WORLAND – For 34 years the Wyoming Wild Sheep Foundation, a non-profit 501(c) (3) status organization, has been working with many different organizations to help increase, preserve and reintroduce wild sheep to historic ranges in Wyoming.

"It's exciting that we have an expanding range of wild sheep in Wyoming. We'd like to make sure that future generations get involved in loving the outdoors and wildlife conservation," Wyoming Wild Sheep Foundation secretary Dean Dijenno said.

According to the Wyoming Wild Sheep Foundation website http://www.wyomingwildsheep.org, "The Wyoming Wild Sheep Foundation is one of 13 state and provincial chapters of the Wild Sheep Foundation, whose purpose is 'to promote and enhance increasing populations of indigenous wild sheep on the North American continent, to safeguard against the decline or extinction of such species, and to fund programs for professional management of these populations, keeping all administrative costs to a minimum.' Working cooperatively with local, state and federal agencies, Wyoming's school systems, the University of Wyoming and other conservation organizations, the dedicated members of Wyoming Wild Sheep Foundation has been a catalyst in ensuring the health and status of mountain sheep in Wyoming."

The foundation helped play a part in the 2016 MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) between the state of Wyoming, Wyoming Game and Fish and the Forest Service. "Wyoming was able to get all its different user groups together, that would include the Cattleman's Association, the wool growers as well as the wild sheep people and they were able to forge compromises and agreements that dictate where wild sheep will live, where domestic sheep will live and where there will be a blend of both. That's called the Wyoming plan. That's actually been adopted by the state of Wyoming," Dijenno said.

According to the MOU, "It is the mutual desire of all parties to this MOU to cooperate in maintaining healthy bighorn sheep populations while sustaining an economically viable domestic sheep industry in Wyoming. The Forest Service, the state of Wyoming and WGFD (Wyoming Game and Fish Department) acknowledge that each party has important management responsibilities relating to wildlife and range resources and will endeavor to work cooperatively to fulfill these responsibilities for the benefit and enjoyment of the people of Wyoming and the United States."

The Foundation and its members both physically and monetarily help the relocation of bighorn sheep. Last Saturday morning the Wyoming Game and Fish, Wyoming Wild Sheep Foundation members and volunteers worked together to capture, health check and relocate 24 wild sheep from the Devil's Canyon herd near Lovell to the Ferris-Seminoe herd near Rawlins. Three foundation members were present and the foundation donated $20,000 to the capture. "What a blessing to be able to come out and see the fruits of our labor," Dijenno stated.

The group also co-funds the building of guzzlers, which are critical to getting wild sheep to spread to central parts of Wyoming which are usually very dry, through donations, grants and fundraising. Dijenno described guzzlers as fountains that provide and store water for wild animals to drink. "We just lay out a huge big sheet of black plastic on a slope where we know there's going to be a snow drift in the winter. When that snow melts it funnels down the black plastic into a storage tank. We are actually building four of them this summer in the Ferris Mountains. " Dijenno said. "There is a lot that goes into it. You can't just take a band of wild sheep and drop them off somewhere and forget about them." he added.

Dijenno explained that the foundation was started in 1983 with a group of four to six men sitting around a table in Dubois and deciding that something needed to be done to help Wyoming wild sheep. Since then the numbers have greatly increased. "We have 700 members, 500 are life members and its (membership) not restricted to just Wyoming. We have people from all over the United States and some foreign countries but the majority of our members are from Wyoming," Dijenno stated.

According to the Wyoming Wild Sheep Foundation website, "Wyoming WSF (Wild Sheep Foundation) was formed in 1983 and has a long record of actively working for Wyoming's bighorn sheep, other wildlife, education and hunter's rights. Led by an all-volunteer board of directors, Wyoming WSF annually raises thousands of dollars through the energy and efforts of conservation-minded sportsmen and women throughout Wyoming. During the past 25 years, Wyoming WSF has funded $780,773 in research, management and education efforts to benefit Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep in the Cowboy State. Since 1983, the national WSF organization has provided over $820,000 in grant-in aid funds for bighorn sheep projects in Wyoming, and thousands more in 'multistate' projects."

Dijenno stated that the majority of funds raised by the foundation are raised during the Wyoming Wild Sheep Foundation annual convention and fundraiser. This year's convention will be the 34th in Casper June 2-3.