Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks held an emergency meeting Monday to discuss an ongoing problem with the bighorn sheep population in northeast Montana.
Typically, in Hunting District 622 which runs along the north side of the Missouri River in Phillips and Valley counties, two tags are issued annually by drawing for bighorn sheep hunting.
Wildlife managers voted to issue zero tags for the 2025 season.
This follows the startling results of a recent survey of bighorn sheep populations in the area conducted by FWP.
Wildlife managers say historically, they count 100 to 300 sheep in the hunting district.
On March 27th, they could only count 5.
FWP Game Management Bureau Chief Brian Wakeling :
“One animal died during the course of the survey. That animal was recovered it's in Bozeman currently at our wildlife health lab and it's undergoing a necropsy and disease investigation to see exactly what the cause is.”
Wildlife managers suspect it is a respiratory disease that is killing the sheep.
Wildlife managers have also noticed a decrease in the bighorn sheep population in a neighboring hunting district in Blaine County, but not as significant as that of Hunting District 622.
The drawing for bighorn sheep hunting permits typically happens mid-May.
