way to small

ranching operations, which gradually consolidated and became more

s p e c ia liz e d . The World War II demand for b eef caused some over-

grazing, but this was mild compared to the overuse the land received

during the 1920's (Soil Conservation Service, 1965 Annual Montana

Report). W ildlife increased since the mid-1940*s to a peak around

1956-57. This peak was followed with more liberal hunting seasons,

which soon brought the overbrowsing in check.

Since the mid-1950's, the recreation activity about Rock Creek

has been on the increase. Speculation in ranch land and summer

sites has increased. The Ü. S. Forest Service plans to make the

Rock Creek drive a Scenic Route and is presently developing recrea­

tion facilities toward this end. The logging activity is growing

and plans for increased harvesting have already been approved.

Present Status

Current Land Ownership

Research shows that of the approximately 8,380 acres that

make up the bighorn sheep winter range, 4,165 acres, or 49.7 per­

cent, belongs to the public and 4,215 acres, or 50.3 percent, is

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privately deeded (Deed Record, Granite County Courthouse). A break­

down of this ownership current to December 1, 1967, is outlined in

Table 1.

TABLE 1

PUBLIC AND PRIVATE OWNERSHIP OF THE ROCK CREEK WINTER RANGE

Public Land

U. S. Forest Service 2,097 acres Lolo N. F. 1,420 Deerlodge N. F. 677

Bureau o f Management 1,498 acres Leased to Wyman 810 Leased to Luthje 160 Not Leased 528

State of Montana-School Section 570 acres Leased to Luth je 570

S u b -to ta l 4,165 acres

P riv a te Land

M atilda %rman 2,205 acres A lb ert and Evelyn Boomer 1,260 acres John Luthje 495 acres M iles and Janet Rodda 80 acres James G illis 75 acres Bill Parfitt 65 acres C liffo r d and B everly Braach 35 acres

S u b -to ta l 4,215 acres

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r~.

LW 0 ÛJ DO 3- S -S'" u ^

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I

C3I

(U 0) rC 4-1 0) 4J C 4-1 •H tt) M-t 3 > O r-~ •rf vO P. (U P-t •H 0) 1—i rC >-l CO CJ

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Agriculture

Agriculture Is the primary economic activity In the vicinity

of the bighorn sheep winter range. It Is developed around the pro­

duction of livestock and the raising of crops necessary to support

this Industry. The Intimate association of cropland and range found

In this area favor cattle ranching and the range Is capable of with­

standing current summer grazing pressure on a sustained yield basis

(Chapter III). In most years It Is possible for the ranchers to

carry on their ranching operations without seeking feed or grazing

outside of their holdings. Generally, 5-1/2 months of grazing are

available on the forest and open hillside ranges.

Irrigation Is necessary for grass production on the bottom

lands. Thin soils and a short frost-free season limits feed crops

to native hay and limited production of alfalfa and mixed wheat-

grasses. In the past, oats, barley, and spring wheat have all been

tried without success.

In the Rock Creek Valley, one crop of native hay Is the general

rule. The hay harvest usually begins the second or third week in

July and Is com pleted by the end o f August. Roundup takes place

during October and November and the so r tin g and sh ip p in g o f c a t t le

Is fin ish e d by ea rly December.

Commercial Hereford sto ck dom inate, but th ere are some Angus

cattle In the area. Ranchers generally market their beef cattle

as "feeder calves" (animals of the year) and range-fattened year­

lings to Midwest markets for finishing. Commercial cows and bulls

are generally sold on the local market. Other livestock In the

area Include some domestic sheep, cows, and chickens for family use.

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The most common sized ranch In Granite County Is approximately

3,000 acres of hay and range. Most ranches in the area are operated

by either part or full owners and these owners usually reside on the

ranch.

There are, at this time, four ranch operations in the Rock

Creek Valley that affect the bighorn sheep range. Briefly, they are

outlined as follows :

Wyman Ranch

This is by far the largest and oldest of the four ranches.

Parts of this ranch were settled by a Vtyman as far back as 1888.

Today, this ranch is owned by Mrs. Harold Ifyman of Philipsburg and

is run by the Bob Neal family on a partnership basis. In the area

of the bighorn range, this operation controls close to 7,500 acres,

3,286.68 of which are deeded, while 4,152,85 are leased from the

Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. Together, lityman

and N eal have 490 head o f c a t t l e and 6 horses (1967 Granite County

Tax Assessment) of which, according to Bob Neal, 6 b u lls and 150

cow-calf pairs (300 head) were grazed a little over six months

on the bighorn range and the6 horses were grazed year round on

the same range during 1967.

Boomer Ranch

This ranch was bought by Albert and Evelyn Boomer from Pearl

Andreasen, Helena, in 1965. It has 1,399 deeded acres with no lease

land currently recorded. During 1967, this ranch carried 136 sheep,

36 head of cattle, and 16 horses (1967 Granite County Tax Assessment)

According to Chester Brewer, only the cattle and the horses were

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ranged in 1967. The c a t t l e were put out in mid-May for seven months

while the horses were kept on the range year round except when used

during the hunting season.

Luthje Ranch

This ranch i s owned and operated by John L uthje. Mr. Luthje

owns a s iz e a b le home ranch n o rth ea st o f the bighorn range, on

Upper Willow Creek. In 1962, he purchased 639 acres of the Rodda

holdings on Rock Creek, and now, in addition to this deeded land,

he leases 800 acres from the State of Montana and the Bureau of

Land Management. In 1967, Mr. Luthje claim ed 261 head of c a t t l e

and 1 horse (1967 Granite County Tax Assessment) of which roughly

a third were grazed on the Rock Creek land for two months.

Braach Ranch

Clifford Braach is a mining supervisor in Philipsburg who

ranches part-time. In 1963, Mr. Braach and his wife, Beverly,

purchased 315.98 acres on Rock Creek and, according to the assess­

ment figures, ran 45 head of cattle in 1967. Only a very small

portion of Branch's land, about 35 acres, lies within the bighorn

ran ge.

R ecreation

Recreation is second to ranching as an affecting economic use

of the area only because the majority of the recreationists who

visit Rock Creek do not set foot on the sheep range. Only the

northeastern third of the bighorn range is accessible from the

road. The remaining two-thirds of the range require that one

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wade Rock Creek which is usually hazardous between April and August,

In 1960, the State Fish and Game Department began a summer

creel census. A traffic counter was installed on the Rock Creek

Road opposite the southeastern third of the sheep range. The re­

sults of this census are outlined in Table 2.

TABLE 2

SUMMER TRAFFIC OPPOSITE THE BIGHORN SHEEP WINTER RANGE 1960-1967

1960 1961 1962 1963

May 25-31 223.0 188.5 229.0 202.5 June 1-30 904.0 991.5 1 ,0 0 8 .0 809.0 July 1-31 1 ,2 7 0 .0 1 ,1 3 6 .0 1 ,2 4 3 .0 1 ,1 1 6 .0 August 1-31 882.0 687.0 900.5 1 ,0 3 9 .0 September 1-6 229.5 147.0 202.5 160.5

3 ,5 0 8 .5 3,150.0 3,583.0 3 ,3 2 7 .5

1964 1965 1966 1967

May 25-31 155.5 224.0 253.5 251.5 June 1-30 744.5 931.5 1 .0 4 4 .0 1,3 0 8 .5 Ju ly 1-31 1 .1 1 4 .0 1 ,5 1 4 .0 1 .4 6 4 .0 1, 735.0 August 1-31 1 .0 8 5 .0 1,159.5 1 .1 0 8 .0 1 ,1 9 3 .0 September 1-6 141.0 158.0 80 2.0 52.0

3 ,2 4 0 .0 3,987.0 4,671.5 4 ,5 4 0 .0

Table 2 indicates a steady, slightly irregular, increase in

summer use over the last eight years. The 1967 figure, held down

because of extreme fire danger, demonstrates a 30 percent increase

since 1960. Recreation activities attracting visitors to Rock

Creek are as follows ;

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F lsh in g

Rock Creek is the most famous and heavily fished trout water

in Montana west of the Continental Divide. Montana Department of

Fish and Game figures show that about a fourth of all the cars travel­

ing Rock Creek carry successful fishermen. This largest of Mon­

tana's eight Rock Creeks, with its four forks, flows 80 miles long

and falls more than a mile downhill to the Clark Fork River. Its

fast waters and scenic character regularly make the pages of our

more popular outdoor sports magazines.

The upper reaches of this fast-falling creek harbor eight to

ten inch Rainbow and Cutthroat trout, while the lower 20 miles of

the stream offer the experienced fisherman ten to sixteen inch Rain­

bow with lesser numbers of like sized Eastern Brook, Cutthroat,

Brown tr o u t, and D olly Varden. The stream a ls o con tain s a large

number of mountain whitefish, which support the dedicated fisherman

during the winter months. The trout season usually runs from May

21st to November 30th, and the whitefish season from December 1st to

March 3 1 s t.

Scenic driving

The Rock Creek Road i s c lo se d to through t r a f f i c by snow from

November to April. During the winter, the road is normally kept

open to Squaw Rock Campground, opposite the midpoint of the sheep

range. The winter range's spectacular cliffs, rustic cabins and

e a s il y observed b ig game a tt r a c t the weekend d r iv e r and cameraman

year round. Most of the winter visits are by local people who,

while not numerous, are regular.

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Camping and picnicking

The 4 0 -m ile s tr e tc h o f the Rock Creek Road from the Clark

Fork River to the southernmost limit of the sheep range has 10 U. S.

Forest Service Campgrounds with 60 camping and 40 picnic units.

Two o f th ese campgrounds. Bighorn and Squaw Rock, are op p osite the

bighorn sheep range. Together, these two campgrounds have 10 camp­

ing and 10 picnic units which are usually full from the end of June

to Labor Day (H. Grotbo, U. S. Forest Service Ranger, personal

communication, 1967).

Hunting

The Rock Creek area is part of the State Fish and Game Depart­

ment's Management District 210, and it is popular with local hunters

usually residing within 75 miles of the area. Deer and bear

seasons usually run from mid-September to mid-November, while elk

season opens around the 20th of October and closes the same time as

the deer season. Moose and bighorn sheep have special seasons and

are open to permit hunting only.

Two of the ranchers in the Rock Creek area. Bob Neal and

Albert Boomer, are licensed outfitters. Mr.Boomer reported over

30 clients during the fall of 1967, 22 of which were from out-of-

s t a t e .

The mining s t r ik e in B utte and Anaconda th is p ast f a l l (1967)

affected the hunting pressure in the vicinity of the bighorn range.

Steve Berwick (who continues this work where this study leaves

off) reported counting 33 hunters on the sheep range in an area a

little over five miles long Saturday, October 28, 1967.

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Logging

Most of the timberland in the Rock Creek Valley is owned by

the public and managed by the Ü. S. Forest Service. These lands con­

tain many mature stands of Ponderosa pine and Douglas fir. At the

present, there are only two limited logging operations near the

sheep winter range. Both operations are on the west side of Rock

Creek, opposite the range and adjacent to Stoney Creek. The Stoney

Creek Sale is on the ridge between Stoney Creek and Schively Gulch

and covers 2,300 acres with a volume of 3.7 million boardfeet. The

Moose Gulch Sale lies southwest of Stoney Creek in the Moose Gulch

watershed and this sale covers roughly 1,470 acres with a volume of

2.4 million boardfeet (Philipsburg Ranger D istrict, Lolo National

Forest, U. S. Forest Service).

These sales are harvested by two small logging companies and

involve less than a dozen men who work year round--weather, road,

and fire conditions permitting. Most of the Stoney Creek timber is

sawed in Hall, Montana (32 miles away) and the Moose Gulch timber

is sawed at Georgetown Lake (24 miles away).

Mining

Cornish Gulch, Basin Gulch, and Quartz Gulch, all opposite

the southwest portion of the bighorn range, have active gold and

sapphire claims. L ittle more than maintenance work is now performed

on these claii..s, as known deposits do not warrant the capital neces­

sary to extract them. There is some recreational panning for gold

and screening for sapphires in this area, but this activity has

little or no effect on the bighorn sheep at present.

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Future

The prospect for Rock Creek appears to be an increase in economic

activity, both on and near the bighorn winter range. U. S. Forest

Service and State Fish and Game figures show that traffic and the

number of hunters and fishermen have increased since the mid-1950's.

