Location
Desert Bighorn Sheep
Topics
Description
The native Texas population of desert bighorn sheep declined in the late 1800s and first half of the 1900s due to overhunting and exotic diseases, and was officially lost by about 1960. However, reintroduction of wild sheep from outside of the state began in 1959, with a delivery of 16 animals from Arizona. This first reintroduction was made at a 427-acre holding pen within Black Gap WMA. Subsequent releases were made in the Sierra Diablo Mountains (1973), Elephant Mountain WMA (1987), Big Bend Ranch State Park (2010), and the Franklin Mountains (2024). Continued care of the desert bighorns, including control of aoudad and domestic sheep, high-fencing around brood areas, and installation of “guzzler” water sources, has helped populations gradually recover.
Location Notes
This first reintroduction of desert bighorn sheep was made at Black Gap WMA, so a marker at the WMA entrance might be appropriate. However, a higher traffic location would be at the 2024 release site in Franklin Mountains State Park, near El Paso, perhaps at the Tom Mays Unit parking lot, close to the Aztec Cave Trailhead.