DESERT BIGHORN SHEEP RESTORATION: A magnificent 
animal then and now ... on Passport to Texas.

This is Passport to Texas

In the late 19th century, upwards of 3-thousand native 
desert big horned sheep roamed the Trans Pecos region 
of Texas. By the mid-20th century, they were gone.

07 -- It's commonly agreed that the introduction of domestic 
sheep and goats, [with their] diseases, net wire fencing, and 
unregulated hunting played a big part [in their demise].
 
Froylan Hernandez is the Desert Bighorn Sheep Program 
Leader for TPW. He is quick to say, there's no ill will 
toward the domestic livestock industry.

06 -- I'm just merely stating the facts of the Bighorn's demise. We 
need to live in harmony with the domestic livestock industry.

Native Texas Bighorn Sheep no longer exist despite active 
restoration efforts of the species that began in the late 
1940s and early 50s. 

09 -- So we started introducing sheep from other states; primarily 
Nevada, Utah, Arizona, some from Baja California, Mexico. So the 
efforts started way back when.

Restoration of Desert Bighorn Sheep involves relocation, 
monitoring, data collection and analysis. The sheep 
historically appeared in 15 mountain ranges in the Trans 
Pecos.

07 -- Our goal is to get them back to the critical habitat - to those 
mountain ranges, and for them to number about 25-hundred. So, 
we're kind of halfway there.

More on Desert Bighorn Sheep Restoration tomorrow.

The WSFR program supports our series and funds Desert 
Bighorn Sheep Restoration in Texas.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife ... I'm Cecilia Nasti.


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Maximum Script time:		 0:56.0	 Suggested show time: 85.0 = 1:25