Washington Chapter | Foundation for North American Wild Sheep ( FNAWS )

Vulcan Mountain

Population Objectives/Guidelines
The population objective for the Vulcan Mountain herd is to maintain a population of 80-110 sheep. These sheep use private rangeland a considerable amount of time and that has been a contentious issue with ranchers when population levels were high. The population has declined in recent years and is considerably below the population objective for the herd. The immediate objective is to monitor herd characteristics to provide data for management recommendations. Hunting is one of the primary objectives of this herd and is co-managed with the Colville Confederated Tribes (CCT). The USFS and BLM manage important portions of the range and take the lead on most habitat enhancement projects.

Hunting Seasons and Harvest Trends
Since both state and tribal hunters hunt Vulcan Mountain, biologists confer prior to developing their respective permit recommendations. There are no permits offered for hunting in 2002.

Population Status and Trend Analysis
The Vulcan herd has apparently declined quite dramatically in the last few years. The ram numbers have held up well but the low number of lambs the past several years is alarming. With the low number of ewes and poor recruitment due to extended years of poor lamb survival, the future of this herd looks rather bleak.

Habitat Condition and Trend
This sheep area is relatively small though and is experiencing continued encroachment by rural home development. Efforts to coordinate forage improvement projects such as fertilizing Moran Meadow and working with the Ferry County Weed Board for knapweed control will improve forage conditions. Damage to crops has been solved with a fence being built around the alfalfa field. Sheep using private rangeland is not an issue with the present lower population of sheep. Ranchers do appreciate sheep as long as poulations don’t build to levels experienced in the early 1990’s.