Desert Bighorns are located in mountain ranges throughout the southwest. Vegetation succession and fire suppression have reduced habitat suitability for bighorn sheep throughout the western United States. These data identify the areas designated as critical habitat for the Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep. Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep (O. c. sierrae) – formerly California bighorn sheep, a genetically distinct subspecies that only occurs in the Sierra Nevada … Critical habitat for the species occurs in twelve units. Some population units require special management considerations or protection to address impacts from development activities, including road construction and maintenance within Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep habitat (USFWS 2008). It is part of an effort to distribute bighorn into all the geographic areas identified as critical habitat in California’s bighorn recovery plan. Patented mining claims occur within habitat used by the Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep, but the area of the claims is small. The "bighorn sheep" species has 3 living subspecies: Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep, formerly California bighorn sheep, Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep, and Desert bighorn sheep. Here, on an immense plateau swept clean of snow by violent winds, or where a tall peak crumbles into … Federal listing documents, critical habitat, most recent 5 year review (FWS) Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep Foundation. Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep (O. c. canadensis) – occupying the U.S. and Canadian Rocky Mountains, and the Northwestern United States. To avoid deep snow and to find forage during winter, the sheep either occupy high elevation windswept ridges or migrate to lower elevation sagebrush-steppe habitats. Habitat of the Bighorn Sheep. Fish and Wildlife Service today finalized critical habitat for the Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep, including more than 400,000 acres of land deemed essential for the sheep’s survival and recovery in the eastern Sierra Nevada. Natural History: The number of Desert Bighorn sheep in North America in pristine times is unknown, but most likely in the tens of thousands. Critical habitat for the species occurs in twelve units: Mount Warren, Mount Gibbs, Convict Creek, Wheeler Ridge, Taboose Creek, Sawmill Canyon, Mount Baxter, Mount Williamson, Big Arroyo, Mount Langley, Laurel Creek and Olancha Peak… They are excellent climbers in high, steep, rocky mountain regions. Habitat. Different subspecies have drastically different habitat preferences. Their steep mountainous habitat, with ledges sometimes only two inches (five centimeters) wide, provides cover from predators such as coyotes, golden eagles, mountain lions, bears, and Canada lynx.The sheep are important food sources for these large predators. The Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep (hereafter, bighorn sheep) is a federally endangered species that utilizes habitat in the parks . Bighorn sheep take their name from the male's large, curved horns. The habitat of this species depends heavily upon the subspecies. Both the Rocky Mountain subspecies and the Sierra Nevada subspecies prefer living in cooler climates, particularly up in the mountains. This report presents a review of the Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep Recovery Program from 1999, when Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep were placed on the federal endangered species list, to June 30, 2011.