Management Plan for Bighorn Sheep in Alberta Wildlife Management Series Number Wildlife Management Branch June 25, 2015 Pub. No. ISBN No. XXXXXXXXX (Printed Edition) ISBN No. XXXXXXXXX (On-line Edition) Copies of this report are available from: Information Centre Alberta Environment and Parks Main Floor, Great West Life Building 9920-108 Street Edmonton, Alberta T5K 2M4 (780) 422-2079 OR The Alberta Environment and Parks Web Site: aep.alberta.ca Preface This plan represents the Department’s goals, objectives and management strategies for the management of bighorn sheep in Alberta. It will periodically be reviewed and updated as necessary. Implementation will be subject to priorities established during the budgeting process. This plan includes historical information up to the winter of 2012-2013. Note: for the purposes of this publication, information is presented in a format that corresponds to fiscal years. Data for the year 2010, for example, corresponds to April 1, 2010 to March 31, 2011. Jun 25, 2015 Management Plan for Bighorn Sheep in Alberta Page 2 of 137 © 2015 Government of Alberta Table of Contents Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ 9 Executive Summary ..................................................................................................................... 10 1.0 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 12 2.0 Background ..................................................................................................................... 13 2.1 Biology, Ecology and Life History Traits ............................................................................. 13 2.1.1 Description ............................................................................................................................ 13 2.1.2 Social Structure ..................................................................................................................... 13 2.1.3 Habitat ................................................................................................................................... 13 2.1.4. Parasites and Disease ........................................................................................................... 16 2.1.5 Population Dynamics ............................................................................................................ 22 2.1.6 Predation ............................................................................................................................... 24 2.2 Current Status in Alberta ..................................................................................................... 26 2.2.1 Sheep Numbers and Distribution .......................................................................................... 26 2.2.2 Hunting ................................................................................................................................. 41 2.2.3 Non-consumptive Use ........................................................................................................... 86 2.2.4 Transplants ............................................................................................................................ 86 2.2.5 Data Collection Guidelines ................................................................................................... 87 2.2.6 Economic Aspects ................................................................................................................. 87 2.3 Summary and Management Challenges .............................................................................. 88 3.0 Management Plan ........................................................................................................... 91 3.1 Policy Framework .................................................................................................................. 91 3.1.1 Resource Protection .............................................................................................................. 91 3.1.2 Resource Allocation .............................................................................................................. 91 3.1.3 Recreational and Educational Use ........................................................................................ 91 3.1.4 Commercial Use .................................................................................................................... 91 3.1.5 Protection of Private Property ............................................................................................... 91 3.2 Management Goals and Objectives ...................................................................................... 92 3.2.1. Business Goals of Alberta Environment and Parks (2015–2020) ........................................ 92 3.2.2. Goals, Objectives, Indicators, Targets for Bighorn Sheep ................................................... 93 3.3 Management Strategies ......................................................................................................... 98 3.3.1 Population Management ....................................................................................................... 98 3.3.2 Resource Allocation ............................................................................................................ 101 3.3.3 Resource Protection ............................................................................................................ 103 3.3.4 Data Collection ................................................................................................................... 104 3.3.5 Managing Commercial Use ................................................................................................ 105 3.3.6 Managing Unlicensed Harvest ............................................................................................ 105 3.3.7 Managing Non-Hunting Mortality ...................................................................................... 105 3.3.8 Managing Scientific and Educational Use .......................................................................... 105 4.0 Management Plan Application .................................................................................... 107 4.1 Provincial Summary ............................................................................................................ 107 4.2 Regional Perspectives .......................................................................................................... 107 4.2.1 South Saskatchewan ............................................................................................................ 107 4.2.2 North Saskatchewan ............................................................................................................ 108 4.2.3 Upper Athabasca ................................................................................................................. 108 4.2.4 Upper Peace ........................................................................................................................ 109 5.0 Literature Cited ............................................................................................................. 110 6.0 Appendices .................................................................................................................. 123 Jun 25, 2015 Management Plan for Bighorn Sheep in Alberta Page 3 of 137 © 2015 Government of Alberta List of Tables Table 1. Documented mortality events in Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep in Alberta. .............................. 20 Table 2. Selenium Concentrations (ug/g) in Blood of Bighorn Sheep Populations from Western North America (summary to 2006). ......................................................................................................... 21 Table 3. Sheep Management Areas (SMA’s), winter ranges and estimated preseason populations of bighorn sheep in Alberta, 2013. ..................................................................................................... 31 Table 4. Estimated populations of bighorn sheep in North America, 2008.a .................................... 33 Table 5. Bighorn hunting seasons for Alberta during 1887-1906. .............................................................. 41 Table 6. The bighorn sheep kill recorded for Alberta during 1909-1924. .................................................. 42 Table 7. Success of being drawn and of harvesting a non-trophy sheep in Alberta by Wildlife Management Unit (WMU), 2012. ............................................................................................... 76 Table 8. Goals, objectives, indicators and targets for bighorn sheep. ......................................................... 94 Jun 25, 2015 Management Plan for Bighorn Sheep in Alberta Page 4 of 137 © 2015 Government of Alberta List of Figures Figure 1. Bighorn sheep observed during winter aerial surveys of native range in WMU’s 437 and 438 (light bars) vs. ground counts on reclamation on the Teck Coal and Gregg River Resources Ltd. coal mines (dark bars), 1972 – 2013 (ground counts provided by Bighorn Wildlife Technologies Ltd.)................................................................................................................................................ 15 Figure 2. Visible scabs associated with contagious ecthyma in Ram Mountain population, early 1990s. 19 Figure 3. Horn core erosions