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Signs! A
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Wyoming
Winds
Location
of sign - Rest area west of Jeffrey City on U.S. 287
in Wyoming.
Photo
taken May 2008
Close-up
view of sign
Wide
view of sign
Text
of sign:
Wyoming
Winds
On
the wind-blown mountain slopes south and west of Dubois winters the worlds
largest herd of Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep.
The bighorn
was once found throughout all mountain habitats of the Rockies; today its
range is but a remnant. The Sheep-eater
Indians
once hunted the mountains and basins of the Winds. The Wind River Mountains
high to the west of this site are inhabited
by
elk, mule deer and mountain sheep in the summer. These herds migrate to
lower elevation wind-swept slopes and shrub-
covered
basins to winter. The Whiskey Basin sheep population has become an
important source of sheep for western American
efforts
to expand the bighorn's range and improve the long-term welfare of the
species. Through the use of transplanting and
hunting
the herd in this area is maintained at about 1000 wintering bighorns.
Each year excess animals are transplanted to reoccupy
former
ranges, or supplement bighorn herds the western U.S. and Canada.
The
winds constantly blow and keep the foothill vegetation exposed for wintering
wildlife. In the rainshadow of the Wind River
Mountains
the basin does not generally retain deep snow cover. As a result, the
shrubs and grasses in this area provide an
available
winter food source for wildlife.
The
winds play on the landscape to help make "Wyoming's Wildlife-Worth the
Watching"
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