This seems like a great idea...
Contributors to this thread:Wild Sheep
From: ELKMAN
28-Apr-19
ELKMAN's Link
From: LKH
28-Apr-19
You need better bait.
From: ELKMAN
28-Apr-19
Domestic sheep... Wild sheep. What could go wrong right?
From: Treeline
28-Apr-19
Sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. In one of the best bighorn sheep hunting areas in the country.
Hard to believe these people actually guide sheep hunters and Mr. Brown actually put in for 30 years to draw a tag... and have turned down help from WSF and MG&F to keep the domestic sheep away from the wild sheep.
Seems very strange.
From: HDE
28-Apr-19
Range maggots are the worse enemy to wild bighorn sheep.
From: wildwilderness
28-Apr-19
I wonder how much they make off the domestic sheep. From what I hear from other sheep herders the profit is pretty low, no market for mutton, or standard wool. The main income source is selling lambs. If they are “trying to make a living “ may be easiest to pay them off the range and protect the future of wild sheep.
From: Blue Buck
28-Apr-19
I suspect he's grazing domestic sheep out of spite for the Montana Game and Fish. The Meateater podcast had a dude on that was a sheep biologist(if memory serves) and he talked about a landowner that put a herd of sheep out in bighorn country just to stick it to the game and fish. I don't remember what state.
From: Bill Obeid
28-Apr-19
Talk about being disappointed in your fellow man..... this guy is a western hunter and outfitter , there is no way he is not aware of what he’s doing!
Probably does have an axe to grind .
From: Franklin
28-Apr-19
Government agencies constantly overstep their bounds. It`s not hard to see some people taking action to "stick it to them". There must be more to the story, maybe a longer more destructive relationship.
From: Bill Obeid
28-Apr-19
Would he be sticking to the government agency... or would he be sticking it to all of us who dream of drawing that sheep tag someday?
From: Glunt@work
28-Apr-19
I also am guessing there is more to the story. Having bighorns on your property increases its value and if you are an outfitter or lease to one, its easier income than raising domestic sheep. Not enough to quit the ag side but usually enough to avoid some ag stuff that could screw it up.
From: PushCoArcher
28-Apr-19
He's not "sticking it" to us or them he's "sticking it" to the sheep. I can understand frustration at government overreach but I can't understand that sort of selfish thinking.
From: Bill Obeid
28-Apr-19
That’s right Push...... he’s basically signing a death sentence for a herd of bighorns. No different than a serial killer... he’ll be a serial poacher . A true wolf in sheep’s clothing!
From: sticksender
28-Apr-19
The story states that this ranch has a resident wild bighorn sheep herd. This may be an instance where some kind of landowner tag program could actually benefit the species. An example of a state that does have such a program is Colorado. You'll probably never see the Purgatoire ranch grazing sheep. Not with transferable BSAP tags, being worth what they are, being given to them every year.
From: caribou77
28-Apr-19
I know Bill, hunted mule deer with him one year. Bill doesnt care what anyone thinks. To be honest I think the more people tell him its wrong and not to do it, the easier it will be for him to keep doing it. I like Bill too. Just think this is a stupid move. But its his ground. and yes he has a resident heard. GIANT RAMS. They almost seemed tame when I was out there. No real fear. They get pushed out of the breaks by hunters and eat in his fields. He has a lot of problems with trespassing from what i've heard. May be one reason he doesnt care. Idk?
From: IdyllwildArcher
28-Apr-19
And domestic sheep don't even belong in sage country. In drier climates, they decimate the range by the nature of how they graze, pulling grass from the roots. If you want to graze something out there, that's the last animal you want on that land for so many reasons.
From: NVBighorn
29-Apr-19
I believe he wants to be paid not to run domestic sheep. I may be wrong but I doubt it. He is forcing our hand. So, he would go out of the domestic sheep business (which is a money looser anyway), go into the cattle business (slightly more money to be made), and cash the check he would get from us sheep hunters. Win - win for him. Maybe throw in some landowner tags for him to sell and, voila! domestic problem goes away. As much as I despise his little plan, it probably has to happen.
From: TrapperKayak
29-Apr-19
PushCoArcher x3! Selfish landowner looking out for his own interests, inconsiderate of wildlife and other people who happen to work for a govt agency. With an axe to grind , he will get what he has coming eventually.
From: Surfbow
29-Apr-19
Sounds to me like old Bill is trying to force someone's hand to compensate him for not running sheep...that's extortion...classy
From: TreeWalker
29-Apr-19
A part of the Western culture is looking up on a mountain ridge and seeing a bighorn ram staring back or maybe a white mountain goat scrambling up the ridge. A lot of good people spend a lot of time and money to keep those sheep and goats healthy. Bill is insulting all those who sacrifice time and money to help out animals they will likely never draw a tag to hunt. Conservation. Bill is not selling off land to subdivide into ranchettes which would also cause harm but limited harm. Instead, he is knowingly supplying the disease vector that will cause dozens of wild sheep to suffer a slow, agonizing death. That personality type combined with wealth is on track to undoing the work of others that spans decades and will take decades to repair if can even be repaired. I hope the potential increase in Bill's wealth is something he will enjoy in his twilight years because I would feel like a piece of crap knowing how my name will be part of the legacy of the downfall of an entire herd of sheep.