Definite plans have been made by the U. S. Forest Service to straight­

en and surface the Rock Creek Road. The immediate purpose is to

facilitate the salvage logging of timber affected by the larva of

the Spruce and Bud Moth (Archips fumiferana). Most of this timber

is located on the Sapphire Crest west of Rock Creek from Stoney Creek

north to Gilbert Creek. The second purpose is to promote recrea­

tion traffic with the possibility of developing a year round access

road (Hoke Grotbo, personal communication, 1967).

Land v a lu es are cu rren tly in f la te d and th ere i s e x te n siv e

buying, subdividing, and selling again along the lower reaches of

Rock Creek. In the vicinity of the sheep range, the Boomers are

offering portions of their ranch for triple the buying price three

years ago. Both Mr, Boomer and Mr. Neal talk of future development

of portions of their bottom land holdings for the recreation market,

i . e . , t r a i l e r camps and supply and food co n c essio n s.

A narrow economic return in the cattle market w ill continue

to tempt overproduction and w ill always be a threat to range resources.

Gem stones and precious metals are known to exist on or near the sheep

range and exploitation awaits only the justifying market.

Of more immediate future danger to the sheep range is the

recent introduction of the snowmobile. This new form of recreation

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is very popular around the Philipsburg and Rock Creek areas. On

four occasions during the winter of 1967, I observed these

vehicles on the sheep range. An increase in this activity

w ill undoubtedly affect the sheep behavior and may affect lambing

h a b it s .

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THE ECOLOGY

Geology

The geology of the bighorn sheep range has never been in­

tensively worked. Calkins and Emmons' (1915) work on the Philips­

burg Quadrangle, came within three miles of the study site. Ross,

Harris, and Burke (1945), on a two day reconnaissance, drew a map

of the Sapphire Quadrangle that included the sheep winter range,

but the work was never published. The contents of this map were

expressed ten years later in Ross's Geologic Map of Montana (1955).

Currently, Mr. M. L. Klepper, of the U. S. Geologic Survey, is in

the field working on the Butte two-degree map which w ill include

the whole Rock Creek drainage.

The earliest geologic event detectable on the sheep range

was the water deposition of sand which has been consolidated into

the rock of Montana's Belt Series. The Series was named for the

Little Belt Mountains of central Montana, where the type was first

discovered. It makes up the surface geology of much of western

Montana and has possible correlatives exposed from Alaska to

northern Mexico (Ross, 1963). Recent radiation research has put

the age of this Series at between 1,200 and 750 million years, well

into the Precambrian Era and easily among the oldest surface rocks

in North America. Due to the absence of diagnostic fossils and the

-3 4 - .

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presence of lateral variations, the rocks have been difficult to

work with geologically. Nonetheless, the Belt Series in Montana

has been divided into several formations, only two of which have

been found on or near the sheep range.

The oldest of the two is known as the Ravalli Formation (Ross,

1963). The lower two-thirds of this formation consists of a light

gray, very fine grained quartzite, while the upper third is a much

darker bluish and greenish shale Interbedded with dark quartzite

sandstone and quartzite similar to the lower two-thirds. Chemically,

both layers are dominated by silicon dioxide (SIO 2 ) , aluminum oxide

(AlgOg) and ferric oxide (Pe2 0 3 ) (Twenhofel, 1961). The upper layer

differs In Its greater percentage of calcium and magnesium oxides

and carbonates. The lower rock was deposited in shallow marine

waters as is shown by its composition and cross bedding. The in­

crease in the proportion of muddy material found in the higher shale

beds was probably due to diminished erosional activity such as would

occur with a deepening of the water body. The Ravalli Formation

dominates over 80 percent of the surface geology of the sheep range.

Excellent examples of It may be seen In Windlass and Mill Gulches;

also most of the talus or slide rock in the area is of this formation.

The other, more recent Belt formation in this area, Is the

Helena Limestone Formation (also known as Wallace or Newland lime­

stone) (Ross, 1963). This formation is inaccurately termed a lime­

stone, for, while it consists of a large percentage of carbonates,

there is a nearly equal quantity of other material, chiefly quartz.

Magnesium and iron combine with lime to form a mixed carbonate, the

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3

PRe-cmonutN RnVfi^LLI QUPTERNFPy F o rm j/ t io n /iUdViUM PR£- CFMBPm H£L£NA jERTIffRr formation COHGLOHSKFTe

Figure 5. Geology of the Rock Creek Winter Range

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dec ompos i t io n o f which is attended by the form ation o f a yellow

ocher, which imparts a characteristic stain to the formation

(Calkins and Emmons, 1915). Klepper (1967, personal communica­

tion) speculated that the mud and sands of this rock were laid down

in a vast basin, parts of which were periodically left dry. The

rivers that feed this basin and carried in the sediments probably

drained an old land surface rich in carbonates. This formation

occurs along the east face of Rock Creek from Upper Willow Creek to

Capron Creek and makes up 11 percent to 15 percent of the winter

range.

In the three-quarters of a billion years or so since the Belt

Series was terminated by upheaval and warping of the earth’s crust,

western Montana was elevated at least six times and flooded at least

five times (Eardley, 1962). Time forged a repeated litany of sedi­

mentation interrupted by upheaval, erosion, and resubmersion.

About 75 million years ago, during the Tertiary Age, the earth

was repeatedly crumbled, broken, and tilted. Compressive forces,

satisfied by thrust faults, folding, and volcanic activity, roughed

out, among other physiographic features, the Rocky Mountains

(Langton, 1935). During this unsettled period, large bodies of

eroded material were deposited along the Rock Creek sheep range.

The eroded material was compressed to a conglomerate, much of which

has been subsequently eroded away. Remarkably fine exposures of

these gravels may be seen on the cliffs that rise steeply from Rock

Creek. Erosion of this rock into spires or "hoodoos" are visible along

the east face of Rock Creek. The pebbles of the conglomerate average

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golf ball size and are composed of a dull red quartzitic sandstone.

The matrix consists of a quartz sand mixed with a whitish dust,

apparently of volcanic origin. The cattle, deer, and bighorn

sheep have been observed pawing, nosing, and apparently using the

soils of this formation as a mineral source.

Chemically, the formation carries traces of biotite, ortho-

clase, and agate minerals, which are sources of sodium (Na) and

potassium (K), elements generally absent from the precambrian for­

mations. This formation comprises 5 percent to 9 percent of the

total bighorn winter range.

The p rocess o f ero sio n and sed im en tation continued to about

one million years ago when the relief of the larger features was

similar to what it is now with the mountains somewhat higher. At

this time the climate became much colder than it had been and the

precipitation much heavier. Alpine glaciers formed and the earth

entered a time of glaciation. So far, there have been four major

periods of glaciation, the last declining about 10 to 15 thousand

years ago. The glaciers, the forces of moving water and gravity,

and time created the youngest of the study site's four formations,

the Quaternary Gravels. These gravels spread across the narrow

flo o r o f Rock Creek and extend in to the mouth o f the larger

gulches. This alluvium is composed of loose sediments ranging

from silt size to boulders, which have been derived from the Belt

and Tertiary deposits in the area. These gravels form the valley

floor and are best viewed along the banks of Rock Creek during low

water. At the most, this formation makes up between 1 and 2 per­

cent of the winter range.

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S o ils

All soils are a product of the interaction of climate, parent

material, topography, time, and biological activity. Based upon the

relative influences among these factors, soils are classified into

orders and groups. The Rock Creek winter range possesses two dif­

ferent soils groups belonging to two different orders. The first is

a lithosols group belonging to the azonal order. Azonal soils have

no well-developed characteristics, either because they have had in­

sufficient time to develop or because they are on slopes too steep

to allow profile development. Lithosols are a group of thin, stony

mountain soils developed in areas of extreme relief. The second soil

group is the Chestnut group of the zonal order. These soils have

developed on well-drained parent material and have a characteris­

tic profile. Chestnut soils show the influence of vegetation and

have a typically thin humus layer, and a light granular to prismatic

gray-brown surface soil, underlain by a leached calcareous soil.

In general. Chestnut soils of various degrees cover about 58

percent of the winter range. They are found on tb^ more gentle

Slopes supporting well established timber and grassland vegetation.

About 30 percent of the range is in lithosols which are largely,

but not exclusively, in areas of greater than 40 percent slope. On

these steep slopes surface erosion by runoff is more rapid and

water penetration less, thus the soil is thinner and the weathering

process slower. The remaining 12 percent of the sheep range is in

exposed rock and ta lu s .

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■D CURLSr Smss CD

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CHexne sm/F5 I 0 1 TROpjji. sm e s Figure 6 . S oils of the Rock Creek Winter Range /

- 4 1 -

During the summer of 1965, a Soil Conservation Service team,

under the direction of Mr. Ralph Dunmire, Missoula S. C. S. District

Office, typed the soils of the ranching areas about the winter range

(85 percent of the study site). This work was part of the Granite

County Soil Survey due for publication in the early 1970's. With

the help of Mr. Dunmire and Mr. Beach Warner, the Philipsburg S. C. S,

representative, the tracing of the original soil maps and the reading

of a draft of the Soil Survey was made possible. Most of what fol­

lows has been distilled from their work.

The lithosols and Chestnut soils of this area have been divided

into 12 distinctive soil series. Eight of these 12 types have been

grouped into three soils associations which dominate 76 percent of

the winter range. All 12 soil series are characterized in the

appendix of this study. It suffices here to mention only the

characteristics of the dominant associations:

1. Trapper - Garlet - Loberg Association.--This association

dominates the winter range and is generally found on north facing

slopes, along the northern and higher edges of the rangeland and

into the forest zones. These soils were all formed under dense

coniferous stands now in Douglas fir and lodgepole pine. The soils

range in depth from 12-50 inches, depending primarily on slope. On

the sheep range, these soils receive about 18 inches of rain

annually and they have a good water holding capacity. The organic

content of these soils is low (2-6 percent). The pH is acidic

(5 . 5 - 6 .5) and is strongly influenced by the coniferous leaf fall

which produces organic acids leaching the upper 4-10 inches

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of these soils. The average frost-free period of these soils is

less than 90 days per year.

2, Donald - Marcetta - Cheadle Association.--This soil asso­

ciation constitutes most of the remainder of the sheep range. It

is found on the south facing slopes, along the southern and eastern

portions of the range and undermost of the grasslands of the area.

These soils are deeper than those formed under timber and range in

depth between 30 and 60 inches. This soil is well drained and fails

to hold water as well as the timbered areas. The pH runs 6 .5 -7 .5

and the organic content is a relatively high 5-10 percent. This

soil also averages less than 90 frost-free days per year.

3. Slocum - Bearmouth Association.--These soils dominate the

Rock Creek Valley and its low benches that form portions of the

winter range. They are alluvial in origin. The association sup­

ports open stands of Ponderosa pine and most of the pasture land

in the valley. These soils are either well drained, gravelly, or

sandy soils, or poorly drained, moderately deep, loamy soils.

Chemically, these soils are universally low in nitrogen (N)

and phosphorous (P). Almost all of the nitrogen available for

plants comes from the organic body of the soils. The amount avail­

able at any time is dependent on the amount of organic matter pres­

ent and its rate of decomposition at the time the plants require

the nutrients. Rock Creek, along with many Montana intermountain

ran ges, s u ffe r s from a r e la t iv e ly sm all amount o f organic m atter

and, more important, low temperatures and low moisture which inhibit

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bacterial decomposition. The amount of phosphorous is low for

much the same reasons, plus the fact that there is little offered

by the parent material.

Calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) are present in ample amounts

over the whole range, due to their abundance in the parent material.

These elements are in greater amounts in the grassland soils than in

the soils of the forested areas.

