When bypass opens, bighorn sheep could be a big problem

Justin M. Bowen

The desert bighorn sheep that live in the River Mountains in Boulder City, seen here on a recent weekday morning, make their way down to Hemenway Park almost every morning. City officials have voiced concerns about the sheep as traffic in the area they roam is set to increase next year with the opening of the new Hoover Dam bypass bridge.

By Jean Reid Norman (contact)

Monday, Oct. 5, 2009 | 1:55 a.m.

Big Horn Sheep

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Big Horn Sheep have made their way into Boulder City, and with the new bypass construction coming to a close, Nevada Department of Wildlife representative Martin Olson weighs in on the effect it will have on the area.

Boulder City Sheep

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Boulder City

Life is good for the desert bighorn sheep in the River Mountains surrounding Boulder City.

Maybe too good — which has prompted concern from Boulder City officials as traffic in the area they roam is set to increase in November 2010 with the opening of the new Hoover Dam bypass bridge.

Most mornings between May and September, at about 9 a.m., dozens of the 200 or so sheep that live in the rocky hills come to Hemenway Park for a grassy green breakfast, said Martin Olson, an education coordinator for the Nevada Department of Wildlife. The lush grass provides most of their water and food needs, then offers a nice spot for them to settle in for their morning routine.

It’s a pretty cozy life: Because their home is so close to Boulder City and the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, this herd is off-limits to hunters. Residents who love to come watch them generally keep a respectful distance -- the rams’ long, circular are a cause for caution.

Unfortunately, the grass looks greener on the other side of the trees that separate the park from U.S. 93. That grass covers the flood channel just 20 to 30 yards from the highway, and it draws the desert bighorns close to the traffic that is expected to multiply once the Hoover Dam bypass bridge opens in November 2010, Boulder City animal control officials say. The opening of the bridge will allow tractor-trailers, which are now detoured through Laughlin, to take U.S. 93 through Boulder City, adding an estimated 2,000 or more trucks a day, according to projections from the Nevada Department of Transportation.

The prospect of sheep and heavy trucks concerns Boulder City Police Chief Thomas Finn and Animal Control Officer Mary Jo Frazier.

“I think there will be more fatalities, sheep fatalities,” Frazier said. “You mix cars and sheep, and there can be human fatalities as well.”

During the summer, Frazier finds herself chasing sheep from the highway almost every day, she said.

“Last week, I had three crossing the road. One was running full-tilt down the road in the middle of traffic,” Frazier said. “That’s a road hazard.”

Through September, Animal Control had 51 calls this year of sheep near the road.

When Finn goes to his home near Hemenway Park for lunch, he said, he inevitably will find sheep near the highway and use his unmarked police car to herd them back to the park. He uses the car’s airhorn to startle them and get them to move, he said.

“We’ve had some hit,” he said. About one sheep a year gets killed on the highway, Finn said.

A greater danger, Finn said, is when motorists see the sheep grazing by the side of the road and they pull over to take pictures.

“People getting out is a traffic hazard,” he said. “Once we get trucks and buses, it will be even more dangerous, not only for the sheep, but also for the motorists.”

The number of sheep in the herd is a problem, Frazier said. The Department of Wildlife thins the herd every couple of years by relocating some of the animals to other habitats in the state, Olson said, but it’s hard to keep up.

“They breed heavily because of the food supply,” Olson said. “These guys have it made.”

Frazier noted, “They repopulate whatever (officials) take out. There’s usually twice as many back in spring.”

Another problem is that the sheep pretty much do what they want.

One ewe has become so accustomed to humans that Frazier said, “I can almost go up and touch her on the nose.”

So her efforts to move the sheep to higher ground are usually short-lived, Frazier said.

“I push them back up to the park, and by the time I’m gone, they are headed back down the road again,” she said.

Department of Wildlife officials are not overly concerned about the increase in traffic on U.S. 93, Olson said, reasoning that the extra traffic will cause congestion and slow the vehicles down.

“It’s easier to stop,” Olson said.

Finn and Frazier don’t buy that argument. The sheep still attract bystanders who stop to take pictures and create a traffic hazard.

The most effective solution would be to remove the grass in the flood channel that draws them toward the highway, Public Works Director Scott Hansen said, and the city has considered that.

But the issue is more complicated than just tearing up some grass, he said.

“The grass provides flood protection,” he said. Without it, floodwater would erode the channel, and it would no longer be able to do its job.

The grass would need to be replaced with riprap or concrete, an expense the city does not have in its budget, he said.

“We are a few hundred thousands dollars short,” he said, adding with a smile, “We are taking donations.”

Discussion: 19 comments so far…

By Fccfirstclass

10/5/09 at 5:49 a.m.

