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Beaver trapper James Ohio Pattie entered into his
journal that on January 1, 1825, he and a band
of fellow trappers moved up the San Francisco River
from the confluence with the Gila River. He wrote
that “upon the high and rugged mountains we saw
multitudes of mountain sheep.” While Mr. Pattie was
an excellent observer of wildlife, he was not a taxonomist.
Currently, the proper classification of the
sheep originally seen by these early beaver trappers
is under some debate.
Early explorers generally traveled along river
bottoms and valleys. Therefore, most did not report
seeing large numbers of bighorn sheep. These early
travelers did report a bighorn sheep distribution
greater than that of today. In 1859, Schott described
bighorn range in Arizona as the “rocky, waterless
sierras.” Coues stated in 1867 that the “mountain
ram has a very extensive range, which includes
nearly all the elevated mountains
and broken regions.”
There were numerous observations
of bighorn sheep in
mountains from which the species
was later extirpated. In the
1850s, Whipple and Kennerly
reported bighorn sheep in the
Aquarius, Cottonwood, and Artillery
mountains; ranges in
which bighorn sheep are now
absent. Mearns reported bighorn
sheep in the 1880s in the
Peloncillo, Pajarito, Atascosa, and
Santa Rita mountains; the mountains
bordering the Verde Valley;
and on Bill Williams Mountain
and the San Francisco Peaks.
Nelson reported bighorn sheep in
the 1880s along the cliffs bordering
the Little Colorado River
below Springerville. He also noted bighorn sheep
near Springerville, and along the rocky canyons of
Chevelon and Clear creeks north of the Mogollon
Rim. According to Nelson, bighorn sheep disappeared
from all of these areas and the San Francisco
Peaks by 1911.
There are no records of bighorn sheep from
much of what is now the Navajo Indian Reservation,
and many of the wooded mountains in southeastern
Arizona were sparsely inhabited, if at all.
That bighorn sheep were scarce in southeastern Arizona
is shown in a December 1888 article in the
Arizona Weekly Star:
“The first mountain sheep ever seen in the
Tombstone market were brought in by Pete Bute yesterday
from the Winchester Mountains. One of them
was dressed and hanging in front of the Cummings
meat market... There were but four in the herd, the
successful hunters getting the whole of them.”
The original distribution of bighorn sheep in
Arizona’s mountain ranges is not well known because
many bighorn sheep populations declined
rapidly and disappeared at an early date. As early as
1867, Elliot Coues wrote:
“In America it [the bighorn sheep] has been formerly
much more abundant than now, for though it
still exists in the more inaccessible portions, it is rarely
to be seen. But its great horns may be found scattered
about the bases of nearly every cliff and precipice.”
The decline of bighorn sheep in Arizona was
so rapid that in 1893 the Territorial Legislature passed
a five year moratorium against the taking of bighorn
sheep, while retaining an open season on deer and
pronghorn antelope. Bighorn sheep existed in good
numbers after 1900 only in the arid southwestern
regions and in the Grand Canyon, where established
ranches were absent. Despite total protection, once
thriving populations were still declining. Arizona’s
bighorn sheep population received additional protection
with the establishment of a State Game Code
in 1913. Although enforcement of the game laws
may have been lax, those populations in desert
ranges too arid or steep for livestock persisted. Isolated
populations continued to be extirpated,
however; the last native bighorn sheep reported from
the Virgin Mountains was in 1915. By 1930, the
only sizeable bighorn sheep populations remaining
outside of western Arizona were in the Grand Canyon
and the Santa Catalina and Superstition
mountains. The late 1930s found Arizona’s desert
bighorn sheep population reduced still further, to
only about 1,000 animals, most of which were found
along the Colorado River and its tributaries.
Settlers, miners, and market hunters were held
accountable for low bighorn sheep numbers after the
DESERT BIGHORN
rizonarizona
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Nelson’s desert bighorn
ewe with lamb on Black
Mountain.
Nelson’s desert bighorns
on Superstition Mountain.
RAYMOND LEE
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RAYMONDLEERAYMONDLEE
162
1880s, but the question remains why bighorn sheep
persisted in the most arid regions, while disappearing
entirely from better-watered areas. The answer lies not
with the miner or the market hunter, but with the
introduction of domestic livestock - especially sheep
and goats. It is well documented that sheep and goats
transmit diseases to bighorn sheep. The evidence linking
the reduction and elimination of bighorn sheep
populations with the arrival of domestic livestock is
overwhelming. Domestic sheep were recognized as a
source of disease as early as 1895 when a Territorial
Act established an inspector with authority to inspect
all domestic sheep entering the territory, and to impound
any sheep with infectious disease.
