The Safari Club International Foundation recently submitted public comments to the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Department in strong support of the proposed reintroduction of bighorn sheep into the Little Belt Mountains of central Montana. The area was historically home to large herds of bighorns, but they were driven out by the early 1900s. Habitat models and biologists agree that there is extensive acreage of high-quality habitat in the mountains, making it an ideal area to help bighorn sheep reclaim some of their lost range.
SCIF will continue to look for ways to engage and support this project moving forward and will provide updates as they’re available.SCIF has supported MTFWP projects in the past, most notably elk-predator research in the Bitterroot system. We also enjoy a productive partnership with the Wild Sheep Foundation. Last year SCIF co-sponsored the World Mountain Ungulate Conference with WSF in Bozeman, and the SCI Chapters of Montana provided funding for the Northern Wild Sheep and Goat Symposium in Whitefish. Both are professional meetings of wildlife managers and biologists. We look forward to future collaboration on wild sheep restoration in the state of Montana.