Vegetation of the Rock Creek Bighorn Sheep Winter Range

From field analysis and from the work that has been done in

the Rock Creek area by the Bureau o f Land Management and the S o il

Conservation Service (M. Morris, R. Dunmaier, R, Hium, personal

communication, 1967), it has been found that the following 58 plant

species constitute 95 percent of the vegetation of the study site;

Grasses and Grass like Plants

Agropyron spicatum Bluebunch Wheatgrass Calamagrostis rubescens Pine Grass Festuca idahoensis Idaho Fescue Koeleria cristata Prairie Junegrass Poa pratensis Kentucky Bluegrass Poa secunda Sandberg Bluegrass Stipa comata Needle and Thread Bromus tectorum C heatgrass Bromus m arginatus Mountain Brome Agropyron sm ithii Blues tern Wheatgrass Danthonia spicata Poverty Danthonia Danthonia unispicata One spiked Oatgrass Carex sp. Sedge

F orb s:

Lupinus caudatus Tailcup Lupine LeptodactyIon pugens Granite Gilia Achillea millefolium Yarrow Erigeron compositus Cutleaf Daisy Tragopogon pratensis Meadow S a ls if y

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Plantago purshii Woolly Indianwheat Trifolium sp. Clover Balsamorrhiza sagittata Arrowleaf Balsamroot Chrysopsis vlllosa Hairy Golden-Aster Antennarla rosea Rose Pussytoes Taraxacum officinale Dandelion Potentllla sp. C in q u efo il Fragarla vesca Woodland Strawberry Arnica cordlfolla Heartleaf Arnica Solldago sp. Goldenrod Clrclum vlugare Bull Thistle Delphinium bicolor Little Larkspur Geum triflorum Long-Plumed Avens Geranium viscosissimum S tick y Geranium Eriogonum sp. Sulphurflower Mahonia repens Creeping Hollygrape Thalictrum fendlari Fend1er Meadowrue Fritillaria pudica Yellow Fritillary Tragopogon dublus Common S a ls ify Astragalus drummondii Drummond M ilkvetch Senecio sp. Groundsel

Shrubs ;

Artemisia frigida Fringed Sagebrush Artemisia tridentata Big Sagebrush Chrysothamnus nauseosus Rubber Rabbitbrush Rosa woodsia Wood Rose Physocarpus malvaceus Ninebark Vaccinium sp. Whortleberry Symphoricarpos sp. Snowberry S a lix s p . Willow Prunus Pennsylvaniea Chokecherry Acer glabrum Mountain Maple

Trees :

Alnus tenuifolia Thinleaf Alder Pseudotsuga menziesil Douglas Fir Pinus contorta Lodgepole Pine Plnus ponderosa Ponderosa Pine Populus tremuloides Aspen Populus trichocarpa Black Cottonwood Betula occidentales Water Birch

In general, the lower slopes, various terrace and bench

levels, and some higher south and west slopes are in a grass-type

vegetation. Forests occupy the upper elevations and most of the

lower north and east facing mountain slopes.

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0) bO a ca Pi M

(U0 tl u o o P i

(U Pi 3 bO •H pc-i

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The composition of the grassland type is closely related to

moisture availability, which, in turn, is correlated with local

slo p e and exposure. The more humid f o o t h ills and upper v a lle y

slopes ranging up to 5,600 feet are dominated by Fescues (Festuca

id a h o en sis and F. s c a b r e lla ) and Foas (Poa p r a te n sis and P. secu n d a).

Some of the more important broad leafed plants associated with these

grasses include heartleaf arnica (Arnica cordifolia) , yarrow (Achillea

millefolium), lupine (Lupinus spp.), wild geranium (Geranium viscosis­

simum) , and shrubby cinquefoil (Potentilla fruticosa).

The dry open sites are dominated by bluebunch wheatgrass

(Agropyron spicatum) , prairie Junegrass (Koeleria cristata), and

one-spiked oatgrass (Danthonia unispicata). These grasses are

usually in the company of fringed sage (Artemisia frigida), pussytoes

(Antennarla spp.), yarrow, cutleaf daisy (Erigeron compositus), and

big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata).

Three gen eral zones make up the fo r e st area. At the lower

elevations and on some of the drier exposures the dominant vegeta­

tion consists of very open stands of Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa)

with a lush understory of bunchgrasses with forbs coming in toward

the higher elevations. In the higher parts of this zone, the

cover composition includes a prominent scattering of creeping

hollygrape (Mahonia repens), ninebark (Physocarpus malvaceus),

balsamroot (Balsamorrhiza saglttata) and an occasional growth of

common juniper (Juniperus communis).

The main forest zone, which includes some drier south and

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west exposures at higher elevations, is dominated by mixed stands

of Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga mensiesii) , and Lodgepole pine (Pinus

contorta), with localized stands of Ponderosa pine. Fire and other

disturbances seem to perpetuate the latter species in the Douglas

fir zone. This forest understory includes pinegrass (Calamagrostis

rubescens) , elk sedge (Carex geyeri), big huckleberry (Vaccinium

roembranaceum) , Oregon grape, snowberry (Symphoricarpus r iv u la r is ) ,

Kinnikinnick (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi), ninebark, and woodland

strawberry (Fragaria virginiana) .

The riparian forests include black cottonwood (Populus

trichocarpa) , willow (Salix spp.), aspen (Populus tremuloides),

redosier dogwood (Cornus stolonifera) , and some chokecherry (Prunus

virginiana).

Between August 17th and 26th, 1965, Mr, Robert Hium, a range

manager with the Bureau of Land Management (Department of Interior),

spent eight days doing an observation reconnaissance of the range

land in the vicinity of the study site. Mr. Hium's work covered

7,487 (89.3 percent) acres of the bighorn winter range. Of the

acreage surveyed, 4,248 (56.8 percent) acres were classified as

unsuitable for cattle use because of dense timber and steep slopes.

The remainder of the range land was classified into nine range

types which are listed in the appendix of this study.

W ildlife Resource

The Rock Creek drainage in the past supported a population of

game animals many times greater than it has since the influx of

white man and his agrarian culture. The reason for this is that

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most of the bottom land and much of the choice range area, formerly

available to wildlife, has been committed to the raising of live­

stock. Fortunately, most of the animal species originally found

in this area still remain. Of the game animals, only the bison (Bison

bison), grizzly bear (Ursus arctos), timber wolf (Canis lupus),

and the sharp-tailed grouse (Pedioecetes phasianellus) failed to

survive the agriculture and population growth experienced by the

area between 1885 and 1925.

There still remains on and about the study site a variety,

and during the w in ter a number o f game anim als, ra rely seen on an

area of comparable size outside of a National Park, wilderness, or

refuge area. Moose (Alces alces), elk (Cervus canadensis), white-

tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) , and mule deer (Odocoileus

hemionus), as well as bighorn sheep regularly use the winter range.

Mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus) are regularly sighted in two

areas within eight miles of the study site. Three species of

rabbit: mountain cottontail (Sylvilagus nuttalli), snowshoe hare

(Lepus americanus), white-tailed j ackrabbit(Lepus towns end i ), and

four species of upland game birds: blue grouse (Dendragapus obscurus),

spruce grouse (Canachites canadensis), ruffed grouse (Bonasa

umbellus), and the introduced ringneck pheasant (Phasianus

colchicus) have all been seen during the month of May. About a

dozen mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) wintered along the nine and a

half mile stretch of Rock Creek bordering the bighorn sheep range.

An occasional American goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) was seen

using the same water during January and February. Late in March

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and early in April migrating groups of teals, blue-winged (Anas dis-

cors), green-winged (Anas carollnensis), and cinnamon teal (A. cyanop-

tera), shovellers (Spatula clypeata) , American mergansers(Mergus

merganser), and hooded mergansers (Lophodytes cucullatus), lesser

scaup (Aythya affin is), and a pair of wood ducks (Aix sponsa) were

observed. Three black bears (Ursus americanus) were observed on the

study site but none were seen until after the first of May.

Other mammals observed along Rock Creek during the winter

included the beaver (Castor canadensis), muskrat (Ondatra zibethica) ,

mink (Must e la v is o n ) , and o t t e r (Lutra c a n a d e n sis). Badgers

(Taxidea taxus), skunks (Mephitis mephitis), and porcupines

(Erethizon dorsatum) first appeared in late April.

Bobcat (Lynx rufus) and coyote (Canis latrans) signs were ob­

served almost daily. There were no signs of mountain lion seen at

Rock Creek but during the fall of 1967 three people observed lion

tracks on the southern end of the Neal ranch, about a quarter mile

from the sheep range.

In addition to the mentioned animals, there is a large and

varied small mammal and bird population in the area (see appendix).

The to t a l sp e c ie s count is 32 mammals and 61 b ir d s. This is a rich

fauna for this location and it is probably due to the number of

different vegetative types and the different degrees of use on each.

Noteworthy among the birds observed were three golden eagles

seen during the months of January and February. These birds were

not seen after February 22nd. Two immature bald eagles were

observed five times during the same period and were last seen

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March 5th. Seven Lewis’s woodpeckers were observed January 17th

in the top of a Douglas fir. They were not seen again during the

rest of the field experience.

Biotic - Edaphic - Geologic Relationships

Six months of sheep observations disclosed the following facts :

1. Forty-two percent of the bighorn sheep observations

occurred on less than 5 percent of the winter range dominated by

the Trapper soil series. This soil series overlies Tertiary con­

glomerate, a relatively rich source of magnesium (Mg), sodium (Na),

potassium (K), and calcium (Ca). Preference for this soil series

appears to transcend the vegetational differences of the site.

Sheep were often observed in the timber of this area, a sight not

observed elsewhere on the range.

Next to the Trapper soil series, the bighorn sheep now

prefer the area underlain by the Helena precambrian formation

over the area in the Ravalli formation. This is probably, though

not necessarily, due to the greater percent of carbonates in the

form er.

2. The soils in the area, though still immature, reflect

the influence of climate and vegetation more than the influence of

the parent geology. Overlays of the soils, vegetation, and slope

exposures of the winter range correspond very closely. There is

only a minor relationship between geologic maps and the soil series.

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3. About 700 acres of the bighorn winter range are in

the Loberg soil series. This soil series was developed under a

dense boreal coniferous forest. Today 350 acres of the soil series

now support grass. This is due, in part, to forest fires during

the 1920's, but mostly to the homestead clearing and heavy graz­

ing pressure since the turn of the century.

4. The bighorn sheep appear tradition-bound to the

vicinity of the rocky creek face and cliffs. The sheep were never

observed using the lush vegetation of the Rock Creek Valley bottom,

nor were they observed taking advantage of the good climax grass

stands over two miles from the Rock Creek face.

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THE ROCK CREEK SHEEP HERD

« H istory

Current evidence indicates that wild sheep crossed into North

America via the Bering-Chukchi platform from Siberia sometime be­

fore the mid-Pleistocene (Cowan, 1940). After crossing, these

sheep were divided into two major groupsby subsequent glaciation.

Sheep ancestral to the Dali sheep (Ovis dalli) survived and devel­

oped in the Alaska-Yukon refugium and a species similar to the

bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) developed south of the glaciation.

Geist (1967) believes that the present Ovis canadensis races

survived the height of the last glaciation at low elevations in

present day southern California, During the retreat of the last

glaciation there was a post-glacial period of high temperatures

and drought (Richmond, 1965). This interval of minimum effective

precipitation reached a peak between 6,500 and 4,500 years ago.

It is most likely that during this time the drought-adapted bighorn

sheep emigrated north to Montana.

After the dry period, there was a slight cooling and conifer­

ous forest developed and spread throughout western Montana, divid­

ing and limiting the dominating grass type (Richmond, 1965).

Geist (1966) speculates that it was during this contraction of

52.

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their range that bighorn sheep evolved the tradition of range

establishment and migration. Older animals in a herd would guide

the band along the learned routes through forests to other avail­

able habitats. In this way, a herd's chances for survival and

growth were increased despite a diminishing range.

I t w i l l never be known for sure when tem peratures and fo r e st

growth first forced bighorn sheep onto the present Rock Creek winter

range. The present wintering area is the most inaccessible and

economically undesirable portion of the original winter range.

Couey (1950) feels that the prehistoric winter range involved the

whole of the Granite County grass plateau between the upper Rock

Creek and Flint Creek Valleys. The 70-year historical record

verifies that bighorn sheep have wintered as far north along Rock

Creek as Cougar Creek and as far south as State Road 38. These

extensions more than triple the current winter range area.

Agriculture, stock raising, and market hunting between 1850

and 1900 were directly responsible for decimating the original Rock

Creek sheep herd and lim itin g the o r ig in a l w in ter range. Though

the primitive bighorn sheep numbers are not known, bighorn sheep

were claimed to have been more plentiful than deer about 1890

(Montana State Department of Fish and Game, 1956 Annual Report)

and, during the winter of 1889-1890, 300 deer were killed for market

along Rock Creek (Siria, 1937). This would indicate that the sheep

numbered at least 400 animals.

During the late 1880's, there was a statewide alarm at

Montana's vanishing big game resource. In 1885, the state's first

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fissouÂ/r

CA/r^Ælr faute RtVUU

DfuMfioiuo

^ffPPHi/te

niveu

pmUPSQURG A

HUmiLTOA/

pR£S£l^r WiNT£R RlNOÆ

V/ihirsp R angs PRioR To I8SO

Figure 8. Former and Present Limits of Bighorn Sheep Distribution in Granite County

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wildlife legislation was passed prohibiting the intrastate sale of

big game hides. Two years later market hunting was outlawed and in

1895 the first bag limits were set. Montana's bighorn sheep hunt­

ing season was initially closed for eight years between 1897 and

1904. The season was again closed in 1915 and was not opened again

in the Rock Creek area until 1954, 39 years later (Table 3).

