Nevada
Why there's new hope for Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep to make a comeback
Scientists say the population of endangered Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep appears to have stabilized after suffering devastating losses during the record-breaking winter of 2022-2023.
Tom Stephenson, who leads the Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep Recovery Program, said the number of ewes, or female sheep, counted this summer is about the same as the previous summer.
Plus, he said, the abundant summer forage helped produce a “good crop” of new lambs — almost 100. And at least some ewes, which are critical for population growth, were spotted in herds that researchers previously feared might have been wiped out.
“Very small numbers,” Stephenson said of those herds. “Nevertheless, even if these populations hang on with a small number of animals, there’s a chance they can rebuild.”
Stephenson estimates the current total population of Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep at between 380 and 400 animals.
Tom Stephenson heads the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep Recovery Program.
Bernd Zeugswetter
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LAist
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An average winter is good for bighorn
Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep are well-adapted to snowy winters at high altitudes, Stephenson said. But several above-average snow years over the past decade have seriously hampered the species’ recovery.
In the summer of 2023, researchers found that half of the bighorn sheep that were being tracked had died in the previous winter. Most were victims of avalanches, starvation, or mountain lions.
Even with new lambs born that summer, the population dropped by 40%.
But this past winter, the snowpack was average, which “for bighorn sheep isn’t bad,” Stephenson said. “They’re well adapted to a good amount of snow.”
Still, overall the population of Sierra Nevada bighorn is about half what it was at the peak of the recovery program, in 2016.
How did Sierra Nevada bighorn become endangered?
Before European settlers arrived in the 1700s and 1800s, thousands of bighorn sheep are thought to have occupied the Sierra Nevada, from the Yosemite region south to Mount Whitney and the high slopes of Sequoia National Park.
Domestic sheep brought by Europeans passed on disease to the native bighorns, which had no immunity. By the mid-1990s, there were only about 100 Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep left.
Conservationists ramped up efforts to save the species, and they were listed as endangered by the state and federal government in 1999.
A ewe from the Wheeler Ridge herd southwest of Bishop.
Bernd Zeugswetter
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LAist
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How the bighorn could recover
Two major factors affecting the Sierra Nevada bighorn recovery are climate and predation by mountain lions. As the climate changes, the Sierra Nevada is expected to experience less snow, on average, but also more intense storms.
Both extremes are problematic for the sheep: too much snow means it’s harder for the animals to find food and more likely they’ll get trapped in avalanches, or move to lower elevations where they’re more vulnerable to becoming a mountain lion’s meal.
Too little snow produces less fodder in the summer to feed new lambs and fatten up their parents to withstand the next winter.
Rather than fret about the unpredictable weather, Stephenson said he’s more focused on the other threat — mountain lions. “When it comes to lion management, we do have an ability to influence that,” he said.
In the early years of the recovery program, mountain lions known to target bighorn sheep were regularly euthanized. That approach became politically unpopular — mountain lions are beloved in California — and the program has since shifted toward relocating lions that prey on bighorns to areas outside of the recovery zones.
But the process of getting permission to relocate a mountain lion can be cumbersome, Stephenson said. “If we could take those actions as soon as we see a threat, that would be a huge benefit to the [bighorn] population,” he said.
Nevada
Nevada lawmaker pushes for harsher animal cruelty laws after abuse, death of Reba the Bulldog
The Oregon Ducks secured their third transfer portal addition in a single day on Wednesday night.
Nevada offensive tackle Isaiah World announced his commitment to the Ducks. World — standing at 6-foot-8, 320 pounds — was the top available offensive tackle in the portal according to 247Sports.
Originally a three-star recruit out of high school in San Diego, World was a two-time all-Mountain West honorable mention at Nevada in 2023 and 2024. He spent four seasons with the Wolfpack, including one redshirt year, and has one year of eligibility remaining.
World joins fellow offensive tackle Alex Harkey (Texas State) and tight end Jamari Johnson (Louisville) in the trio of transfers to commit to Oregon on Wednesday.
Keep tabs on all of Oregon’s incoming and outgoing transfers with our live transfer portal tracker.
CFP quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl
- Who: No. 1 Oregon Ducks (13-0) vs. No. 8 Ohio State/No. 9 Tennessee
- When: Wednesday, Jan. 1
- Time: 2 p.m. PT
- Where: Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California
- TV channel: ESPN
- Stream: You can watch this game live for FREE with Fubo (free trial) or by signing up for Sling (cheapest streaming plans, $25 off your first month). If you already have cable, you can also watch this game live on Watch ESPN with your cable or satellite provider login information.
- Oregon Ducks football 2024 season schedule, scores
- Sign up for The Ducks Beat newsletter
— Ryan Clarke covers the Oregon Ducks and Big Ten Conference. Listen to the Ducks Confidential podcast or subscribe to the Ducks Roundup newsletter.
Nevada Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro announced a sweeping education bill she will push in the upcoming Legislative Session, with proposals ranging from retaining previous teacher raises and creating universal pre-K programs to improving accountability measures for public and private schools.
The Education through Accountability, Transparency, and Efficiency (EDUCATE) Act aims to help facilitate a “broad-based conversation about accountability in the education system,” according to a statement from Cannizzaro, D-Las Vegas, on Wednesday.
“The EDUCATE Act is the result of a commitment I made a year ago to bring forward a package of education reforms that would improve outcomes for students, help us hire and retain great teachers and staff, and give parents more confidence in our educational system,” Cannizzaro’s statement said.
Her bill would retain the nearly 20 percent raises for staff passed as part of the 2023 education budget.
Cannizzaro wants to expand alternative routes to licensure and Paraprofessional Pathways Project programs to address teacher shortages. Her bill would also establish a Nevada Commission on Educator Recruitment and Retention that will replace the Nevada Department of Education’s advisory task force to identify strategies to address educator workforce pipelines.
The bill also contains provisions to expand accountability for schools. If passed, it would create a School District Oversight Board, a joint legislative and executive branch group that would oversee school districts and take action if they fail to meet certain obligations.
It would also require the State Board of Education to develop academic achievement plans for elementary schools that includes three-year goals and plans aimed at advancing student achievement.
The EDUCATE Act also create universal pre-K for all 4-year-olds.
Regarding opportunity scholarships, a source of tension between state Democrats and Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo, Cannizzaro’s bill would require all private schools receiving public funds to meet the same subject assessment requirements as public schools. It would create a mandate for schools to collect and report demographic and enrollment information of Opportunity Scholarship recipients.
“We all agree that our kids deserve the best possible educational opportunities, and I look forward to a robust conversation during the legislation session about making publicly funded schools more transparent and accountable to deliver for students, parents, and our community,” Cannizzaro said.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Contact Jessica Hill at jehill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @jess_hillyeah on X.
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