Gilchrist Supports the Wild Sheep Foundation
In the 1800s, bighorn sheep roamed freely across the plains and bluffs of western Nebraska. The panhandle area of Nebraska was home to a species of bighorn sheep known as Audubon’s bighorn sheep. But by the early 1900s, that subspecies was nearly extinct due to disease, habitat loss and hunting, according to the National Park Service. The Wild Sheep Foundation (WSF), headquartered in Bozeman, Mont., has been working for decades to change that and is getting closer thanks to organizations like the Gilchrist Foundation.
Members of the Wild Sheep Foundation track bighorn sheep in Nebraska using GPS collars.
In September 2021, the Gilchrist Foundation provided a $5,000 micro-grant to the Wild Sheep Foundation to help pay for GPS satellite radio collars. The WSF has partnered with the Nebraska Games and Parks Commission to use these collars to track and analyze the bighorn sheep populations in western Nebraska. A total of $160,200 was raised to fund this project, which promotes population restoration and habitat enhancement.
Funds Help Track Bighorn Sheep in Nebraska
One of the most important functions of the collars to be able to track and remove disease-carrying ewes. Historically – and today – the loss of wild sheep has been tracked to disease die-offs from pathogen/disease transmission from domestic to wild sheep, especially the threat of Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae (M. ovi) a bacterial species that is commonly found in the nasal cavity and sinuses of apparently healthy domestic sheep and goats.
The Wild Sheep Foundation’s efforts have helped grow healthy populations of bighorn sheep in Nebraska’s panhandle.
The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission plans to capture 50-70 bighorns during the fall and winter of 2022 and 2023. The sheep will be tested for disease and fitted with tracking collars. Most will be released, but between 20-25 will likely be relocated to the Pine Ridge region of Nebraska's panhandle. Currently the area has an estimated population of 250 – 275 bighorn sheep.
About the Wild Sheep Foundation
The WSF was founded in 1977 by wild sheep conservationists and enthusiasts. With a membership of more than 10,000 worldwide, WSF is the premier advocate for wild sheep and other mountain wildlife and their habitats. WSF has raised and expended more than $140 million on wild sheep habitat and population enhancements, education, and conservation advocacy programs in North America, Europe and Asia to “Put and Keep Wild Sheep On the Mountain”®. These and other efforts have increased bighorn sheep populations in North America from historic lows in the 1950-60s of 25,000 to more than 85,000 today.
About the Gilchrist Foundation
The Gilchrist Foundation was established by Jocelyn Gilchrist in December 1998 to honor her family and further their interests, which include wildlife and conservation, arts and public broadcasting and disaster relief. The first grants were made anonymously at the founder’s request, but after Ms. Gilchrist’s death in 2008, the name of the Foundation was used. The Foundation makes gifts to pre-selected charitable organizations whose missions align with the Foundation’s philanthropic interests. Each spring several charities are invited to submit applications for one of three types of grants: capital campaign grants, endowment grants, or special projects. The Wild Sheep Foundation was awarded a micro-grant, for which requests can be submitted at any time. Micro-grants will be either accepted or denied within 30 days. Criteria for award will include the opportunity to bring theater, music, art, green spaces, parks, wildlife and conservation efforts into the lives of Siouxland residents.
For more information about micro-grants, contact Security National Bank at 712-277-6586 or wealth@snbonline.com.