Long time residents of Rock Creek agree that the bighorn

sheep were reduced to an all time low between 1915 and 1917, when

only eight individual sheep were observed (M. Vtyman and M. Rodda,

personal communication, 196 7). This small number of animals

shifted their winter range north below Hogback Creek to the cliffs

above the old Rock Creek Ranger Station (M. Wyman, personal commun­

ication, 1967; 1935-36 U. S. Forest Service Winter Game Survey).

The shift north and the low number were likely in response to the

homesteading activity and poor range condition existent on the

present winter range at that time.

The Rock Creek sheep failed to show a marked response to the

first 20 years of protective management. In 1935 only 12-20 sheep

were known to local ranchers and only 7 sheep were counted by the

U. S. Forest Service during a WPA sponsored winter-long game sur­

vey (J. G illis, M. %^man, personal communication, 1967; 1934-35

U. S. Forest Service Philipsburg Game Survey). The sheep shifted

back to the present winter range during the late 1930's, when

human activity about the area had decreased. Little is known

about the herd through the 1940's and early 1950's, but it appears

to have increased slowly. Couey (1950) reported 40 sheep in 1944,

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TABLE 3

HUNTING REGULATIONS AFFECTING THE ROCK CREEK BIGHORN SHEEP

Year Lim it Seas on Number o f Days

1872 First hunting season limit set. 1872 None Aug. 15 - Feb. 1 169 1873- 1887 None July 15 - Feb. 1 200 1885 Law Prohibiting the exporting of big game hides out of state, 1887 Law prohibiting the selling of big game. 1887- 1889 None Sept. 15 - Jan. 1 107 1891- 1892 None Sept. 15 - Jan. 15 122 1893- 1896 None Aug. 15 - Dec. 15 122 1895 First state game wardens appointed. 1897 First bag limits set. 1901- 1903 6, either sex 122 1903- 1905 ------Bighorn sheep season closed. 1905 First hunting licenses sold. 1905- 1906 1 , either sex Sept. 1 - Dec. 31 122 1907- 1908 1 , either sex Sept. 1 - Nov. 30 91 1909- 1912 1 , either sex Oct. 1 - Nov. 30 61 1913- 1914 1 , adult ram Oct. 1 - Nov. 30 61 1915- 1953 State's bighorn sheep at a precarious level--season closed on a long term b a s i s . 1954 Rock Creek Area opened to permit hunting.

Year Permit Seas on Number i

1954 5 rams, 3/4 curl Sept . 15 - Nov. 15 62 1955 5 rams, 3/4 curl Sept . 15 - Nov . 15 62 1956 Closed — •— 1957 Closed — — 1958 5 rams, 3/4 curl Oct. 19 - Nov. 30 42 1959 Closed — — 1960 4 rams, 3/4 curl Oct. 16 - Nov. 20 35 1961 5 rams Oct. 15 - Nov. 19 35 5 either sex adults 1962 25 e ith e r sex ad u lts Oct. 21 - Nov. 25 35 1963 10 either sex adults Sept . 15 - Nov. 24 69 1964 5 rams, 3/4 curl Sept . 19 - Nov. 22 64 1965 5 rams, 3/4 curl Oct. 24 - Nov. 28 35 1966 5 either sex adults Sept . 24 - Nov. 27 65 1967 5 either sex adults Sept . 23 - Nov. 26 63

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McDowell (1952) counted 39 in 1952, and 44 sheep were mentioned In

the 1953 annual Montana Fish and Game Report, The actual sheep

figure between 1900 and 1935 was never higher than 75 animals.

During the winter of 1953-54, long time resident Harold

Vfyman, counted 63 sheep on the winter range (M. Wyman, personal

communication, 1967). That same winter, the Montana State Depart­

ment of Fish and Game made two ground surveys and counted 44 sheep

in February and 48 in March. An aerial count in May netted 31

animals. With these data, the Montana Fish and Game Commission

decided to open the Rock Creek Sheep Season to limited permit hunt­

ing. Since 1954, there have been 11 hunting seasons with a total

of 64 animals legally removed from the winter range (Table 4).

The hunting appears to have stimulated the herd, for their

numbers increased to a census high of 130 sheep (University of

Montana W inter Census, 1961). The a c tu a l number was probably be­

tween 150-175 animals. During the winter of 1964-65, a University

of Montana w ildlife class censused 103 bighorns on what was actually

a little less than two-thirds of the true winter range, suggesting

th a t the a c tu a l number s t i l l remained above 150 anim als.

During the 1965 calendar year, the Rock Creek herd declined

s e v e r e ly and a t th is w r itin g they number le s s than 62 anim als.

Decline of 1965

Dramatic bighorn sheep die-offs are not unusual. In two years

(1952 and 1953) the Tarryall Herd of central Colorado experienced a

decline from 1,500 animals to less than 300 (Moser, 1962). Less

severe was the 1928 decline of Idaho's Salmon River Herd, from

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TABLE 4

SUMMARY OF BIGHORN SHEEP PERMITS AND KILLS

Sex K ille d Year Permits Sex K ill Rams Ewes Unknown

1954 5 3/4 curl rams 5 5 0 0

1955 5 3/4 curl rams 2 2 0 0

1956 C losed

1957 C lo sed

1958 5 3 /4 c u r l rams 4 4 0 0

1959 Closed

1960 4 3 /4 c u r l rams 4 4 0 0

1961 10 either sex adults 10 8 2 0

1962 25 either sex adults 19 17 2 0

1963 10 either sex adults 10 6 1 3

1964 5 3 /4 c u r l rams 3 3 0 0

1965 5 w/4 c u r l rams 3 3 0 0

1966 5 either sex adults 3 3 0 0

1967 5 either sex adults 1 1 0 0

T otals 84 64 56 5 5

156 to 94 animals (Smith, 1954). In Montana, the Sun River Herd

dropped from nearly 700 head to less than 100 in 1924-25 (Couey,

1950) and the Glacier National Park population fell from 207 animals

in 1917 to less than 20 animals in 1937 (Buechner, 1960). C. J.

Henry, former refuge manager of the National Bison Range, in 1961,

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reviewed the population data on what is the best censused sheep

herd in the country, and noted a natural loss of 5 2 animals from a

herd of 86 in 1930 and 26 animals from a herd of 48 in 1939.

Decimating factors such as range depletion and competition

(M ills, 1937; Honess and Frost, 1942; Packard, 1946; Cowan, 1947;

Cowan, 1950; Buechner, 1960; Johnson, 1963; McCullough and Schneegas,

1966), specific mineral deficiencies (Packard, 1946; Miller, 1942;

Pulling, 1945; Smith, 1954) predation (Packard, 1946; Cowan, 1947),

hunting pressure (Swank, 1958; Buechner, 1960), and parasites (Beck-

lund and Senger, 1967) have been implicated as important controls of

wild sheep populations. Specific parasites and diseases such as

scabies (Spencer, 1943; Packard, 1946; Smith, 1954; Jones et al. ,

1957; Buechner, 1960), coccidiosis (Packard, 1946; Comtor, 1959),

and the lungworm-pneumonia complex (Buechner, 1960; Forrester and

Senger, 1963) have all been advanced as causing severe and dramatic

die-offs. The true cause of such notable sheep declines probably

lies in the combination of factors predisposing a given herd to

the epidemic effects of a specific disease. Such factors as popu­

lation size, range size and condition, herd condition, and climate

are the true causative agents since the specific parasites and

disease organisms are often found among healthy herds.

On Saturday, January 30, 1965, Dr. Leslie Pengelly's Big Game

Conservation Class and the W ildlife Club, from the University of

Montana, made their second annual big game census of the Rock Creek

winter range. Thirty-eight faculty and students censused the sheep

range from Upper Willow Creek to Sheep Culch. This group recorded

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12 rams, 20 ewes, 7 lambs, and 64 sheep they were not able to

classify, for a total of 103 bighorn sheep. On January 29, 1966,

one year later, 34 people, including four professional w ildlife men,

censused the same area and counted 9 rams, 29 ewes, and 8 lambs, for

a total of 46 sheep. (Table 5) This was the first indication that

the Rock Creek herd had suffered a decline. Some of the possible

factors contributing to this high mortality are outlined below.

Climate of 1965

The nearest permanent weather station to the Rock Creek winter

range is located 13 miles east at the Philipsburg Ranger Station

(U. S. F. S.). The altitude, precipitation, and temperature there

appear to be comparable to that of the study site. These weather

data were reviewed for 1965 in an attempt to assess the climate

stress during the decline.

The w in ter o f 1965 was co ld er and w etter than normal and the

snow pack in th e mountains was u n u su ally heavy. March and A pril

were alternately wet and cold with moderate to high precipitation.

May was cold and snowy and two state records for low temperatures

were set during the latter part of the month. The spring green-up

was three weeks behind normal (Philpisburg D istrict Ranger, personal

communication, 1967). June continued with greater than normal pre­

cipitation and snow above 7,000 feet.

July was unusually cloudy with cool days and warmer nights

than usual. Mid-August brought an end to a very short summer, with

cold rains and snow above 8,500 feet. The month of August broke a

70-year record for low average temperature. The summer of 1965 was

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TABLE 5

A SUMMARY OF THE BIGHORN SHEEP CENSUSES IN THE ROCK CREEK AREA SINCE 1954

Lambs Rams L & Y* L & Y* and Per Per Per T otal Year­ Unci. 100 100 100 Year Rams Ewes Adults lin g s Sheep T otal Ewes Ewes Adults

1954- Dec . 16 29 45 11 56 55 38 24

1956- 57 11 28 39 12 ---- 51 72 - - 31

1959- 60 75 — — — — ---

1960- 61 — — — — — ™ — * •— — 130 48 51 34

1961- 62 — — 38 —' — 23 — w 100 — — 61 —

1964- 65 12 20 32 7 64 103 60 35 22

1965- 66 9 29 38 8 — — 46 31 28 21

1966- 67 10 27 37 10 47 OT — — — — —

1967- W inter & Spring 12 35 47 15 -* 62 - - ---

*Lambs and Y earlin gs

a poor year for hay crops In western Montana. September continued

cold, setting a record as the coldest September in the state's

history. The Missoula weather bureau categorized the extreme cold

as rare and not likely to occur more than once in a hundred years.

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October, November, and December warmed somewhat and tempera­

tures were above normal for these months, while the precipitation

dropped, for the first time in 1965, to below normal.

A further review of the weather records dating back to 1950

disclosed that 1965 had the worst weather for grass, livestock, and

big game production in the last 15 years.

P a r a site s o f the Rock Creek Herd

Lungworm

The studies of Fillmore (1960-61), Allen (1962,1964), and

Forrester and Senger (1963-64) have made lungworm one of the most

widely known bighorn sheep parasites. Buechner (1960) concluded

that some populations of Ovis c. canadensis were regulated by a lung-

worm-pneumonia complex with the lungworm as the primary etiological

factor. Pneumonia has been found in bighorn sheep without the

presence of lungworm (Marsh, 1938; Fillmore, 1958), and there are

many cases of the reverse (Forrester and Senger, 1964). There is

strong evidence that lungworm may be a predisposing factor, and that

perhaps a combination of lungworm, bacteria, and viruses interact

as a density dependent decimating factor (Forrester and Senger,

1964).

Of the four known species of lungworm infecting bighorn sheep

(Becklund and Senger, 1967), only the parenchymal lungworm,

Protostrongylus s tile si, has been recorded from the Rock Creek herd.

It was first identified by Glen Cole (Montana State University,Bozeman)

in 1950 from pellets collected by Merle Rognrud (Montana Fish and

Game Department biologist). In the years between 1958 and 1963,

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Forrester and Senger, working out of the University of Montana,

c o lle c t e d 25 lung samples from the Rock Creek herd (most from hunter

k i l l s ) . These lungs were taken from 2 ewes, 4 y e a r lin g s , and 19 rams,

4 y ears and o ld e r , and a l l were found to be in fe c te d w ith P. s t i l e s i

(F o rrester and Senger, 1964).

In 1961, Forrester measured the total lesion area of the lungs

o f s i x mature Rock Creek rams and found a mean t o t a l o f 742 mm^ o f

lesioned area. The following year he repeated the same measure­

ment with the lungs of eight rams, this time with a mean total of

1,531 mm^, indicating an increase in the degree of infection

(Forrester and Senger, 1964). This infection is moderate, however,

when compared with the 2,332 mro^ mean total lesion area of the 83

lung samples involved in the whole study. It is interesting that

the Rock Creek herd was increasing in the degree of infection.

