One of the Pacific Northwest’s prime nursery grounds for Hells Canyon bighorn sheep is now permanently protected on the Snake River
near Hells Canyon! This month, Western Rivers Conservancy permanently
conserved Ten Mile Creek Ranch, a property with superb sheep habitat,
critical to the survival of Idaho’s northern Hells Canyon herd of Rocky
Mountain bighorns.
With its steep breaks and rugged cliffs, the ranch offers bighorn
sheep the perfect protection from predators and ideal lambing grounds
for birthing and raising their young. These iconic animals, once
ubiquitous in Hells Canyon, have seen steady declines since the
mid-1800s, and today the herd numbers only about 150 head. Somewhere
between 50 and 80 percent of the Idaho side of the herd uses the
property for lambing. The ranch also provides a large, intact block of
habitat that keeps bighorns isolated from domestic livestock, which
carry infectious disease that have decimated the herd in the past.
To eliminate the threat of a 24-plot subdivision and protect this
outstanding habitat, WRC purchased the 2,920-acre Ten Mile Creek Ranch
in 2018. While we held the land, we worked with the Idaho Department of
Fish and Game to place a conservation easement on the property, while
searching for a private buyer who shared our vision to keep the land
wild and unbroken for the sake of its sheep, salmon and other wildlife.
In addition to its bighorn habitat, the ranch spans four miles of the
Snake River, a reach that includes Chinook salmon spawning redds and
migration habitat for sockeye salmon, spring and fall Chinook, and
summer steelhead. With its proximity to Hells Gate State Park to the
north and the 78,000-acre Craig Mountain Wildlife Management Area to the
south, the property will help unify a block of wild lands along the
lower Snake, where bighorns, bears, elk and many other animals still
roam free, and more than 100 species of birds can be found.
We hope the mighty bighorn will forever remain a presence in the
intermountain West, and a lasting sight to see along the cliffs of its
river canyons. Thank you for supporting our efforts at Ten Mile Creek
and helping protect this special place for generations to come.
