It was a long hot summer and now hunting season is heating up with excitement. I still haven’t drawn the coveted Montana Wild sheep tag, but I did manage to draw a Moose tag in area 250 so I have been spending my spare time scouting in the Selway Bitterroot Wilderness. It’s always a blessing to be able to enjoy the largest wilderness in the lower 48 and it happens to be my backyard! In my travels I am also looking for the wild sheep herd that frequents the area for we are working with Montana FWP to capture, collar, and test 4 rams and 4 ewes from the area.

The Montana Wild Sheep Foundation (MTWSF) has been active on the landscape working for wild sheep. In June, several of our board members attended the 2018 Sheep Summit in Jackson, Wyoming where we learned about the current issues for wild sheep in North America. We are still working on a possible land purchase in the Paradise, MT area. The property is currently owned by Stimson Lumber Company. We are hoping to work with Stimson to keep the land in public ownership as it is key wild sheep habitat. Ray Vinkey, Grant Winn, and I walked the property and confirmed it is excellent. We need to work out several issues before we can make the purchase, but we will keep you posted as to our progress with the parcel. MTWSF continues its commitment to youth outreach and education. Former MTWSF President Tom Powers was recently recognized for his unfailing dedication to youth in Montana. Tom has organized a collaborative Youth Expo that is held at Teller Wildlife Refuge each Mother’s day weekend. This year there were well over 600 youth and family members in attendance as well as over 40 conservation groups with a common mission to expose youth to the outdoors in a positive way. This year over 100 scholarships were delivered to youth to attend conservation camps throughout Montana.  Tom has coordinated two camps in Western Montana. The Montana Matters Margruder camp at the Historic Magruder ranger Station and the Montana Matters Scripps Camp on the Nez Perce Highway. Each camp has dedicated wild sheep education programming for the youth are the future of hunting and conservation.  Hat’s off to Tom Powers for all of his tireless efforts and thousands of donated hours to help wild sheep conservation by educating youth.

Don’t forget to mark your calendars for March 9, 2019 to attend the MTWSF Wild Sheep Fundraiser at the Big Horn Resort in Billings.

Shane Clouse
Montana Wild Sheep Foundation President

shane@shaneclouse.com | (406) 370-4487

Montana Matters Summer Camps

Story by: Tom Powers

All the youth in the photo above went to one of the conservation camps sponsored in part by Montana WSF. Youth helped do volunteer work in area 270 on a block management area. They pulled old barbed wire and fence posts on Lazy J Cross ranch. The ranch allows hundreds of hunters to access hunting for mule deer, whitetail deer, elk, and wild sheep.

Read the whole article in our WildSheep Newsletter, October 2018.

Montana Wild Sheep Foundation Life Member Sheep Hunt 2018

Story by: Matt Comer

Day 1

The day was finally here, so much anticipation, so much preparation, all leading up to this. I woke up early in Fairbanks on August 19th, made my way to Fred Meyer to catch my two-hour shuttle toward Denali. The weather was nice as the pilot picked me up at the airstrip. My pilot had a sense of urgency as the weather can change at a moment’s notice. I piled all my gear into the plane and strapped in. We took a Maule about 20 minutes into the remote area and set it down on a gravel bar. When I landed in camp spirits were high.

Read the whole article in our WildSheep Newsletter, October 2018.