Skiers and conservationists seek compromise on backcountry terrain to protect a ‘sacred animal’

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Wildlife biologists are proposing winter closures of certain lands in and around Grand Teton National Park. The hope is that the move would help protect the locally threatened and isolated bighorn sheep herd in the range. But, as KHOL’s Will Walkey reports, the recommendations are getting backlash from some off-piste skiers, and stakeholders across the region are looking for ways to compromise.

About 100 bighorn sheep inhabit the Tetons, often living on windswept ridges between elevations of 8,000 to 12,000 feet. Backcountry ski guide Zahan Billimoria has been recreating himself in the Tetons for more than two decades and he said he has only encountered the species a few times.

“It’s like a sacred animal,” he says. “And if you see it, for starters, you’re impressed because it’s so rare. And for two you recognize because it’s so hard for us to survive up there and avoid avalanches – not to fall off the side of the mountain – and all the effort it takes to get there. So, I think there is this incredible admiration that we all have for these creatures.

Bighorn sheep historically inhabited all of Jackson Hole and once numbered in the thousands. But habitat loss due to human development and invasive species has rapidly reduced herd numbers in recent decades. Now the sheep are in danger of local extinction, if their situation worsens, according to many biologists who live in Teton County, including Aly Courtemanch of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.

“The herd is small. It’s in trouble, ”Courtemanch said at a Zoom public meeting in October. “But it’s not doomed to fail at this point and we can change things, but we have to act quickly.”

The historic range of the bighorn sheep has declined dramatically in the western part of the mountain over the past century. The Teton herd has now been cut off from the rest of the range, making them genetically isolated.

Courtemanch is helping lead the charge among local biologists to try to double the local population of the bighorn herd to 200. Some tactics that have been used to try to achieve this have included killing the invasive mountain goats and educating the public on the fate of sheep. But the most controversial measure easily turns out to be the newly proposed winter closures that will impact backcountry recreation.

On October 20, more than 250 people gathered on Zoom to discuss potential closures in and around Grand Teton National Park. Several wildlife and public lands experts explained how we got to this point.

“Very little of our winter habitat for sheep is currently protected from human disturbance. Our proposals would multiply that number by ten, ”said Carson Butler, wildlife biologist for Grand Teton National Park.

“With the rapid growth of our human communities, we need to find the necessary restraint to give sheep some space,” said Michael Whitfield, who has been conducting field research on the bighorn herd since the 1970s. .

At least one peer-reviewed study, conducted by Courtemanch, found that the presence of cross-country skiers negatively impacted the Teton sheep herd, while others have documented similar negative impacts of human recreation on bighorn sheep. America elsewhere. That’s because animals tend to avoid an otherwise privileged habitat at all costs, even if they only encounter a few humans there, and local experts almost unanimously agree with this current scientific research. For example, the Teton Range Bighorn Sheep Working Group recommends the closure of several iconic ski mountaineering destinations, including parts of Cody Peak, South Teton and Avalanche Canyon, to reduce the number of interactions between sheep and skiers. .

“If all the closures recommended in the document were put in place, a total of 47% of the mapped bighorn sheep habitat would be protected by closures,” Courtemanche said at the recent meeting. “And then, again, if all of the recommended closures were put in place, 5% of the areas identified as highly valued by the ski community during the collaborative process would be closed to human entry from December through April.”

Avalanche canyon

One of the recommended closures at Avalanche Canyon, featuring an approved “passage” that would allow backcountry traffic.

Several public workshops were held last winter to explore which closures might be acceptable to skiers and which were deal breaks. But at the October 20 meeting, it was clear that many people were still unhappy with the current proposals.

“Many of the messages I have received reflect the disbelief of individuals from both communities that the other side refuses to compromise,” said local mountain guide Jeff Dobronyi, who has become one of the opponents. virulent to the proposed closures.

“I just don’t think the data you have warrants something as important as shutting off the wilderness to humans,” said Nick Mestre of Driggs, Idaho.I mean, it’s hard to swallow.

Billimoria also said he believed the current proposals went too far.

“When we come to a place where humans are banned in perpetuity from being able to explore and travel to these remote corners of the chain, then we really lose something as a community that is more, I think – is priced higher than the advantage is.

Billimoria also said he felt the cross-country ski community carried too much of a burden to save the sheep. For example, he raises the fact that much of the historic sheep habitat is found in the Jackson Hole and Grand Targhee ski resorts, but none of the proposed winter closures are there. Several sheep hunting tags are also still sold each year for male sheep that leave the park.

“The reason we’re here is, actually, because Jackson really fell off the cliff, in my opinion, in regards to his ability to balance visitors and growth with a true ethic of wildlife and wildlife. wilderness, ”Billimoria said.

Jed Porter is another longtime backcountry guide who approaches the problem from a different perspective. He said he wanted the ski community to take the matter into their own hands and willfully avoid areas identified as high value bighorn sheep habitat, a position he described in an editorial for the site. WildSnow Web.

He also said many of the proposed closures fall in some of the most remote areas he has ever skied.

Ski touring in Wyoming

Kevin Cass

Biologists have warned in recent years that even a small number of backcountry travelers (and their tracks) can disturb sheep.

“There is only a very small subset of the entire ski touring community that can travel this far to get to these proposed closure sites,” Porter said. “So why bog down the bureaucratic system with closures when a handful of social media influencers could spread the word? And we just avoided the stains and left the sheep for a bit. “

Additionally, Porter said the backcountry areas in question have only truly been accessible to humans for a few decades thanks to advances in technology and equipment. But during this time, he said, it was the sheep who sacrificed accordingly.

Porter is also frustrated by the public outcry he has seen from his friends and fellow guides, whom he would like to see given more respect to local biologists.

“I guess I’d like to see some acceptance of science, first of all,” Porter said. “You know, science is tough. The science isn’t conclusive, but it’s sort of the essence of crisis-based science. Any environmental crisis will be uncertain.

While this is a complex issue, most guides who have jumped into the fray on social media seem to really want one thing: communication. They want to know how the closures will be monitored to ensure their success if they are to be completed, and when, if at all, these wilderness areas might be reopened for exploration.

As of going to press, wildlife managers said they will continue to work with the backcountry community over the next few months to focus on the exact closures. But at the same time, many conservationists are hoping for swift action before the bighorn sheep’s habitat declines further.

More information on the proposed closures and how to get involved in the collaboration process is available at tetonsheep.org.


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