Forrester and Senger terminated their work in 1963, two years be­

fore the sheep decline.

During the course of this study 5 lung and fecal samples were

collected. Three of these samples were from young rams killed dur­

ing the 1966 hunting season, the other two animals were found in

the spring during the course of field investigation. Gerald O'Bryan,

a parasitology student working under the direction of Professor William

Rowan, University of Montana, analyzed both the lung and fecal samples.

His fin d in g s, along w ith F o rrester and Senger's Rock Creek lungworm

data, are tabulated in Table 6.

The w ild sheep o f Rock Creek were in fe c te d w ith the lungworm

parasite both before and after the 1965

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TABLE 6

INCIDENCE OF LUNGWORM INFECTION IN THE BIGHORN SHEEP OF ROCK CREEK (1966 -1967 Research [Aderhold and Berwick])

Degree o f lungworm Age Sex Secured L ocation larvae infection

3 -1 /2 Ram 10/3/66 Windlass moderate

3 -1 /2 Ram 11/13/66 Windlass moderate

4 -1 /2 Ram 11/29/66 Jimmy Leaf very lig h t

8 -1 /2 Ram 4 /1 4 /6 7 Capron lig h t*

3 -1 /2 Ewe 5 /1 1 /6 7 Capron lig h t* *

(1958-1963 Research [Forrester and Senger,1964])

1. Of 37 fecal samples collected, 35 (95 percent) of the samples were positive for the first stage larva of the lungworm Protostrongylus stilesi .

2. Lung analysis of 25 bighorn sheep (2 ewes, 4 yearlings, 2 young [2-3 years] rams, 19 rams [4 years and older]) disclosed a 100 p ercen t lungworm in f e c t io n ,

3. No incidence of the common bighorn sheep parasite Protostrongylus rushi was found from the sheep of Rock Creek.

Reported as heavily infected based upon examination of the lungs by J. Broger, D.V.M., Missoula, Montana. Reported as not infected based upon an examination of the lungs by Dr. J. Broger,

decline. The degree of infestation appears to have been increasing

during the winter of 1962, however the current degree of infection

contributes some doubt as to the lungworm being the decimating

factor in the 1965 and currently continuing decline.

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N osebots

There are only e ig h t known records o f the n oseb ot, Oestrus

ovis, parasitizing bighorn sheep (Capelle, 1966). This parasite

is normally found in domestic sheep and goats and bighorn sheep

are believed to be a relatively new host. This parasite was not

reported by any of the Rock Creek hunters interviewed nor has it

been noted by any of the local taxidermists mounting bighorn heads.

This parasite was not observed during this study. Nosebots were

recorded on the ewe found dead along Rock Creek in 1966 and taken

to the Public Health Laboratory in Hamilton, Montana.

Ticks

Two researchers, Eugene Hughes and Harley Sargent, from the

Public Health Service Laboratory in Hamilton, Montana, suggested

that the tick paralysis might be a possible decimating factor in

the Rock Creek sheep. Tick paralysis is a peculiar paralyzing

effect produced by the bite of a rapidly engorging female tick,

especially when attached on the back of the neck or at the base of

the skull. There is no evidence of any infective organism being

involved. The cause of the paralysis is still obscure, but Jellison

and Gregson (1950) have obtained evidence that the eggs of ticks

contain a highly toxic substance or that such a substance is formed

during the egg development that eventually makes its way to the

salivary glands and is transmitted during bites. Since the paral­

ysis is not invariably produced by ticks situated at the base of

the neck, it is possible that the bite must pierce or come in con­

tact with a nerve or nerve ending.

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Three days (May 22-24, 1967) were spent flagging the sheep

haunts for ticks. In all, 214 ticks were taken off the ground

(Sheep Gulch, 2 days: 70 and 101; Capron Creek area, 18; Jimmy

L eaf Gulch area, 6; and 19 from the Boomer Ranch [SE 1 /4 , SW 1 /4 ,

Sec. 17]). All but one of the ticks proved to be common wood ticks,

Dermacentor andersoni. The remaining tick was a winter tick,

Dermacentor albipictus, found in the Capron Creek area. In addi­

tion to these, the researchers found a dead ewe at the mouth of

Sheep Gulch from which they removed 17 D. andersoni and 43 D.

albipictus, for a total of 274 ticks. The ticks were tested on

hamsters with the following results tabulated in Table 7.

TABLE 7

THE RESULTS OF MR. EUGENE HUGHES' TESTS FOR TICK PARALYSIS

Number Number Ticks Hamsters Tick Species Source Tes ted Us ed R esults

D.andersoni Boomer Ranch 19 3 No paralysis D.andersoni Capron Creek area 18 3 No paralysis D.andersoni Jimmy Leaf Gulch 6 2 No paralysis D.andersoni Ewe found in Sheep Gulch 17 2 No paralysis D.albipictus Sheep Gulch,5/22 fla g g in g 70 11 2 /1 1 showed typical tick p a r a ly sis D.albipictus Sheep Gulch,5/24 fla g g in g 101 10 1 /1 0 showed typical tick p a r a ly sis D.albipictus Ewe found in Sheep Gulch 43 5 4/5 hamsters died within 11 days; an anerobe was is o la te d from 2. 274 36

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Six attempts were made by Mr. Hughes to establish an Infecting agent

in eggs. Nothing of a rickettsial or viral nature was isolated.

Twenty-four guinea pigs were treated with inoculants of the ticks;

11 showed a lower titre of spotted fever antibodies in their blood

from both D. andersoni and D. albipictus; one guinea pig showed an

appreciable titre of Q fever antibodies from D. albipictus.

It is hard to draw conclusions from such a relatively small

sample of ticks. It can be said that a small percentage of the

winter ticks of Rock Creek are capable of causing tick paralysis

while an even smaller number of both wood and winter ticks around

Rock Creek are able to transmit spotted fever. What effect this

has on the Rock Creek sheep is yet unknown.

A sample of 41 ticks (in alcohol) from the 100+ that were

taken from the 8-1/2 year old ram found at Capron Creek were sent

to Mr. Hughes and he identified them all as D. albipictus. Also

sent to Hamilton were 11 partly gorged female ticks from the poached

ewe that was found. They were identified as D. albipictus and tested

on six hamsters, four of which died within 30 days.

Both of the Public Health researchers were surprised at the

relatively small number of ticks, both winter and wood ticks, on

the sheep range. That the tick numbers were in fact down from pre­

vious years was supported by the residents of Rock Creek.

Roundworms

The fo llo w in g data presented in Table 8 is a summary of the

roundworm eggs that were identified from fecal samples of the three

hunter-killed and two found sheep that were mentioned in the lungworm

sec t io n .

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TABLE 8

NEMATODES RECOVERED FROM THE ROCK CREEK SHEEP AUTOPSIED THE WINTER OF 1966-67

Sheep Where Number ___ Ag€> and Sex Found Findings

1 3 -1 /2 year old ram Windlass Trichostrongyles sp. - Gulch Trichostrongylidae family o f hookworms

2 3 -1 /2 year old ram Windlass No nematode eggs found Gulch

3 4 -1 /2 year old ram Jimmy Leaf Trichostrongyles sp. hook­ Gulch worm, Nematodirus sp. hookworrà, T rich uris sp. whipworm

4 8 -1 /2 year old ram Capron Trichuris sp ., Nematodirus Creek S £ .

5 3 -1 /2 y ear old ewe Capron Trichuris sp ., Skrjabinema Creek sp. probably S. ovis.

In domestic animals severe infection of Nematodirus sp. and

Trichostrongyles sp. are the result of poor nutrition or of over­

whelming initial infections, for usually the animals build up an

immunity resulting in "self cure" by expulsion of the worms followed

by resistance to reinfection. The occurrence of diarrhea, emacia­

tion, failure to gain weight, anemia, general weakness, and un­

thriftiness in the presence of considerable numbers of trlcho-

strongylids, is prime evidence of faulty nutrition usually result­

ing from poor pasturage or range conditions.

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Protozoans

Examination of feces from the five sheep mentioned brought

forth the following coccidians:

Eimeria arloingi was found in 3 of the 5,

Eimeria crandallis was found in 1 of the 5,

Eimeria intricate was found in 1 of the 5.

The pathogenicity of coccidians in adult sheep is a contro­

versial question. While coccidiosis in domestic animals is often

a serious disease, there are no records of wild bighorns being so

a f f e c t e d .

Domestic Sheep Intrusion

Between Capron Creek and Sheep Gulch, on the winter range,

there is a 1,399-acre ranch that formerly belonged to Pearl Andreasen

and her brother, Warren Anderson. These people reportedly ran 40-50

head of sheep, 30 head of cattle, and 3-4 horses during the early

1950's. Mr. Anderson passed away in the mid-1950's and his sister

sold their stock. Mrs. Andreasen then leased her land to the

neighboring\fyman ranch until Mr. l^man died in 1961, The land was

then leased to Clifford Braach for one summer and then left Idle

during 1963 and 1964.

On May 4, 1965, Mrs. Andreasen sold the ranch to Albert and

Evelyn Boomer, sheep ranchers, from Maxvilie, Montana,about 35

miles from Rock Creek. The Boomers took on Chester Brewer as an

undocumented partner to run the new ranch. The grass on this ranch

at the time of purchase was reported excellent by the local ranchers

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(Ifyman, N ea l, Luth je , person al communication, 196 7). Mr. Brewer

moved his family to the ranch on May 1, 1965, and just before June,

1965, he and Mr. Boomer turned out 300 lamb-ewe pairs of domestic

sheep, 39 head of cattle, and several horses on the bighorn winter

range (Brewer, personal communication, 1967).

During the late summer and early fall of 1965, these ranchers

los t 70 lambs and 13 or 14 ewes. Five of the lambs the Brewers

credited as bear kills and the rest of the deaths were attributed

to coyotes. Wilfred Dufour (personal communication, 1967), Area

Conservationist (SOS), checked the area at the time of the deaths

and believed that the range was not in as good condition as it

appeared and that the Boomer sheep deaths were due to early grazing

on lupine, death camas, and low larkspur. Robert Hium (personal

communication, 1967), range manager with the Bureau of Land Manage­

ment (Missoula), analyzed the Boomer range during the third week in

August, 1965, and estimated the whole ranch contained 184 animal

units months of grazing. Since the Boomers did not lease any other

range land in this area, their stocking rate was more than double

the grazing capacity and Mr. Hium believed their losses were due

to malnutrition.

Fall rains prevented the Boomers from taking their stock off

the sheep range until late in October. This late removal further

damaged the already depleted range. That fall the Boomer's re­

duced their stock on this ranch to fewer than 200 animals and did

not graze sheep on the bighorn range during the summers of 1966

and 1967.

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Whlle researching this overstocking incident, it was noticed

that there was much popular feeling that this overstocking directly

caused the sheep decline. The following facts do not clearly sup­

port or deny this contention:

1. The wild sheep usually leave the winter

range before June first, when the domestic sheep

were turned out.

2. Very few wild sheep remains were found on

the winter range, indicating that the decline, while

possibly predisposed on the winter range, actually

took place on the summer range.

3. The drastic bighorn sheep decline was dis­

covered in mid-January, 1966, too early in the winter

to be attributed solely to the depletion of the

Boomer rangeland.

4. It is possible that the domestic sheep

could have brought a pathogen to the area which was

transmitted to the susceptible wild sheep as they

were departing the winter range.

5. The late domestic stocking of the sheep

range could have inhibited the fall return to the

winter range. This migration is usually from the

north and n e c e s s ita te s cro ssin g the Boomer lands.

It is certain that the overstocked range remains in poor condi­

tion today (1967) and this condition undoubtedly affected the sheep sur­

v iv in g the summer o f 1965.

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Local Cattle Disorders

Bladder stones

Calcified bladder stones (urinary calculi) block the urethral

passage preventing urination and causing the bladder to swell, eventu­

ally rupturing either the bladder or the urethra, resulting, if un­

treated, in infection and death. The cause of bladder stone formation

in cattle is not definitely known. Usually hard water, a deficiency

of vitamin A, an improper balance of calcium and phosphorus, or

lack of water are believed responsible (Bailey, I960). The malady

is usually found in bulls and steers and this is probably due to the

fact that the sigmoid flexure of the penis in bulls and steers

favors the lodging of the stones. Kicking at the belly, backing

up, treading, bawling, and general uneasiness are the usual symp­

toms .

