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Department outlines sheep management approach; board deliberations expected on curl criteria and intensive management
Summary
Senate subcommittee heard Department of Fish and Game testimony on declining Dall sheep numbers and management approaches favoring full‑curl criteria; the department and board processes may consider guide concession tools and possible intensive management designation.
Senate members raised concerns about Dall sheep population declines and hunting rules during the March 6, 2025, budget presentation. Commissioner Doug Vincent Lang described the department's approach and the tradeoffs under consideration.
Commissioner Lang said the department currently favors “full‑curl” harvest criteria as a tool to maintain reproductive male biomass and allow rebuilding after population declines. He said proposals to shift to a “three‑quarter curl” standard would make more rams eligible for harvest in the short term and could reduce long‑term reproductive capacity, increasing the risk of more restrictive closures.
Why it matters: Sheep hunting regulations determine whether resident and nonresident hunters, and the guided sector, gain access to limited resources. Changes in curl criteria or guide concessions would affect user access in popular ranges and could shift harvest pressure to other areas.
Key points from the hearing
- Full‑curl management: Lang said full‑curl criteria are the department's primary tool to ensure enough mature rams remain on the landscape to support reproduction and long‑term recovery after poor cohorts caused by recent heavy winters.
- Three‑quarter curl debate: The department described advocacy to relax full‑curl to a three‑quarter curl threshold; Lang warned that relaxing the standard risks higher harvest rates and would likely require more restrictive overall hunting opportunities to avoid population declines.
- Guide concession program and SB 189: Lang said the guide concession program is one tool under discussion to limit nonresident guided harvest by controlling guide numbers; the program is the subject of litigation in some respects and would be considered by boards and the Legislature as appropriate.
- Intensive management: The department said the Board of Game is expected to deliberate soon on whether to add sheep to the intensive management program; the department noted predation and poor recruitment on some ranges as causes of decline and described intensive management as a possible longer‑term response.
Discussion vs. decision
The subcommittee discussion captured policy and management preferences; no regulatory changes or votes were recorded. Lang emphasized the board of game as the decision forum for statutory or regulatory changes and noted multiple management tools would be required if harvest criteria shift.
Ending: Senators asked for more detail and the board process timeline; the department said it would provide further information to the committee and that the Board of Game would address related proposals in upcoming meetings.
