Sheep and Water Surveys in Game Management Unit 16A

I wouldn't wish my greatest enemy to do the surveys my partner Matt and I've been doing earlier this week. The purpose, however, is significant--determine the presence or absence of Big Horn Sheep in the Arrastra Mountain Wilderness, Game Management Unit 16A, by posting motion capturing cameras at developed and undeveloped springs.

The task was made more difficult due to the recent rains. Pools of water scattered through-out the wilderness and the weak flows in the springs made it impossible to determine a good location to post all but one camera--the terrain, too, potentially limited our ability to reach one of the springs.

Lessons were learned, with respect to understanding how to access difficult terrain in 'Wilderness'. Wilderness is a Department of Interior Statute with legal definition provided by the Wilderness Act of 1964. All mechanical forms of transportation are not allowed; therefore all roads since 1964 have been returning back to their natural state and are more difficult to find. So, to understand how to access this land it is best to research the designation and its borders from the either the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, Fish and Wild Life Service. Because I relied solely on my little understanding of the roads leading up to the wilderness boundary my partner and I started our hike straight through this rugged country--just a little more research would've made the quality of our work much easier and successful.

The hike was into Peoples Canyon. An interesting hiking designation, but can be extremely dangerous if not properly prepared. Bring topographic maps and a GPS unit--and know how to use them! This too was another lesson learned. We had the map and GPS; what we needed to do, before we left the truck, was to determine the coordinates of the trail head by referencing the maps UTM lines and using the GPS to position ourselves closer to that trail head. Thankfully, during this internship, I've learned how to place grids and graticules on a map for printing!