This is Bob N e a l's number one c a t t l e problem and h is sto ck

dominate the sheep range during the summer. The trouble is usually

noticed shortly after the cattle are removed from the range land

in the fall, leading one to believe that the problem is related to

the quality of the forage taken from the bighorn range. The soil

on the range is notably deficient in phosphates and this is un­

doubtedly true of the forage produced.

Foot ro t

Foot rot is caused by the bacteria Actinomyces necrophorus,

which is generally found in mud or filth, and causes trouble after

the sk in has been broken by some kind o f in ju ry . The symptoms

usually start with lameness. This causes the animal to favor one

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foot, causing it to grow disproportionately. There is usually a

swelling and reddening of the skin about the toes or hoof. All of

the Rock Creek ranchers mentioned isolated cases of this disease.

Calf scours

The cause of calf scours is not definitely known, but it

appears to be due to a deficiency of vitamin A. This deficiency

lowers the reserve of vitamin A stored in the liver of the pregnant

cow. This vitamin protects the lining of the digestive tract and

is important for producing healthy calves. This problem generally

occurs during the early spring calving time and causes a 3 to 5

percent loss annually.

Calving problems

All of the ranchers mentioned problems centering around the

fact that some cows were unable to drop their calves and bring

them through their first week without help. These problems are

classically due to low vitamin A levels, low iodine intake, and

poor general nutritional state.

Population Factor

Of the roughly 8,380 acres of land that make up the total

known winter range of the Rock Creek bighorns, 968 acres are rock

outcrop or talus slopes devoid of all vegetation. Another 767

acres are in timber, mostly Douglas fir, so dense that there is

very little to no understory, a biological desert for big game

and domestic stock. In much the same condition is another 197

acres of Big Sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) so dense as to

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completely dominate other vegetation. The remaining 6,458 acres

of the sheep range are divided between an open tlmber-grassland

type, 2,630 acres (31,4 percent) and open grasslands or true range,

3,828 acres (45.7 percent). These last two areas support all of the

big game using this wintering area and the stock from four ranching

o p era tio n s during the summer. The a b i l i t y o f the forage resource

to support these animals Is primarily dependent on the Immediate

climate and the animal population.

Robert Hium estimated that, during the summer of 1965,

3,229 acres of the winter range had the slope and forage con­

ditions to support domestic cattle. Mr. Hium assigned this

area a grazing capacity of 1,072 animal unit months (AUM) or.

In other words, 3,229 acres capable of supporting 1,072 one-

thousand-pound animals for one month. Mr. Hium's estimates and

maps were reviewed and the winter range also rechecked on foot

and from aerial photos, and It was estimated that there were

not more than 200 AUM's of forage available on the steeper

slopes and Isolated benches for big game animals. Thus, there

exists a maximum total of 1,272 AUM's avalable to grazing animals

on the winter range.

A check with the local ranchers disclosed that, during the

summer of 1965, there were approximately 11 bulls, 230 cow-calf

pairs, 300 ewe-lamb pairs, and 22 horses using the winter range

for periods varying between three and six months. Translated Into

animal unit months, using the ratio of body weights as a replacement

factor (1 animal unit = 1,000 pounds = 1 cow-calf pair = 3/4 bull =

3/4 horse = 8 mule deer = 6.7 ewe-lamb pairs = 6.7 wild bighorn

sheep), we get a total summer use of 1,635 animal unit months.

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Checking the winter population, there was an estimated 175

wild sheep in 1964-65. These animals shared the winter range with

mule deer, elk, and horses. During the winter of 1967, there were

close to 500 mule deer and about 40 elk using the winter range.

Assuming that there were at least 400 deer and 40 elk on the range

the winter of 1965, a computation can be made of a winter grazing

load of 809 AUM's. Thus, the total annual grazing pressure of

2,444 AUM's existed on a range rated a proper use of 1,272 AUM's.

A survey of the local ranchers also disclosed that the 1965

summer grazing pressure was the greatest of the decade (1960's).

In no year during the 1960's did the pressure vary less than 20

percent, which still resulted in the grazing pressure being 50 per­

cent higher than the grazing capacity. Heavy winter snows grad­

ually shrank this available range, leaving only the south slopes,

wind swept ridge tops, and the steep Rock Creek face to support over

700 animal units at a density of no less than three animals per acre.

Mule deer are the critical competitors during these winter

times. There is a definite lack of the preferred deer browse

species on this range. To compensate, the deer appear to have in­

creased the grass portion of their diet and were regularly observed

grazing during the late spring months. This strongly contrasts

with the normal winter diet of Montana's intermountain mule deer

(Knoche, Taber, and Morris, personal communication, 196 7).

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Winter Observations

The following has been distilled from over 150 observations of

the Rock Creek bighorn population. During the fall of 1966, 71

sheep returned to the winter range. Hiis population consisted of

16 rams, 40 ew es, and 15 lambs and y e a r lin g s . During the f a l l hunt­

ing season, three rams were killed. Fresh skulls of three ewes

were found between la t e March and mid-May, during the sp rin g m elt.

Two more ewes and a ram were discovered shortly after death during

m id-A pril and May. This l e f t a population o f 12 rams, 35 ewes, and

15 lambs and yearlings, for a total of 62 sheep through the 15th of

May,1967.

The o ld er rams, four years and up, l e f t the w in ter range the

last week in April and the ewes with their lambs and some yearlings

were observed drifting north during the whole month of May, This

movement during what was normally the lambing season (mid-May to

mid-June) is without precedent in the memory of local residents

(Neal, Syman, and Rotta, personal communication, 1967). By mid-

June, only six sheep were observed on the winter range. Two ewes,

two lambs, and a yearling ram were seen periodically throughout the

summer near Squaw Rock (S ectio n 16) and a lone ewe was observed

twice during late June just south of Flat Gulch. No lambing was

observed taking place near the cliff face of Rock Creek where

lambing has occurred in former years (M. Ityman, R. Neal, H. Grotbo,

personal communication, 1967) or anywhere else on the winter range.

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The bighorn sheep enter and depart the winter range from the

north. In December, when the field portion of the study began, rams

and ewes were observed together in two groups. One group was ob­

served on the severely overgrazed ridge in back of the Brewer ranch

house (Section 17) and the other group grazed on the ridge between

Mill and Flat Gulches. In January, the mature rams segregated

themselves from the ewes with the four oldest rams forming a band

which wintered about Capron Creek at the extreme north end of the

range. The two and three year old males became solitary and were

frequently observed alone during the winter, though usually within

one-half mile of the ewe-yearling-lamb bands. The female sheep

divided into three roughly defined bands. One wintered on Jimmy

Leaf ridge at the south end of the range, another moved between Flat

Gulch and Mill Gulch, and the third band remained on the ridge in

back of the Brewer ranch. All three ewe bands shifted, taking

advantage of the warmest exposures of their home ridges as the

day wore on. During periods of inclement weather, the sheep re­

treated to the timbered draws.

In April, all of the sheep shifted to the low, sunny, talus

slopes bordering Rock Creek where they took advantage of the range's

earliest green forage. No sheep were ever observed using the

riparian vegetation available along Rock Creek.

The Rock Creek sheep were in itially more wary than the big­

horns observed from Montana's Sun River and Yellowstone herds.

This wariness seemed to decrease as the winter wore on, a possible

indication of declining condition (Altman, 1958). An extreme

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example of this declining wariness occurred in April when a four-

year-old emaciated ewe was approached to within two feet before

the animal bolted away.

All three animals found shortly after death and autopsied

were in very poor condition with no measurable body fat and, in

the case of two of the animals, no kidney fat. The winter of 1966-

67 was long and wet, but it was warmer than normal. Nevertheless,

by late March, the majority of the animals appeared poor, movement

was sluggish, pelage worn and blotched, the rump, chest, and neck

regions of all animals were extremely lean. The animals continued

to appear this way, in spite of the emerging April and May vege­

tation, until remnants of the population were last observed in June.

Conclusions

The heavy overstocking during the homesteading era of the

1920's severely damaged the winter range resource. Heavy stock­

ing during the war years of the early 1940's and the increase in

big game animals during the 1950's and early 1960's never per­

mitted the range to recover. The rapidly increasing mule deer

population and their unusual grazing habits further limited the

already small grass resource available to the expanding bighorn

sheep herd. By 1961 the game population had exceeded their food

resource. Mild climates through early 1964 enabled the sheep to

survive at over the 150 number and the mule deer population to

surpass 400 in number. The winter of 1964-65 was very cold and

longer than usual and left the sheep in poor condition. The

summer o f 1965 was one o f the c o o le s t and w e tte s t in Montana's

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weather history and the sheep evidently were not able to recuperate.

No single disease or specific parasite Is yet known to be

responsible for the sheep die off. Lungworm was known to Infect the

herd and the s e v e r ity o f the ailm en t was known to have been on the

Increase during the early 1960's. All of the sheep autopsied during

this study had lungworm. This lends support to the supposition that

the herd had an endemic lungworm Infection which might have disposed

the animals to pneumonia during the cool, wet summer. Another fact

Is the definite deficiency of phosphate, magnesium, and vitamin A

on the winter range. Lack of these Items are known to cause

problems In the cattle using the area and, while such déficiences

do not normally affect free roaming wild animals, this could be a

factor contributing to the poor condition of the wild sheep on the

limited Rock Creek winter range. The sheep of Rock Creek have been

found to be the host for 1 2 different parasites which undoubtedly

weakened the herd and further attested to their poor condition.

Two studies followed this research at Rock Creek. Berwick

(1968) and Cooperrlder (1969) using more sophisticated sampling

techniques were able to refine many of the observations found

herein. Both researchers noted the continued decline of the big­

horn sheep herd. Cooperrlder estimated a minimum of ten wild sheep

January, 1969. Lungworm was discounted In both studies as con­

tributing significantly to the continued decline. This conclu­

sion was based on the low degree of Infection found In a six

animal sample collected 1966-1967, and a moderate percentage of

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infection found in 34 fecal samples collected 1968-1969. Berwick's

1968 winter observations disclosed that the wild sheep were not using

the northern third of the winter range available to them. This,

Berwick attributed to the overgrazed condition ot this range,

snow cover, and loss of the ram leaders. From twelve deer rumen

samples, Berwick was able to support the observation that mule deer

were taking substantial amounts of grass and most likely competing

with the wild sheep for a limited resource. Cooperrlder, concen­

trating on Rock Creek's deer herd, intensively studied this particu­

lar issue and concluded that, while the deer were eating grass

throughout the winter, there were only two months, April and May,

when the deer grass intake was high enough and the grass resource

low enough to possibly create a competitive condition. Cooperrlder

felt that the only constant grass competition was for green grass

when it first sprouted, in the early spring. Copperrider further

suggests that more important is the competition for the highly

palatable and nutritious chokecherry plants which, in 1968, existed

in a severely browsed condition on less than eight acres of the

bighorn sheep range.

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SUMMARY

Initial research into the history, winter range, and cur­

rent status of the Rock Creek bighorn sheep herd began November,

1966, and was terminated September, 1967. One hundred and thirty-

nine days were spent at the range site talking with the local

ranchers and government, soil, range, and forest managers. The

bighorn sheep population and their competition were intensively

observed and the range determinants researched. The remainder of

the study involved a history search and the collecting of scattered

reports of research work related to the sheep herd.

The extent of the winter range has been determined. The past

and present economic activity has been researched in an attempt to

discover and date the course of events that have brought the sheep

population and the winter range to their present condition. The

geology, climate, soils, vegetation, and native fauna of the winter

range have been detailed to develop the bounds within which the

wild sheep have developed and survived. Finally, the history of

this small herd was traced, some facts surrounding its most recent

decline collected, and the population's current status noted. The

research may be summarized as follows:

81-

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1. The present Rock Creek bighorn sheep winter

range is a vestige of a much larger range which for­

merly involved the grasslands of both the upper Rock

Creek and Flint Creek Valleys. What remains survives

because it is inaccessible and presently economically

unsuited for intensive development.

2. The habitat that developed the Rock Creek

bighorn herd and once existed on the winter range

has been altered by overgrazing, fire control,

predator control, fencing, and the introduction of

foreign plants during the last 75 years.

3. The pre-1965 population of over 175 bighorn

sheep was the largest population of wild sheep Rock

Creek has known in 80 years and may have been the

greatest density of bighorn sheep ever on the present

winter range.

4. The bighorn sheep show a marked preference

for the pre-Cambriam Helena Limestone Formation and

the Tertiary Conglomerate Formation possibly because

they are richer sources of Ca, Mg, Na, and K.

5. The present stocking of the winter range

both with domestic stock in the summer and big game

in the w in ter i s at a minimum one and o n e -h a lf tim es

the carrying capacity of the range.

