According to a recent press release by the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW), a two-day trapping operation conducted by NDOW on Jan. 6-7 netted a total of 30 Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep and 133 pronghorn antelope that were released in other parts of the state to bolster existing herds.
Kenneth Gray, NDOW biologist, said a charter helicopter was used to trap the bighorn sheep from the Angel Lake area outside of Wells. The bighorns were transported to Mt. Moriah near Ely where they were released.
"This is the first time that Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep have been trapped in the State of Nevada for a Nevada release," Gray said.
The Rocky Mountain bighorns that were trapped are the descendants of sheep that were provided to Nevada by British Columbia. They will augment the herd at Mt. Moriah that was originally established from sheep that came from Montana.
Gray said that it is hoped the release will stimulate the bighorn population on Mt. Moriah.
Only ewes and lambs were trapped and released, so the trapping will not alter this year's hunting quotas.
The antelope were trapped north of Deeth, north of Halleck and north of Ryndon in Elko County. They were released in Cave Valley, Dry Lake Valley and South Springs Valley in Lincoln County.
Those releases will augment existing antelope populations in Lincoln County.
Gray said that 30 NDOW employees and more than 50 volunteers participated in the trapping.
He added the large number of volunteers were needed because the operation was very labor intensive.
The Reno, Elko and Midas CHapters of Nevada Bighorns Unlimited paid for the trapping operations.
For information, call NDOWat 688-1500.