Bighorn sheep spotted in North Fork; about 1,300 lions in eco-region, FWP says
While not common, migration of bighorn sheep through the area is not without history. The Hungry Horse News photographed this ewe below the Hungry Horse sign in 2007 at the base of Columbia Mountain.
By CHRIS PETERSON
Hungry Horse News
Last fall there was an unusual sighting near Big Creek up the North Fork — four bighorn sheep. Two ewes and two lambs were spotted on more than one occasion, noted Ethan Lula, a biologist with Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.
Lula brought up at the sightings at the recent North Fork Interlocal meeting.
The biologist said they assume the animals migrated from Glacier National Park, but they really don’t know.
The Whitefish Range is typically not home to bighorn sheep and the mountains of Glacier where bighorn herds typically roam are several miles away.
But bighorns have shown up in strange places in the past.
The Hungry Horse News once photographed a small herd of bighorn sheep at the base of Columbia Mountain in 2007.
Lula also gave other wildlife news, including:
• The FWP comission approved a season to hunt black bears with hounds in the spring, but the hunt will not be allowed in occupied grizzly bear habitat, which includes this region.
• An ongoing mountain lion study has estimated about 1,376 mountain lions in this eco-region. The region includes all of Region 1 and part of Region 2 north of Missoula, but does not include the Flathead Indian Reservation. This could result in changes to the mountain lion seasons and FWP might not stay with a limited permit system for lions.
• FWP could start employing remote trail cameras to get a better idea of the deer population in the region. It’s currently using them on Wild Horse Island.
¶ The wolf harvest in the region is below average. To date, 80 wolves have been taken in Region 1, two in wolf management unit 110, which is the North Fork region outside of Glacier National Park.
• In fish news, FWP biologist Ken Breidinger said there are plans on reposting Big, Whale and Trail Creeks with no fishing signs. The streams have been closed to fishing for decades to protect spawning bull trout, but as more people visit, there have been some violations. The streams all used to be posted closed to fishing at major crossings, like the North Fork Road.
On the subject of bull trout, Trail Creek had a particularly good year for bull trout redd counts, with 34 counted. Redds are spawning beds in the gravel. Biologists count them to get an idea of how the fish populations are doing.
On the downside, the number of hybrid rainbow-westslope cutthroat trout in the North Fork tributaries to continues to spread.
“We continue to see the rainbow trout moving upstream,” he said.