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6 . The most recent decline of the Rock Creek

sheep herd involved the loss of over 75 animals,

occurred on the summer range during 1965, and was

predisposed by an endemic lungworm infection, a long

wet winter, combined with a cool, wet summer, and

malnutrition, due to overpopulation.

7. Due to the absence of the preferred deer

browse, large numbers of mule deer are directly com­

peting with the bighorn sheep by grazing extensively

on the limited grass resource.

8 . Current plans to expand logging and increase

recreation development, plus the increasing recreational

use of snowmobiles, should further restrict the bighorn

h erd .

9. The geology, soils, and vegetation of the

winter range are deficient in phosphates. The short­

age is evident in the cattle using the range and may

be a factor contributing to the poor condition of the

sh eep .

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. APPENDICES

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. A P P E N D IX A

SPECIES LIST OF BIRDS OBSERVED ON THE BIGHORN SHEEP WINTER RANGE

1. Mallard - Anas platyrhynchos 2. Barrow’s Goldeneye - Bucephala islandica 3. Golden Eagle - Aquila chrysaetos 4. Bald Eagle - Haliaetus leucocephalus 5. Osprey - Pandion haliaetus 6 . Spruce Grouse - Canachites canadensis 7. Ruffed Grouse - Bonasa umbellus 8 . Blue Grouse - Dendragapus obscurus 9. Killdeer - Charadrius voclferus 10. Horned Owl - Bubo virgtnianus 11. Belted Kingfisher - Megaceryle alcyon 12. Flicker - Colaptes auratus 13. Pileated Woodpecker - Dryocopus pileatus 14. Downey Woodpecker - Dendrocopos pubescens 15. Lewis's Woodpecker - Asyndesmus lewis 16. Gray Jay - Perisoreus canadensis 17. Steller's Jay - Cyanocltta stelleri 18. Black-billed Magpie - Pica pica 19. Common Raven - Corvus corax 20. Common Crow - Corvus brachvrhvnchos 21. Clark’s Nutcracker - Nucifraga columbiana 22. Black-capped Chickadee - Parus atricapillus 23. Dipper - Clnclus mexlcanus 24. Snow Bunting - P lectrophenax n iv a l is

Birds Migrating to the Rock Creek During the Spring Months

25. Great Blue Heron - Ardea herodias 26. Green-winged Teal - Anas carolinensis 27. Blue-winged Teal - Anas discors 28. Cinnamon Teal - Anas cyanoptera 29. Shoveler - Spatula clypeata 30. Wood Duck - Aix sponsa 31. Hooded Merganser - Lophodytes cucullatus 32. Common Merganser - Mergus merganser 33. Red-tailed Hawk - Buteo jamaicensis

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34. Swalnson’s Hawk - Buteo swalnsonl 35. Rough-legged Hawk - Buteo lagopus 36. Sparrow Hawk - Falco sparverius 37. Ring-necked Pheasant - Fhasianus colchicus 38. Solitary Sandpiper - Tringa solitaria 39. Mourning Dove - Zenaidura macroura 40. Eastern Kingbird - Tyrannus tyrannus 41. Violet-green Swallow - Tachycineta thalassina 42. Tree Swallow - Irloprocne bicolor 43. Barn Swallow - Hirundo rustica 44. C liff Swallow - Petrochelidon pyrrhonota 45. Bohemian Waxwing - Bom bycilla garrula 46. Robin - Turdus migratorius 47. Mountain Bluebird - Sialla currucoides 48. Townsend's Solitare - Myadestes townsendi 49. Golden-crowned Kinglet - Regulus satrapa 50. Starling - Sturnus vulgaris 51. Audubon’s Warbler - Dendroica auduboni 52. House Sparrow - Passer domesticus 53. Brewer's Blackbird - Euphagus cyanocephalus 54. Mountain Chickadee - Parus gambeli 55. Western Tanager - Piranga ludoviciana 56. American Goldfinch - Spinus tristis 57. Rufus-sided Towhee - Pipilo erythropthalmus 58. Lark Sparrow - Chondestes grammacus 59. Vesper Sparrow - Pooecetes gramineus 60. Chipping Sparrow - Spizella passerlna 61. Oregon Junco - Junco oreganus

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Aderhold, Michael W . , December, 1971 Forestry

The H isto r y , W inter Range, and Current S tatu s o f the Rock Creek, Montana, Bighorn Sheep Herd. (104 pp.)

Director; Richard D. Taber

Sixty-five miles southeast of Missoula, Montana, in west Granite County, there exists a relic population of Rocky Moun­ tain bighorn sheep (Ovis c. canadensis). An intensive field in­ v e s t ig a t io n o f th is herd was made during the w in ter and spring of 1966-67 to determine their history and current status and also to determine the extent and condition of the population's winter range.

The bighorn sheep herd in May, 1967, numbered 62 animals: 35 ewes, 15 lambs and yearlings, and 12 rams. Historically, this herd numbered over 175 animals as late as 1961 and numbered over 400 animals on the prehistoric winter range prior to 1870.

The size of the sheep herd and the size of their winter range were originally limited by market hunting, heavy domestic stock competition, and intensive settlement between 1885 and 1920. Today cattle ranching and topography limit the winter range to a relatively inaccessible 1.5-by-9-mile strip of palouse grassland which borders and is protected by Rock Creek.

During 1965, this herd lost approximately 75 animals on th e ir summer range. The d e c lin e was probably predisposed by the following factors which continued to affect the herd during this stud y: ( 1 ) overgrazing by domestic stock, 2 () the presen ce of an endemic lungworm infection in the herd, (3) competition from over 400 deer sharing a winter range poor in browse vegetation, (4) confinement to a small range, the soil and vegetation of which are limited in phosphate and nitrogen, and (5) a limited and altered habitat which is becoming more limited with the present increasing economic and recreation potential of the a r e a .

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. A P P E N D I X B

SPECIES LIST OF MAMMALS OBSERVED ON BIGHORN SHEEP WINTER RANGE

Number of Common and S c i e n t i f i c Name Observations Season

1. Vagrant Shrew - Sorex vagrans 1 2 . L i t t l e Brown Bat — M yotis lu c ifu g u s 1 3. Pika - Ochotona princeps Heard 5 s , su 4. Snowshoe Hare - Lepus americanus Over 1 0 0 w, s , su 5. W hite-tailed Jack Rabbit - Lepus tow nsendi 5 s 6 . Mountain Cottontail - Sylvilagus n u t t a l l i i 3 s 7. Y e llo w -b e llie d Marmot - Marmota flaviventris Over 25 s , su 8 . Columbian Ground Squirrel - Spermophilus columbianus Over 1 0 0 s ,su 9. Mantled Ground Squirrel - Spermophilus l a t e r a l i s 7 su 10. Y ellow P in e Chipmunk - Tamias amoenus 5 s ,su 11. R u fo u s-ta ile d Chipmunk - Tamlas ru ficau d u s 2 0 s ,s u 1 2 . Red S q u irrel - Tam iasciurus hudsonicus Over 1 0 0 w ,s ,s u 13. Beaver - Castor canadensis 5 s ,s u 14. Deer Mouse - Peromyscus maniculatus Over 1 0 0 w ,s 15. Bushy-tailed Woodrat - Neotoma cin erea 2 su 16. Muskrat - Ondatra zibethica 4 s , su 17. Porcupine - Erethizon dorsatum 2 s , su 18. Coyote - Canis latrans Over 50 w, s ,s u 19. Red Fox - Vulpes v u lp es X 2 0 . Black Bear - Ursus americanus 3 s 2 1 . Marten - Martes americana 5 w 22 . Badger - Taxidea taxus 5 s 23. Striped Skunk - Mephitis mephitis 2 s 24. Otter - Lutra canadensis 1 w 25. Cougar Felix concolor 1 26. Bobcat Lynx rufus 24 w ,s ,s u 27. Elk - Cervus canadensis 46 w ,s ,s u 28. Mule Deer - Odocoileus hemionus 1 0 0 w ,s ,s u

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Number of Common and S c i e n t i f i c Name Observations Season

29. White-tailed Deer - Odocoileus virginianus Over 100 w ,s,s u 30. Moose - Alces alces 10 w ,s 31. Bighorn Sheep - Ovis canadensis Over 100 w ,s ,s u

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. APPENDIX C

SOILS SERIES ON BIGHORN SHEEP RANGE

1. Trapper Series

These are fine grained light colored loamy soils usually quite deep, around 30-48 inches in depth and most often found on steep slopes. They are developed under boreal coniferous forests in calcareous gravelly or cobbly loam on mountain slopes. In the rock area this soil supports close Douglas fir stands with little understory. The soil generally receives 20-25 inches of precipitation; is frost free less than 90 days; and has a mean annual temperature of about 40°F. The upper 4 to 10 inches of this soil is generally leached by the organic acids formed from the coniferous leaf fall. The organic content of this upper soil is generally low, between 2 and 5 percent, and the pH is usually high, 5.5-6.5. These soils are low to moderate in fertility, and have an credibility from moderate to severe. The presence of volcanic ash in these soils is evident by by red-brown color. Upon weathering free iron is yielded and this iron coats the mineral grain in the soil. The soil is under­ lain by interbedded limestone and shale.

2. Garlet Series

Hiese soils have a thick, light colored, gravelly loam surface and usually average 40 inches. They develop under boreal coniferous forests in non-calcareous, very gravelly or cobbly loam. They support heavy growths of poorly formed Douglas fir and lodgepole pine in the Rock Creek Country. The area receives an annual precipitation of 15-22 inches and has an average of 90 frost free days. These soils are young, skeletal, and generally have one or more diagnostic horizons formed at relatively short intervals of time. They have a high water holding capacity. They are low in organic matter, have a pH between 6 .0 - 7 .0 , and are g e n e ra lly low in fertility. This soil is underlain Oy argixlities auu quarczites of the Belt Series.

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3. Loberg Series

While Garlet and Trapper soils are generally found on steep mountain slopes, Loberg soils are usually found on moderate slopes, midslopes positions and fan slopes associated with tri­ butary drainages. They are formed under dense stands of Douglas fir and lodgepole pine in non calcareous gravelly clay loam. Some of these soils are in grass on the Rock Creek Sheep Range, but it is believed they were all formed under forest. This soil is well drained, high in clay, low in organic matter and inherent fertility. It has a high water holding capa­ city and is usually moist most of the year.

4. Marcetta Series

These are well drained skeletal soils averaging 60 inches in depth. They are developed under bunch grass in non calcareous very gravelly loam on mountain slopes and high benches. The annual mean soil temperature is about 45°F, with a summer high of 58°F. They receive an annual precipitation of 15-19 inches and average less than 90 frost free days. These soils are under­ lain by quartzite and argillite bedrock. The organic content is relatively high, running 3-10 percent and the soils are dark because of this. Fertility is moderate and the pH runs between 6.5 and 7.5.

5. Cheadle Series

These are relatively shallow soils, coarse and skeletal in structure. They develop under grass in non calcareous, very gravelly loam material underlain by fractured bedrock. They generally range from 5,000-7,000 feet and receive the same pre­ c ip it a t io n and have the same s o i l tem perature and fr o s t fr e e days as the Marcetta Soil. There is a close association between the Marcetta and Cheadle over much of the northwestern part of the sheep range. The lower parts of these soils are enriched w ith fr e e CaCO^.

6 . Donald Series

These are similar in form to Cheadle and Marcetta except that they receive more moisture and are generally finer and very deep. Uiey have a moderately thick dark colored loam surface, which grades to a gravelly loam subsoil. These soils also have their origins in gravelly subsoil.

Associated with the above two Soil Associations are extensive areas of exposed rock outcrop. These are areas of loose, unstable, angular and fractured metamorphic rocks. What little soil these areas do manage to accumulate usually reflects most of the

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eleœental portions or tne soil adjacent to it. One does oc­ casionally find some patches where hurled Douglas fir and strains of pinegrass and wheatgrass have been able to take hold,

7. Bearmouth Series

Well drained Bearmouth Soils have a thick black gravelly loam surface layer with a gravelly sandy loam subsoil over beds of loose sand and gravel at depths of 18-20 inches. This soil underlies most of the pasture land In the Rock Creek Valley. Because of its thin profile and low water holding capacity, these soils are subject to drought and for this reason require ir­ rigation to produce decent yields.

8 . Slocum Series

Slocum Soils underlie the few swampy areas in the Rock Creek Valley. They have thick (30 inches or so) black loamy surfaces, with mottled and stratified loam and clay subsoils. This subsoil rests on beds of loose sand and gravel at depths of 30 inches or more.

