We surveyed 30 owners of sheep and goats living near wild bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) habitat in central and southeast Washington. We explored small flock owners' knowledge about pathogens that domestic sheep and goats can transmit to wild bighorn sheep and mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus), as well as their interests in mitigating, reducing, and preventing interactions between the wild and domestic species. We identified flock owners via aerial photography, systematic visual sampling in habitat and at fairs, and from contacts provided by FFA and 4-H leaders, state-agency biologists, livestock breeders, and extension agents. A majority of small flock owners were unaware of the substantial risk posed by interactions between their animals and bighorn sheep from pathogen spillover. However they were willing to help by contacting wildlife biologists if bighorn were sited, sampling their flocks for bacteria, fencing, changing livestock species, and other methods to reduce interaction.
Oral presentation and poster titles, abstracts, and authors from the Society for Range Management (SRM) Annual Meetings and Tradeshows, from 2013 forward.