From: coelker
29-Apr-19
Maybe we as hunters should consider blasting their outfitting business? Surely they make more outfitting than they do raising goats or sheep. I know that I would never consider hunting with an outfitter willing to to create such a potential disaster. Others would follow...
From: Shrewski
29-Apr-19
Does not sound like his intentions are pure. Sickening. More information from a very well known friend of Montana wild sheep.
From: Treeline
29-Apr-19
Sounds like a real peach...
Has he made any demands yet?
From: akbow
29-Apr-19
Does anyone even eat domestic sheep in the US anymore? I rarely see it in the store and am personally not a fan. Besides the point I know. To the point, this guy is angling for something...likely $$$$ from the gov.
From: Shrewski
01-May-19
Shrewski's Link
WSF sent out this link yesterday:
From: Rut Nut
01-May-19
WOW! THis guys sounds like a real TOOL! : (
From: wilhille
01-May-19
There are hundreds of Bill Brown's in New Mexico. They hold the animals for ransom and if their demands aren't met, they start shooting them. Totally legal too since one of the cronies had a bill named after him making it legal. Oh well. Those in power make the calls.
From: SBH
01-May-19
Sad deal. Hope someone can come up with a good idea that will get him to stop. I hate to see him get paid but if the goal is to help the bighorn sheep it may have to happen. Lesser of two evils in this case. Hard to believe someone would be willing to risk that herd the way he is over some money.
From: Fauntleroy
01-May-19
What a nightmare. If we pay the "ransom" it sets the precedent for all ranchers down the line to hold the public's sheep herds hostage for a payday. If we demand legislative action the precedent gets set that the Government can tell private landowners what they can and can not do with their land. If we do nothing one of the prized gems of North America is lost out of spitefulness. I can't imagine a worse scenario for our herds and it sounds like he's one hard headed SOB.
From: thedude
01-May-19
Could always get a few helicopters and "herd" the sheep off the edge of a cliff, but that wouldnt be civil.
From: WV Mountaineer
02-May-19
It’s his property by ownership or lease rights. Benefits of such belong to him. I don’t like it but that’s just the way it is.
From: Rut Nut
02-May-19
AMEN Fauntleroy.......................................it's a LOSE, LOSE, LOSE proposition any way you slice it! : (
From: Fauntleroy
02-May-19
For those associated with WSF, how would you feel if they paid this ransom?
From: snareman
02-May-19
Its his private property right, if we let the government or other people start telling us how to run our business or household we may as well be living in china or Russia. Its certainly not the best decision for wild sheep, that being said our government has done just as much to damage our wild sheep herds and game populations by introducing wolves. They are at it again in Colorado, these people have a plan and their disinformation program about wolves is in full swing.
From: Shrewski
22-Oct-19
Shrewski's Link
Well, I still think this is the first dude’s angle. To get paid...
https://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/news/2019/10/15/conservation-easement-would-provide-public-access-4-400-acres/3986407002/
From: GF
22-Oct-19
“Bill is not selling off land to subdivide into ranchettes which would also cause harm but limited harm. ”
Slightly off topic, but WRONG, WRONG, WRONG!!!
The 35-acre ranchette has been found to be the MOST DISRUPTIVE of all levels of housing density. Worst possible outcome for wildlife. And for hunters, too.
Funny how quickly you guys start sounding like “Socialists” as soon as it’s something that matters TO YOU.
And I agree; government needs to step in when a common interest is endangered by private interests. Just a matter of how much and where...
From: NoWiser
22-Oct-19
I don't think that's wrong when you are talking specifically about sheep, as in this case.
From: BighornRam
04-Nov-19
the private property right does not give you the right to destroy a public resource. We don't allow individuals or companies to pollute steams and rivers or the air without consequences. Whatever the mans reasons what he is doing is stealing a public resource and it is wrong. The intentional introduction of a disease into a wild population is so distasteful I can't understand the man. What does the state of MT do to Bison that stray into MT from Yellowstone. They trap them and kill the ones that test positive for Brucellosis. That is to protect the AG industry. Yet here is one individual rancher who threatens the most precious wild sheep resource in the USA. Private property rights are one thing but we all get to live with laws and rules that help us live without intruding on our neighbors rights. This is no different! This individual is stealing from all of us and could destroy something many have fought long and hard to protect. Any genius ideas on how to stop him?