9. Pintlar Series

Well drained, gently sloping to steep loamy soils to depths more than 60 inches. Formed under bunchgrass in non calcareous g r a v e lly loam on high benches and lower s lo p e s . The mean annual soil temperature is about 42°F, with a summer high of 54 F, Annual precipitation ranges 15-19 inches and has less than 90 days in the frost free period. Surface layer (A horizon) is very dark gray, granular loam in the upper part that grades to brown gravelly loam in the lower 3 to 4 inches. Average thickness of the horizon is 10 inches. The upper and lower parts of subsoil are thickly coated with bleached silt and sand. The surface layer has a high organic matter content and this soil is moderately fertile.

10. Len Series

Well drained, moderately sloping and moderately steep, loamy soils. Formed under grass and in calcareous, very gravelly loam on high benches^ The average mean soil temperature is about 46°F (annual) and 62 F during the summer. Annual p r e c ip ita tio n received is 15-19 inches with less than a 90 day growing season. The surface layer (A horizon) is a grayish-brown loam about 5 inches thick.

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11. Tropal Series

Consists of well drained, moderately steep and very steep, calcareous loamy soils 10 to 20 Inches thick over hard bedrock. Formed under grass In calcareous gravelly loam on residual uplands. Mean annual soil temperature Is about 45° F with an Increase to 58° F In the summer. Annual precipitation averages 10-14 Inches with a frost-free period of less than 100 days. Surface layer (A horizon) Is a light brownish-gray grav­ elly loam about 3 Inches thick. Weathered calcareous bedrock consltutes the base.

12. Maukey S e r ies

Consists of well drained, very gently sloping to steep, loamy s o i l s on uplands. Formed under g ra sses and In calcareous m a ter ia ls weathered from g r a v e lly loam. The mean annual s o i l temperature Is about 42° F. Annual precipitation averages 15-19 Inches with less than 90 frost free days. Surface layer (A horizon) Is grayish-brown loam In upper 5 Inches with lower 7 Inches being a light gray gravelly loam. Soil rests on ash-cemented conglomerate at about 48 Inches below surface.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. A P P E N D I X D

COMPOSITION OF THE SEVEN RANGE TYPES FOUND ON THE ROCK CREEK WINTER RANGE

(From the 1965 Range Report o f Robert Hium, Bureau o f Land Management - unpublished)

Note: The a b b rev ia tio n s used rep resen t the f i r s t two l e t t e r s of the generic and specific name and can be identified from the l i s t on pages 42 and 43. Thus, Fe id would be Festuca idahoensis or Idaho Fescue.

Number 1

Type : Logged (selective cut) timber-grass-forb range Percent usable for grazing: 80% (20% timber and windfall)

Grass (35%) Ag sp 5% Trace of: Po pr Ca ru 10% Po se + others 10% Carex sp . 10% Da in St CO Br te

Forbs (40%) Ac la 5% Trace of: Fr ve + Lu ca 5% Er CO others Ar CO 5% Potentilla sp. = 10% Ci vu 5% Ta o f 5% Solidago sp. 5%

Shrubs (25%) Ro wo 5% Trace o f : Ar fr Sy a l 15% Ar tr + others = 5%

Acreage on sheep range: 420 acres Rating: 10.7 acres/Animal Unit Month, or 39 AUM's

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Number 2

Type: Steep, dry, south slope grass-forb range Percent usable for grazing: 95% 5 (% slo p e )

Grass (45%) Fe id 15% Trace o f : St CO Ko cr 1 0 % Carex + others = 5% Ag sp 1 0 % Fe sc 5%

Forbs (55%) E rig sp . 1 0 % Trace o f: Ac la Po te 5% Lu ca 5% Ar CO + others = 5% An ro 15% Ba sa 15%

Shrubs (0%) Trace of: Ar tr Ch ry Ar fr

Acreage on sheep range: 293 acres Rating: 3.0 acres per AUM or 109 AUM's

Number 3

Type: Marginal dense forest range Percent usable for grazing: 50% (40% timber, 10% slope)

Grass (30%) Carex sp, 10% Trace of; Ag sm Ca ru 15% Poa spp. Fe id + others Fe sc Ag sp = 5% St r i

Forbs (45%) Fr ve 5% Trace o f : Ta O f E rig sp 5% Hi a l Ar CO 20 % Ge v i + O t h e r s = 15% Ac la Er gr

Shrubs (25%) Sy or 15% Trace of; Ps me Va me 5% Pi CO + others = 5% Ro sa

Acreage on sheep range: over 1,500 acres Rating: 33.2 acres/AUM or at most 30 AUM's

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Number 4

Type: Climax grass range with invaders Percent usable for grazing: 100%

Grass (65%) Fe id 15% Trace of: Ag sm Fe sc 2 0 % Br te Ag sp 15% Dant spp + others = 5% Ko cr 5% St CO St CO 5%

Forbs (25%) Lu ca 1 0 % Trace o f; Ac la Ar CO 5% Ge v i Erig sp + Others = 1 0 % An ro Ta of Ge tr

Shrubs (10%) Ar tr 5% Ch ry 5%

Acreage on sheep range: 320 acres Rating: 1.4 acres/AUM or 229 AUM's

Number 5

lÿpe: Overused grass-sagebrush range Percent usable for grazing: 100%

Grass (45%) Ag sp 1 0 % Trace of: Ag sm S t CO 5% Dant spp.+ others = 5% Ko cr 5% Br te Fe id 1 0 % Fe sc 5% Br ma 5%

Forbs (15%) Lu ca 5% Trace of: Hi a l Fr ve Ac tu Erig sp + others = 1 0 % So l i An ro Ge v i Ta o f

Shrubs (40%) Ar tr 30% Ch v i 10%

Acreage on sheep range: 6 6 acres Rating: 2.2 acres/AUM or 30 AUM's

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Number 6

lype: Overused grass range that is coming into forbs Percent usable for grazing: 100%

Grass (40%) Ag sp 1 0 % Trace of: Ag sm Fe id 1 0 % Ko cr Da un 1 0 % Br te + others 10% St r i Ca re

Forbs (50%) Lu ca 1 0 % Trace o f: Po te Ac la 5% Tr ag = 10% Ch v i 5% An ro 1 0 % E rig sp 5% Ba sa 5%

Shrubs (10%) Ch ry 5% Trace of: Ar tr Ar fr + oth ers = 5%

Acreage on sheep range: 562 acres Rating: 3.5 acres/AUM or 149 AUM’s

Number 7

Type : Dry south slo p e grasslan d Percent usable for grazing: 95% (5% slo p e )

Grass (35%) Fe id 10% Trace of: Ko cr Ag sp 10% Ag sm St r i 5% Da un + others Dant spp. = 10% Br te

Forbs (45%) Lu ca 10% Trace of : Ar CO + others 10% Ba sa 10% Ch v i 5% E rig sp 5% Ac la 5%

Shrubs (20%) Ar tr 10% Trace of: Ar fr + others = 5% Ch ry 5%

Acreage on sheep range: 506 acres Rating: 3.8 acres/AUM or 132 AUM's

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Number 8

Type: High grass forb range Percent usable for grazing: 95% (5% slope)

Grass (45%) Ag sp 15% Trace of; Ag sm Fe id 1 0 % St CO + others = 10% Ko cr 5% Fe sc 5%

Forbs (50%) Lu ca 1 0 % Trace and others = 10% Ac la 5% An ro 5% Ba sa 5% E rig sp 1 0 % Ta o f 5%

Shrubs (5%) Trace of; Ch ry Ps roe + oth ers = 5% Ju sc

Acreage on sheep range: 610 acres Rating: 3.1 acres/AUM or 203 AUM'

Number 9

Type: South slope grass range Percent usable for grazing: 100%

Grass (55%) Ag sp 15% Trace and others = 10% Fe id 15% Fe sc 5% Da un 5% Br te 5%

Forbs (40%) Lu ca 1 0 % Trace of: Ac la + others = 15% Ta o f 5% Erig sp 5% An ro 5%

Shrubs (5%) Ch ry 5%

Acreage on sheep range; 2 0 0 acres R a tin g : 2.0 acres/AUM or 100 AUM's

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. BIBLIOGRAPHY

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G risw old, G. and D. Larom. 1954. The H ellg a te su rvey, a prelim ­ inary archaeological reconnaissance of the Hell Gate area. Anthropology and Sociology paper. No. 16., Mont. State Uni­ versity, Missoula. 44 pp.

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______. 1957. Report on a survey of bighorn sheep in the Santa Rosa Mountains, Riverside County, California Fish and Game, V ol. 43, No. 3, 159-243.

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Langton, C. M. 1935, Geology of the northeastern part of the Idaho bathollth and adjacent region in Montana, Jour. Geology. Vol. 43, No, 1, 27-60.

Malouf, C. 1950. The archaeology of the Canyon Ferry Region, Montana. Anthropology and Sociology Paper No, 11, Mont. State University, Missoula. 82 pp.

. 1952. Economy and land use by the Indians o f w estern Montana. Manuscript, Mont. State University, Missoula, 23 pp.

______. 1956. The cultural connection between prehistoric inhabitants of the upper Missouri and Columbia River systems. Doctoral dissertation. Columbia University, New York.

______. 1967. Pers. Comm. Professor of Anthropology. Uni­ versity of Montana, Missoula.

Marsh, H, 1938. Pneumonia in Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep. J. Mammal., Vol. 19, No. 2, 214-220.

McCullough, D. R. and E. R. Schneegas. 1966. Winter observations on the S ie r ra Nevada bighorn sheep. C a lif. Fish and Game, Vol. 52, No. 2, 68-84.

McDowell, L. 195 2. January-March 1952 Quarterly Report of the Deerlodge Management Unit, Montana Fish and Game Department, 2 pp.

McMillan, Rev. A. C. 1964. A young clergyman looks at Granite's glittering glory. Montana - Magazine of Western History. Vol. 14, No. 3, July, 12.

Miller, R. F. et al. 1942. Fertility in sheep as affected by nutri­ tion during breeding season and pregnancy. Calif. Expt. Sta. B u ll. 672.

M ills, H. B. 1937. A preliminary study of the bighorn of Yellow­ stone National Park. J. Mammal. Vol. 18, No. 2, 205-213.

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Morris, M. S. 1967. Pers. Comm. Professor of Forestry, Univer­ sity of Montana, Missoula.

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Murie, A. 1944. The Wolves of Mount McKinley. Washington: Gov't. Prtg. Office. U. S. Nat, Park Service, Fauna Series No. 5. 238 pp.

Ogren, H. A. 1954. A population study of the Rocky Mountain big­ horn sheep (Ovis canadensis canadensis, Shaw) on Wlldhorse Island. Master's thesis. Montana State University, Missoula, 77 pp.

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P h i l l i p s , P. C. 1961. The Fur Trade. Norman: U n iversity o f Okalhoma Press, 696 pp.

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______. 1961. Study of lung nematodes of bighorn sheep. Fed. Aid Dlv. Quart. Rept. Colorado Dept. Game and Fish. Oct. pp. 69-97.

Pulling, A. V. S. 1945. Non-breeding In bighorn sheep. J. Wildl. Mgmt. Vol. 9, No. 2, 155-156.

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Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. - 1 0 3 -

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______. 1961. The California bighorn in British Columbia. British Columbia Dept. Recreation and Conserv., Victoria. 58 pp.

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Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Michael William Aderhold was born in Philadelphia, Penna, on

August 2, 1941, and raised in New Jersey, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

He graduated with a B, S, degree from the University of Michigan

in 1963. He studied bacteriology and biochemistry at the Univer­

sity of Wisconsin for one year before enrolling at the University

of Montana where, in 1968, he fulfilled all the requirements for

an M. S. degree in w ildlife management, save publication of this

thesis. During this time he worked as a teaching assistant at the

U n iv ersity o f Montana for one year and spent f iv e summers working

for the U. S. Forest Service in central Idaho's Bitterroot-Selway

Wilderness Area. Early in 1968 he was called into military service,

graduated from DCS at Ft. Belvoir, Virginia, and received a com­

mission in the Army Corps of Engineers November, 1968. He was

assigned as Acting Reservoir Manager of Rodman Reservoir on

the Cross Florida Barge Canal Project in north central Florida for

two y e a r s. This assignm ent was follow ed by a 13 month tour as

Assistant Chief - Operations Branch on the Central and South

Florida Flood Control Project. He is now a resident of Montana,

married to the former Irene Lynn Patten, and has one child.

He is an active member of the W ildlife Society, the Sierra Club,

and the Audubon Society.

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V Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.