Sheep Fever

Congress passed the Wild and Free-Roaming Horses & Burros Act in 1971 when populations of these animals were declining. Back then, no one could have foreseen the problems we currently face 55 years later, as unchecked populations overrun the carrying capacity of the land and out-compete native wildlife (including wild bighorns) for forage and water. The law requires the BLM to protect and manage p...

For a variety of reasons women are one of the fasting growing segments of the hunting and shooting communities. WSF's Women Hunt® program was conceived to help more women cross barriers into the hunting and conservation space. Women Shaping Conservation is a new program within Wild Sheep Society of British Columbia with a shared vision and mission of WSF's Women Hunt® program. Gray sits down with...

One of the most cherished aspects of any hunt is the stories shared around a campfire. Whether enjoying Stone's sheep ribs slow grilled on willow sticks, Dall's tenderloins sauteed on a hot rock, or bighorn backstraps sizzling in a well-worn cast iron pan, the stories told while enjoying the fruits of the hunt in many ways epitomize the allure of sheep camp and the essence of the hunting experienc...

Auction Tags, Governor's Tags, Minister's Permits – celebrated conservation funding, special privilege, love them or hate them, amazing record amounts of money are being spent each year for the chance to skip to the head of the line and hunt one special animal. The question is, what do these funds mean to big game species, the agencies that receive these funds, the organizations that sell them, an...

One Health is not a new concept, but it has gained momentum with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and others following the COVID pandemic. One Health promotes the fact that human health is directly tied to the health of the environment, including wildlife, plants, clean air, and clean water. While at the 2023 Sheep Show, Keith visited with wildlife veterinary expert and past Chair of the Wild...

The 100,000 acre Rancho La Palmosa is the result of a vision to restore native wildlife to the Chihuahuan desert of northern Coahuila including desert bighorn sheep, pronghorn, mule deer, whitetail deer ( miquihuanenses subspecies), quail (scaled and Montezuma) and non-game species and to enhance and protect the biodiversity of native flora and fauna. The Rangel family has owned portions of the ra...

Outdoor programming on television has come a long way since its inception, with more and more shows covering the conservation benefits of hunting and fishing. However, the majority of shows air on outdoor networks favored by sportsmen. The broader public that would benefit from this knowing these benefits have been harder to reach. While at the 2023 Sheep Show, Keith sat down with Dan Cabela and C...

SITKA Gear has led the technical hunting clothing community with their launch in 2005 with purposeful-designed apparel for the sheep and mountain game hunter and their digitally inspired Open Country pattern. Today, their lines include camouflage patterns, apparel, and gear for all species, from elk, mule deer, and whitetail to waterfowl and turkey. A leader in conservation, SITKA has been funding...

Stone Glacier is recognized as one of the fastest-growing, innovative, and edgy brands in the outdoor space. Gray sits down with SG President and CEO Jeff Sposito to discuss SG's austere beginnings to trim gear weight to enable acclaimed Dall's and Montana Unlimited hunter, SG Founder and Lead Designer Kurt Racicot to hunt solo for weeks in some of the most challenging environments to SG's future...

For this episode, Keith visits with Snowy Mountain Rifle of Montana president, Paul Donaldson to talk about custom rifle making and Paul's good fortune in pulling the 2021 Idaho Raffle Bighorn Sheep Tag, good for Unit 11 Hells Canyon – a raffle ticket he purchased at the 2021 Sheep Show.

The business of conservation is complex, with many moving parts. In this episode, Keith visits with Congressional Sportsmen Foundation President Jeff Crane to discuss one aspect critical to successful wildlife and habitat conservation and protecting and advancing our outdoor traditions – legislation and policy at the federal and state levels. If there is one takeaway, sportsmen and the issues we c...

With more than 35 years of experience, Jim Winjum is a leading authority on footwear design for mountain hunting. In 2005 Jim's passion for backcountry hunting and the equipment required to participate in these adventures led Jim (and his partners) to found Kenetrek Boots in Bozeman, Montana where he serves as President. Gray sits down with this accomplished sheep and mountain hunter with both rif...

