Wow, where does the time go?  It’s hard to believe that it has been almost three months since our 25th Annual fundraiser and we are already planning the 2018 fundraiser!  Our 2017 fundraiser was a huge success this year.  It was a record for revenue and there was some serious excitement in the room!  Having all the Life Members in the room standing for the Life Member Sheep Hunt drawing was something that I will never forget.  Looking around at the people who have worked for over 25 years on Montana sheep issues, as well as new members excited to get involved was a pretty unique experience.  A sincere thank you goes out to all of you that attended, donated and spent some money to put more sheep on the mountain!

After much discussion and investigation, we are back in Bozeman March 9-10, 2018, at the Best Western Gran Tree Inn for our 26th Annual Event.  Our board and planning committee investigated other venues, dates, etc. but all things considered, this venue was the best option.  We will refine the ticket purchase process to make sure all Life Members have the opportunity to be in the room for the drawing. This will surely be a not to miss event as we will be GIVING AWAY ANOTHER FULLY GUIDED ALASKA DALL SHEEP HUNT TO A LIFE MEMBER PRESENT AT THE BANQUET………..This generated so much excitement and increased the revenue for the chapter, so it makes sense to continue.  Someone present in the room will be going sheep hunting in Alaska with Lazy J Bar O Outfitters August 20-31, 2018. This will surely up the ante again for the 2018 banquet. Make sure you get signed up for your LIFE MEMBERSHIP online, as well as put the banquet on the calendar now.  You MUST be a LIFE MEMBER and MUST BE PRESENT to win. As those of you who were at the last few banquets will tell you, we pack the house!  We sold out the room last year in 10 days and continuing our Fully Guided Sheep Hunt raffle will mean that you will need to get your tickets early.   We will also only be selling tickets online next year.  We will have online ticket purchase up and running in January 2018 and we will put the information into our November/December 2017 Newsletter.

Also related to fundraisers, the Board has also made the decision to head to Billings, MT in 2019.  The last time we held our event in Billings was 2007 and we hope to follow the precedent of 2 years in each town.  Any members located in Billings that would like to assist would surely be welcomed.

In conservation news, the February 2017 Domestic & Wild Sheep Symposium was a great opportunity to hear presentations by both domestic and wild sheep biologists.  I definitely learned a few things, as everyone in the room was smarter than me…. Kurt Alt, John Vore and Dave McEwen did a great job of putting together a panel of experts that provided a basis for moving forward on the disease issues.  You can view all of the presentations on FWP’s website here.  This symposium also served as the kickoff to our Montana Wild/Domestic Sheep working group that will focus on solutions in Montana to address bighorn/domestic conflicts and success.  There will be more details coming on this effort and please reach out if you have the capacity to assist.

Finally, I just wanted to thank all of the MTWSF board members, volunteers, donors and sponsors from the 2017 banquet one more time.  It takes a significant effort from a great number of people to pull off these events.  Without the support of volunteers, members, businesses and bighorn enthusiasts, we wouldn’t be able to fund any of the work or “put more sheep on the mountain.”  Thank you for all that you do.

Brian Solan,
Montana WSF President

“Something Special” My California Bighorn Sheep Hunt in Washington State

Story by: Andy Kelly

When I drew my 2016 California Bighorn sheep tag in the Chelan Butte unit of Washington State, I initially did not realize what a great tag I had drawn!  Entering the draw with 10 points, as a non-resident, I felt very lucky to draw one of the two regular tags issued. 

Read the whole article in our June 2017 Newsletter.

2016 Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep Hunt

Story by: Shane Austin

It was Thursday November 17th. Myself and father, Casey were driving to meet our hunting partner for the day, Chad Galle. We met Chad at our regular spotting location, just off the highway outside of Anaconda, Montana. It was 6:30 in the morning. We spotted the area and talked about our plan of attack for the day. We saw a few different rams from where we were, but could tell they weren’t the quality of ram we wanted. Our plan was to check out Olson Mountain as that is where we had seen the bulk of the rams this season . . . 

Read the whole article in our June 2017 Newsletter.