• Our sponsors donated more than ever, we had record attendance, and our banquet patrons supported us with record spending. This led to record fundraising levels! In addition, our volunteers worked their tails off to make the weekend’s events successful and memorable. Thank you to all, the success of the weekend is shared by everyone who contributed.
• The event helped us add 95 new members to our conservation organization. Welcome to all of our new members! We hope you enjoy reading your first newsletter.
• During the Saturday morning seminars, Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks announced a 5-year, $8 million investment in research, management, and restoration efforts for wild bighorn sheep and Rocky Mountain goats in Montana. These projects will be the keystone for the expansion of bighorn sheep throughout the state of Montana. In my last letter to you, we celebrated Brian Solan for his unwavering commitment to this organization and introduced our new Executive Director Ty Stubblefield. Over the past few months, Ty has strengthened our team with his experience and work ethic. Make sure to read Ty’s article to learn more about his mission to serve MTWSF.
Looking ahead, the MTWSF Board of Directors has much to do. We are on the cusp of launching a Conservation Committee that will connect our organization, FWP, and our partners. We are working on many smaller initiatives, all of which will further our mission to expand the distribution of wild sheep in Montana. These are very exciting times for the Montana Wild?Sheep Foundation!
D.J. Berg
Montana Wild Sheep Foundation President
dj@montanawsf.org
(406) 366-1849
Highlights from this Issue
Can Hunters and Outdoor?Recreationists Help Monitor for?Bighorn Sheep Respiratory Disease?
Story by: Sidney Brenkus
?Master’s Candidate, University of Memphis
“I got one!” yelled a woman to my left, a community scientist, while steadily holding her binoculars towards Mount Henkel in Glacier National Park. As she described the exact location of the bighorn sheep she spotted, everyone around me started setting up spotting scopes and grabbing data sheets. I began pairing biologists with volunteers, letting the volunteers count the herd and classify each bighorn as ram, ewe, yearling, or lamb. Once this was done, each biologist-volunteer pair would pick a single bighorn to watch for 20-minutes and record every behavior they saw. This is what a typical day looked like for community scientists who came out to volunteer for my project: Bighorn Sheep Behavior and Community Science.
Read the whole article in our Wild Sheep Newsletter, Spring 2023.
Introducing Ty Stubblefield
Montana Wild Sheep Foundation’s new Executive Director
The road that led me to this position at the Montana Wild Sheep Foundation is filled with countless mountain miles, back-country hunts, a boatload of conservation hours, and a few opportunities to pursue wild sheep with friends and family in some of the coolest countries known to man. And like many, I have yet to put my tag around the horns of a wild sheep. Even though I’ve not yet killed my own, I am thankful to have the opportunity to be a part of this family of wild sheep conservationists.
My conservation journey began back in 1997 when I volunteered for a state-based bow-hunting organization called Oregon Bow Hunters. My volunteerism transitioned into a career when my logging company took a catastrophic blow from the recession in 2008. That blow changed the course of my career and my life. I was successful in landing a position with the Oregon Hunters Association. This is where I received most of my education in fundraising, policy work, and boots-on-the-ground habitat and wildlife work.
Though I loved the work and the people, Montana pulled at my heart constantly. I took a summer trip in my youth and loved everything about this great state. I vowed that I’d one day return to stay. In 2015 I was granted the opportunity to follow through with that promise. The opportunity came to help grow a young and vibrant organization called Back Country Hunters and Anglers (BHA). I accepted the position of chapter coordinator and new chapter development. There I worked hard to help grow the organization from 3,600 members and 17 chapters to nearly 40,000 members and 44 chapters in six short years.
