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Show MAY 1996 sheep igh in the rugged Montana Rockies, Sat Ope ky, mountain and gambol graze about, leaping and bounding with sure-footed ease over mountain their domain. Gazing out across the deep forested canyons and snowy gorges, their great golden eyes seemingly take in every detail. Suddenly a sentry catches the scent of some enemy — cougar, wolf or in this case human — and emits a shrill stentorian snort of warning resonates that cross the hillside entire Instantly the herd of grayish brown bounds creatures after their matriarchal ewe leader, seeking trails that few enemies could follow. An old ram presiding over a photo by Howie Garber Male Bighorns prepare to ram heads during A Dramatic mating season (see Species of the Month, Comeback? the gregarious herd and weighing upwards of 300 pounds, lets out a snorting page 9). sneeze and plummets in a zigzag manner down a ravine. His statuesque body and 50-inch horns cross incline in a series of bouncing leaps, landing on spongy black hoofs as he speeds at a breath-taking pace. Not far off though, the rams nemesis lingers. Jerry Fletcher’s pride, patience and | then twice. Echoes of the blast reverberate cross the canyon. Far off, the agile and adventurous Bighorn herd maneuvers down a ravine and up another jagged snowy slope.The wild, but peaceable animals glance back. Ewes, rams and lambs note the entourage of intrepid human intruders and scramble in retreat over the ridgeline. And not far below, the bloodied, breathless mammoth ram lays on its side, its golden eyes entirely lifeless. Hours later, the head, cape and coat of the magnificent Rocky are peeled from its skin and proudly laid in the lap of the spirited bighorn hunter. Money and plenty of exacting effort finally land Fletcher in hunting’s big game promised land and anchor him one step closer to the full trophied sheep “Grand Slam.” Bighorn Prelude Two million Bighorn once roamed parts of Western North America, but with the settlement of the West, their numbers dwindled to almost nothing. Today the Bighorn is making a dramatic comeback, thanks in large part to wildlife officials and, ironically, to hunters and hunting/conservation organizations that pump millions of dollars into programs aimed at vastly increasing Bighorn numbers. Wildlife for a sheep second license. And during the process of the hunts he reportedly secured and paid for the assistance of over 70 people conducting sheep scouting. 120 days of DENTISTRY Dir: Ronald am) Cohn 801-649-4343 1600 Snow Creek Suite Park serious Continued on page 11 PARK CLAY City 84060 PAGE exorbitant sheep permits in North America, leaps to his feet, sets down the spotting scope and wedges the rifle between chest and magnum shoulder and pulls the trigger, once resources are nearly spent as the horns hunting permit (he was not successful) and then in 1995 paid $281,000 for a Adolphs, on the Park City Golf Course 801-649-7177 “Hurry” shouts the guide, “This is the one we've been after.” Then Fletcher, holder of one of the most of an evading trophy Rocky Mountain Bighorn continue to resonate as his magnet to these high mountain slopes. In 1994 he bid and paid over $200,000 to the State of Montana Ts place to celebrate Friendship, Romance, or simply the fact that you’re alive and well. = Montana’s_ Rockies, a Mecca for one of hunting’s most coveted and somewhat controversial prizes, a trophy Rocky Mountain. Bighorn. Fletchers quest, to snare an almost mystical and evasive million dollar ram. Finally, before his eyes, the horns, head and mass of the giant retreating ram settles into view. Drive A Utah |