Taking Bighorn Sheep for a ride

Bighorn Sheep and Helicopter Landings EA Released for Public Comment (Photo: www.parkplanning.nps.gov)

The Inyo National Forest has prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA) for a proposal to authorize the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) to land helicopters in designated wilderness to support the recovery of the endangered Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep. The EA is now available for a 30-day public review and comment period.

The purpose of this project is to support CDFG in implementation of the 2007 Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep Recovery Plan, which identifies specific actions needed to downlist or delist the species. Under the Proposed Action, helicopter landings would be authorized in designated wilderness for the purposes of conducting population monitoring and translocation captures of Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep. Proposed helicopter captures would occur in portions of the Hoover, Ansel Adams, John Muir, Golden Trout, and South Sierra wildernesses. The project would consist of a maximum of 100 helicopter landings per year, with no more than 605 landings over a ten-year period.

How to Comment and Timeframe

Copies of the EA can be obtained from the Inyo National Forest Supervisor’s Office at 351 Pacu Lane in Bishop or on the Inyo National Forest website at http://www.fs.fed.us/nepa/fs-usda-pop.php/?project=35211. The comment period runs for 30 days beginning Oct. 11.

Comments must be submitted to Leeann Murphy, Wildlife Biologist/Project Manager, 351 Pacu Lane Suite 200, Bishop, CA 93514, or fax 760.873.2458. Comments can be made directly on the project website at http://www.fs.fed.us/nepa/fs-usda-pop.php/?project=35211 by clicking on the ‘Comment on Project’ button on the right hand side of the screen. Comments may also be submitted via email to comments-pacificsouthwest-inyo@fs.fed.us, or hand-delivered weekdays 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. at the above stated address.

For more information please contact Leeann Murphy at 760.873.2450. –Press Release