In 1937, Nichol conducted a statewide inventory
to determine why bighorn sheep numbers were
declining and to make recommendations on how the
species could be saved from extinction. Nichol’s study
estimated that no more than 700 bighorn sheep remained
in Arizona outside of the Grand Canyon and
Lake Mead areas. Nichol emphasized that poaching
and predators were the primary reasons why bighorn
sheep were not making a comeback.
Concern for the Southwest’s bighorn sheep
gained national attention. Federal Wildlife Refuges
were established in Nevada (Desert Game Range), New
Mexico (San Andres National Wildlife Refuge), and
in Arizona. In 1939, the creation of the Kofa and
Cabeza Prieta game ranges set aside 1.5 million acres
of southwestern Arizona for bighorn sheep and other
wildlife. Although then Governor Hunt ridiculed
these “federal takeovers” as “billy goat pastures,” these
actions were considered essential if the bighorn sheep
was going to be saved from extinction. Game ranges
were patrolled, and most importantly, livestock grazing
was eliminated. Habitat, the primary means of
retaining viable populations of any wildlife species,
had been protected.
Populations outside these refuges, however,
continued to decline. Poaching and predation were
believed the main reasons for continued losses. There
were other speculations, but it wasn’t until 1950 that
a systematic survey of bighorn sheep populations and
a comprehensive life history study were initiated.
Modern bighorn sheep management in Arizona
began with John Russo’s study. Started in 1950
A Nelson’s desert bighorn
ram surveys the slopes
below his perch on
Arizona’s Black Mountain.
162
RAYMONDLEE
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163
recommended
the removal of these
exotics from the bighorn
sheep’s range to reduce the dangers
of transmitted diseases and the competition
for food and water. Although these recommendations
came too late to prevent the loss of bighorn
sheep populations in the Superstition, Tucson, and
White Tank mountains, the implementation of these
recommendations in other areas resulted in a steady
increase in bighorn sheep populations.
Russo’s most important contribution was to
initiate hunting and reintroduction programs. The
first hunt in 1953 intensified interest in bighorn sheep
management among the state’s sportsmen. To date
nearly 2,000 bighorn rams have been harvested.
In 1955, the Arizona Game and Fish Department
began efforts to reintroduce bighorn sheep into
historic ranges. Since that time over 1,200 animals
have been captured in areas of relatively abundant
populations and released into historic habitat.
Arizona’s desert bighorn sheep population is now
estimated at approximately 6,000 animals.
Additional captures have been made to provide
transplant stock to other states to augment their bighorn
sheep populations. To date, 208 desert bighorn
sheep have been provided to other states, including
99 sheep sent to Colorado in trade for Rocky Mountain
bighorn sheep.
Estimated number of desert bighorn sheep in Arizona
by area, based on helicopter survey data.
Herd Area 1998 Map
Virgin River/Beaver Dams 185 1
Northern Grand Wash Cliffs 95 2
Kanab Creek/Hacks Canyon 230 3
Paria Canyon 105 4
Blacks 1,815 5
Southern Grand Wash Cliffs 195 6
Cataract Canyon 50 7
Chemehuevis 70 8
Mojaves, Rawhides, Artilleries 125 9
Dome Rocks 50 10
Plomosa 125 11
Harcuvar/Buckskins 70 12
Trigos 205 13
Castle Domes 180 14
Kofas 460 15
New Waters 105 16
Tanks 110 17
Eagletails 150 18
Gila Bends 150 19
Maricopas 185 20
Stewart and Goat Mountains 80 21
Superstitions 80 22
Tinajas Altas 50 23
Mowhawks 75 24
Sierra Pintas 310 25
Growlers 205 26
Saucedas 195 27
Silverbells 85 28
Catalinas 5 29
Aravaipa Canyon 80 30
Galiuros 35 31
Peloncillos 50 32
TOTAL 5,910
and continued for five years, this study sought to
locate and document bighorn sheep distribution, determine
the animal’s food, water, and habitat
requirements; determine its limiting factors and the
effects of predation; develop survey techniques and
methods of indexing the populations; recommend
beneficial management practices; evaluate the effects
of removing excess rams through limited hunting;
and investigate the feasibility of transplanting bighorn
sheep to suitable unoccupied ranges.
Several recommendations resulting from Russo’s
investigations were to be the cornerstone for the successful
increase in bighorn sheep numbers enjoyed
today. Russo emphasized the need to separate bighorn
sheep from livestock and feral burros, and
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