The plan to restore bighorn sheep in Beaver County has hit a snag.
Woolgrowers are crying foul because diseases spread easily from sheep to bighorn, and growers have valid concerns about being kicked off of nearby grazing allotments.
But hunters relish the opportunity to shoot the iconic big game species, and the DWR wants to oblige them.
To defend the proposal, Utah wildlife officials pull out the “native” card. Bighorn are native, they claim, and, “We identify areas where bighorns are found and which procedures will be followed if they wander off.”
If only our wildlife officials would give similar consideration to another native species, the gray wolf.
Robert Schmidt, Logan