One of the seven principles of the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation is; wildlife is to be managed by the best science available, not opinion, conjecture, or how some would like it to be. Keith sits down with Steve Williams, past Chief of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and current president of the Wildlife Management Institute to discuss how this cornerstone of wildlife management ca...

One bright spot in keeping wild sheep on the Mountain is a new program called, Test & Remove. In this episode, Gray sits down with the leading experts in the field, Helen Schwantje, DVM formerly (retired) the Wildlife Veterinarian for the Province of British Columbia, and Peregrine Wolff, DVM immediate past WSF Chair, Executive Manager of the Wildlife Disease Association and member of the Internat...

Like a tough piece of meat that gets bigger the more you chew it, there's more to this discussion on trophies and trophy hunting. Gray, Keith and Shane pick up where they left off and frame a path forward that just might make the most sense for steering this issue in a more positive direction.

If there's a hot topic aimed at the future of hunting today, it's trophy hunting. Gray and Keith sit down with our community's sage advisor, Shane Mahoney, CEO of Conservation Visions. Like the word conservation, trophy hunting has been highjacked by those trying to advance an anti-hunting agenda. This time as a bumper sticker campaign to launch into a more personal effort, anti-hunter. Is the neg...

When it comes to Asian sheep hunting and especially hunting wild sheep in China, few have "been there – done that" than Albertan Robert Logan. Gray got with Bob in his stunning trophy room in Calgary to visit about his hunts, his trophies, his hunting friends, impromptu horse races, civil wars and strife including a few close calls Bob would rather not repeat!

For this episode of Sheep Fever, WSF President and CEO Gray Thornton and Vice President of Conservation Kevin Hurley visit with Kate Huyvaert DVM, the new Rocky Crate chair at Washington State University's School of Veterinary Medicine. We've learned most of what we know about diseases and die-offs in wild sheep and what can be done from this think tank and research facility, which WSF and others...

So, you want to go sheep hunting? If there is one man who has seen it all in North America and internationally, its Jack Atcheson, Jr. Gray and Jack have a candid conversation about wild sheep hunting through the ages and where we are headed today. Jack Jr. has followed in his father's footsteps as a booking agent out of Butte, Montana. Between them, they have put more people on their first and la...

If you want to know where you're going, check where you've been. In this episode of Sheep Fever, you'll hear from the past two Chairs of the Wild Sheep Foundation, Brett Jefferson and Dr. Peregrine Wolff. They both share a look behind the scenes of WSF over the past four years. In their tenure at the helm, both have seen tremendous growth in the organization but more importantly significant progre...

How much wild game meat is humanely and ethically harvested by sportsmen and women in the US and Canada each year? How many meals does this represent, and how many people does this wild protein feed? The answer to these questions is in the millions of pounds and millions of meals. In this episode, you'll learn the far-reaching effects of this research initiative that drives to the heart of why con...

Bob and Gray got on a roll and there was just too much good dialog to decide what to edit, so we split their conversation into two episodes. Like a living encyclopedia on big rams, sheep hunts, and sheep hunters, author of the Great Rams books I, II, III & IV, Bob Anderson forgets more in a night's sleep than we'll ever know. WSF president & CEO Gray Thornton sits down with this legendary wild she...

Like a living encyclopedia on big rams, sheep hunts, and sheep hunters, author of the Great Rams books I, II, III & IV, Bob Anderson forgets more in a night's sleep than we'll ever know. WSF president & CEO Gray Thornton sits down with this legendary wild sheep scribe to extract a fraction of what he knows.

Sheep Fever  is the official podcast of the Wild Sheep Foundation , delivering a diversity of topics, talent, and insights from within the wild sheep hunting and conservation community, as well as broader issues of importance to the outdoor lifestyles and hunting heritage cherished by millions of sportsmen and women around the globe.