The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources in cooperation with Arizona Game and Fish has successfully reintroduced desert bighorn sheep into the Paria Canyon area east of Kanab.
In the early hours of Nov. 18, three rams and eighteen ewes were released after spending the night in horse trailers in route from the Arizona side of Lake Mead.Seven of the ewes were fitted with radio collars to allow monitoring over the next few years. Utah wildlife biologist Norman McKee said, "This project is the culmination of several months of preparation and cooperation between several agencies."
Arizona Game and Fish, Utah Bureau of Land Management, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Five County Association of Governments and particularly the Kane County Commission all were instrumental in seeing that this reintroduction was successful.
Kane County Commissioner Joe Judd said, "We are interested in this project because it will improve Kane County. It's exciting to see these magnificent animals jump out of the trailers and take off like they own the place."
All twenty one sheep soon bunched up in a single herd and worked their way toward the jagged cliffs that make up much of the Paria area. Regional Supervisor Jim Guymon of the DWR said, "There is a lot of historical evidence that indicates that this area and much of the rest of southern and southeastern Utah was inhabited by the desert bighorn.
"They found it impossible to compete with domestic sheep brought in by the early settlers and eventually were wiped out by diseases for which they had no immunity. This is an attempt to replace the wildlife that was once here."
The Utah DWR will monitor the progress of this herd closely for the next few years. It should prove to be an asset to Kane county and the entire state.