BILLINGS, Mont. — State wildlife officials are considering a plan to eliminate a herd of 50 bighorn sheep whose reproduction has been stunted by a 1997 pneumonia outbreak and then transplant healthy sheep into the area west of Lima along the Idaho border.
The Billings Gazette reported the Fish and Wildlife Commission will meet via video conference on Thursday to discuss possible ways to deal with the bighorn herd in the Tendoy Mountains.
Wildlife management section chief John Vore says an environmental assessment and public comment would precede any action.
Montana Wild Sheep Foundation executive director Jim Weatherly says the conservation group supports the plan.
Vore says it would take about two years for hunters to remove all the sheep from the area. The goal is to get the population to about 125 sheep.
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