California Big Horn Sheep

Map Reference: Appendix III Map12: Wildlife Habitats
Appendix III Map 15: Sheep Habitat

The Churn Creek-Fraser River sub-population represents 15-20% of the total provincial population of California bighorn sheep and as such, is both regionally and provincially significant. Three major herds of sheep exist, within the sub-population, based on migratory patterns: non-migratory sheep (summer in the Fraser-Churn Creek area), early migrating sheep (summer in the Nine Mile Ridge and Yalakom Mountain area) and late migrating sheep (summer in the Red and French Mountain area). Most migrant sheep (approximately 50% of subpopulation) use Churn Creek and East Churn Creek as the principal migratory route to and from Red and French Mountain or Nine Mile Ridge and Yalakom Mountain. All the sheep in the subpopulation winter at lower elevations along Churn Creek or the Fraser River.

Bighorn sheep are predominately grazers, relying on grassland habitats. Bighorn sheep generally inhabit steep, rugged terrain such as mountains, canyons or grasslands with adjacent cliffs within areas that have a low and open plant community structure. The major needs of bighorn sheep are forage, water, thermal protection, and areas for escape, rutting and lambing. While grasses, sedges and forbs comprise the majority of bighorn food; up to 25% of the diet may be shrubs such as sage, saskatoon, bearberry, juniper and willow. Both summer and winter ranges must provide freedom from disturbance and a proper combination of forage, escape terrain and water if viable populations are to be maintained. Where bighorn sheep move or migrate to particular areas to rut or lamb, it is of utmost importance that travel corridors to such areas be protected and maintained to ensure there is no interference with this movement.

In British Columbia, California bighorn sheep are blue-listed (considered vulnerable to declines) because of their restricted distribution and low numbers. Also, in some cases, their winter ranges are threatened by past overgrazing, competition with domestic stock, land alienation and human encroachment. They are also threatened by disease; particularly those transmitted by domestic sheep.

The CCLUP directs that inventories to identify sensitive habitats and management needs for bighorn sheep, as a species at risk, be undertaken and that, consistent with targets, important habitats be protected.

Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, with funding from Forest Renewal BC, Habitat Conservation Trust Fund, Lignum Limited, the Williams Lake Sportsmen’s Association and the

Wild Sheep Society of BC, has undertaken and recently completed a 3 year study of movements and habitat use of the Churn Creek-Fraser River Bighorn Sheep sub-population. This study has provided information on important habitats, such as the location of the migratory corridor, and the timing of migration within the sub-population. This work has identified the following important habitats for the Churn Creek-Fraser River sub-population: (Appendix III Map15)

1. Winter range situated in grassland habitats of the Lower Churn (including Little Churn) and adjacent Fraser River and associated drainage (Lone Cabin Creek, Grinder Creek, French Bar Creek)
2. Summer range for the migratory component of the sub-population situated in the alpine/subalpine habitats on Red Mountain, French Mountain, Nine Mile Ridge and Yalakom Mountain
3. Lambing areas situated in Lower Churn, Fraser River and in higher elevation habitats (Red Mountain and Yalakom Mountain)
4. Rutting areas situated in grassland habitats of the Lower Churn Creek and adjacent Fraser River, and
5. The migration corridor between the low elevation winter range and high elevation summer range, including Big Basin, the east side of Churn Creek south to East Churn Creek, the north side of East Churn Creek, the corridor between East Churn Creek and Red Mountain and the corridor between Red Mountain and Yalakom Mountain.

To mitigate potential problems a number of guidelines have been developed for operations utilizing the Red Mountain road system and for planning harvesting adjacent to the sheep migration corridor. See Section 12, Access Management, for additional guidance.

To remain healthy and viable, bighorn sheep need productive preferred forage, adequate thermal and security cover and limited disturbance and impediments on key ranges (e.g., winter/lambing range, critical winter range, and migration corridors).

The focus of management is on migration corridors, lambing grounds and winter range. Management for mule deer winter range provides adequate bighorn habitat in forested areas.

General issues across the Sub Region will be addressed below, followed by management plans specific to individual populations.

Issues:

• Reduction in the quality, quantity and distribution of essential habitat including productive preferred forage, separate summer and winter habitats, and thermal and security cover.
• Increased mortality caused by disease, increased predation, access- and fire-related displacement and disruption from key ranges, and impediments to movement between habitats and through migration corridors.

Goals:

• Viable and healthy populations of bighorn sheep.