Suggest removal

Good article Jean. However, you are a year off. The bridge is set to open January 2011, not January 2010.
By Nevhiker

10/5/09 at 9:39 a.m.

Suggest removal

I concur good article on sheep.....big tourist attraction. Sheep and park were here before 9-11 the traffic will just be returning to the hwy.
A friend at Railroad Pass Casino tells me there have been two sheep killed on 93/95 near the pass this year...they do roam in search of water and food it's their nature. I prefer to see them out in the wilds instead of the city park.
I've heard the bridge is to be dedicated in December 2010...
By Doc_Holliday

10/5/09 at 10:14 a.m.

Suggest removal

According to the official Hoover Dam Bypass site, it is scheduled to open late 2010... possibly October.
By Jean Reid Norman

10/5/09 at 10:20 a.m.

Suggest removal

Thank you all for your close reading. I double checked that, and the official Hoover Dam bypass bridge website says, "The bridge remains on schedule for completion in late August 2010. Opening of the bypass is on track for November 2010." I have updated the story to reflect this. Here is a link to that website:

www.hooverdambypass.org/Construction_Act...
By dave202

10/5/09 at 1:08 p.m.

Suggest removal

What happened to the sheep BEFORE 9/11? There was plenty of traffic then, as well, but somehow the sheep survived. Any clue about how many were killed before and after 9/11?
By LasVegas2009

10/5/09 at 2:14 p.m.

Suggest removal

Why not just trim the herd down, butcher some of them now. The meat could be given to homeless shelters and needy people to feed families. Or better yet butcher all but one female and one male and let the herd re-populate. We could always use the meat to feed jail inmates.
By BCDave

10/5/09 at 2:29 p.m.

Suggest removal

The casinos can't feed their buffet leftovers to the homeless.
By skerlahdee

10/5/09 at 2:53 p.m.

Suggest removal

I live in Colorado and used to drive from the ski resorts to Denver International Airport for a shuttle service. At certain times of the year, I would see small groups of sheep grazing along the side of I-70 on almost every trip.

Despite their proximaty to the road, I never saw a dead sheep. I saw lots of dead deer and elk, but never a sheep. I often saw sheep drinking salty meltwater from the rumble strip installed on the white fog line of the highway. Their noses were literally inches away from vehicles traveling 65 MPH, yet no dead sheep.

My conclusion was that the sheep, unlike deer and elk, had an innate understanding that traffic represented danger, and that as long as they stayed in certain locations they would not be harmed.
By RACE_CAR_DIVA

10/5/09 at 6:38 p.m.

Suggest removal

It would have made too much sense and would have saved too much money to have the semi-trucks go through $earchlight, as they have been for the last 8 years.
By cpo

10/5/09 at 7:33 p.m.

Suggest removal

Another ridiculous non story. Those sheep have been here for many years and now suddenly they are a problem. Only in Boulder City.......
By spocanon

10/5/09 at 7:47 p.m.

Suggest removal

When does sheep season open?
By Phargo

10/6/09 at 4:21 a.m.

Suggest removal

Thanks for mutton.
By rb

10/6/09 at 6:09 a.m.

Suggest removal

Why not construct an underpass walkway for the bighorn sheep like they made the salmon ladders in the state of Washington. Farm fence is cheaper than concrete. There are farm fences all along the interstate highways in Illinois. Just a thought.
By bam1969

10/6/09 at 8:24 a.m.

Suggest removal

well, as humans don't we reserve the right to kill anything that interferes with our rampant overdevelopment?
By RebelRon

10/6/09 at 12:46 p.m.

Suggest removal

In fact, with a little garlic, their quite tasty.
By Phargo

10/6/09 at 2:12 p.m.

Suggest removal

Them sheep are good and they know it.
By Vegasvampire

10/6/09 at 10:07 p.m.

Suggest removal

Actually make wildlife overpasses Like they do in Banff National Park in Canada. That way people could see them without worrying that it will hit their Hummers & Tahoes.
By Planetearthcalling

10/9/09 at 5:06 a.m.

Suggest removal

Hey, if the local yocals wanna fork out the millions necessary for building sheep highways to nowhere I say let em.
Otherwise let there be sheep dip on the highway. 5 points.
By mred

10/9/09 at 1:40 p.m.

Suggest removal

I think they should mount radio cameras on these sheep to look for terrorists. They could be milked for milk to make roquefort cheese.

Also, how do we know the terrorists won't blow this bridge up? Is it going to have a check point? Trucks can go over it? as well as RVs?

Given the Insanity on shows like Beck and Limpbaugh, how do we know these kooks might pull another Oklahoma City???