Objectives	Management Direction/Strategies	Measures of Success/Targets	Intent
1. Maintain or enhance forage, thermal and security forest cover within bighorn sheep winter/lambing range areas shown on the California Bighorn Sheep map	1.1 Designate the winter/lambing range areas shown on the California Bighorn Sheep map as “ungulate winter range” under the Forest and Range Practices Act
	1.2 Incorporate First Nations’ knowledge of bighorn sheep winter range, lambing areas and migration corridors into habitat information considered during map amendments
2. Improve forage opportunities for sheep throughout their presently identified winter/lambing ranges (see California Bighorn Sheep map) and those winter ranges identified through future inventories	2.1 Manage livestock competition through directed management strategies in range use plans and identify poor condition, native bunchgrass range as areas to be improved
	2.2 Develop and implement prescribed burn plans to remove competitive overstory vegetation, expose seeds to mineral soil and enhance understory development of beneficial shrubs (i.e. Saskatoon and willow species) in forested sites within sheep winter/lambing ranges
	2.3 Consider available First Nations’ knowledge of traditional use and prescribed burning when developing burn plans
	2.4 Manage grasslands within permanent range to ensure a minimum 85% of the plant communities are in late seral stage or in potential natural communities
3. Limit disturbance or displacement from road access and density on bighorn sheep populations within their winter/lambing range and known and possible migration corridors (See California Bighorn Sheep map)	3.1 Avoid construction of new roads within mapped winter/lambing range, particularly on the benches along the Fraser River, and in the French Bar Creek, the upper Yalakom River and upper Noaxe Creek areas
	3.2 If new roads cannot be located away from mapped winter/lambing range, restrict road construction during lambing periods (April 15 – June 30). Such roads should be put to bed as soon as possible after industrial use
	3.3 Minimize road development that bisects mapped known and possible migration corridors
	3.4 Schedule hauling and other concentrated industrial uses on roads bisecting mapped migration corridors outside peak migration periods (spring migration: May 20 – June 20: fall migration: August 31 – November 15)
	3.5 Maintain visual screening adjacent to roads within migration corridors		Visual screening provides important cover from predators and hunters for sheep
	3.6 Implement appropriate deactivation, rehabilitation, regulated closures and graduated access measures for new road developments within mapped known and possible sheep migration corridors and winter/lambing ranges
4. Minimize opportunities for the transmission of disease between domestic sheep and bighorn sheep	4.1  Do not issue Crown grazing tenures for domestic sheep grazing or domestic sheep grazing permits for silviculture purposes within 16 km of bighorn sheep habitat		Objective is aimed at protecting against transmission of disease to wild sheep, primarily lung worm. Domestic sheep owners typically have health regimes in place for management of domestic sheep health
5.  Allow unimpeded movement of sheep through mapped winter/lambing ranges and known sheep migration corridors (See California Bighorn Sheep map)	5.1  Do not permit replacement or new fencing across known sheep migration corridors or, if unavoidable, modify fences or fence to standards below: Replacement or new livestock fencing should not exceed 42 inches (1.07m) in height and should be a minimum of 18 inches above the ground Use top rails on fences wherever sheep traffic is high (e.g., where trails cross fences) Use 39” fence (1.0m) on drift fence where cattle pressure is low
6.  Avoid alienation of Crown land for purposes that may disrupt bighorn sheep movement within mapped migration corridors or alienation of Crown land that may reduce mapped (known) critical winter range and known lambing range (see California Bighorn Sheep map)	6.1  Educate private landowners to consider the need for sheep movement in their applications for Crown land		Alienation of Crown land within mapped bighorn sheep migration corridors is minimized
	6.2 Where alienation cannot be avoided, identify and implement ways to minimize impacts to bighorn sheep migration or critical winter ranges
7. Continue to gather knowledge and information of sheep habitat, health and populations, including First Nations knowledge	7.1 Continue inventory work to determine population numbers and habitat areas, as well as the key limiting factors on bighorn sheep populations (e.g., habitat, migration corridors, poaching, predation, etc.)		Improved information about bighorn sheep habitat, migration corridors and populations
	7.2 Consider inventory studies in adjacent areas that involve herds that migrate into this plan area - (e.g., ‘Churn Creek Bighorn Sheep Study’ Williams Lake Forest District)
	7.3 Explore opportunities to involve First Nations in bighorn sheep studies and assessments
8. Minimize the impact of human activities on the sheep migration pattern and sheep use of the corridor.	8.1 Minimize new access development within the migration corridor.
	8.2 Deactivate primary, secondary and tertiary access roads within and adjacent to the migration corridor, wherever possible.
	8.3 Establish a restricted timing window for use of access within and adjacent to the migration corridor such that migration periods are avoided.
	8.4 For logging that utilizes road access through the migration corridor, winter logging and hauling is preferred.
9. Maintain migration corridor habitats in a condition that addresses sheep forage requirements, thermal factors and predation.	9.1 Protect and/or restore grassland habitats.
	9.2 Where necessary use prescribed fire to maintain attributes to sheep migration corridor.
	9.3 Manage for some older age trees within the corridor and adjacent to high use habitats for thermal cover purposes.
	9.4 For portions of the corridor that also function as mule deer winter range, utilize the selective timber harvest approaches outlined in the regional Mule Deer Strategy.
	9.5 Restrict the season of timber harvesting to those times outside the spring and fall migration periods – winter logging is preferred.
	9.6 Where feasible use helicopter logging on steep slopes.
	9.7 For timber harvesting outside of deer winter range areas, apply selective logging in Douglas-fir stands.
	9.8 In pine stands apply clearcut logging with reserves or interior WTP.
	9.9 Locate WTP and / or single tree for retention along topographic breaks or other suitable locations.
	9.10 Consult Ministry of Environment when planning forest harvesting operations within the sheep migration corridor.
10. Manage for the ecological integrity of critical lambing areas.	10.1 Where lambing habitat values are identified, measures will be taken to maintain the integrity of the area, including maintenance of sheep access to and from the area.
	10.2 Establish a timing window for forestry operations in the vicinity of lambing areas. There should be no logging activities in the surrounding area (approx. within 1-2 km.) from April through July.
	10.3 Establish a buffer or management zone around the perimeter of the lambing area, where habitat features important to sheep will be managed.
	10.4 Reserve Ponderosa pine.