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(04-19-2014, 10:10 AM)igoat Wrote: As I have been reading through the pertinent parts of the Blue Mountains Draft LMP on the FS website, I am reminded of a question that has been lingering in my mind. There is (apparently) some story or evidence relating to the Hells Canyon BHS dieoffs years ago, that connected a feral goat to the disease transfer. Sometimes when I read about it, it mentions the circumstance as being solidly backed by evidence, and other times it appears to have been purely circumstantial evidence that connected the goat to the die offs. Does anyone know the source of these stories, and the real truth of the matter?
igoat, a couple of years ago I called Dr. Glen Weiser of the Cain Vet Center, and he sent me three scientific peer-reviewed papers authored by Dr. Rudolph concerning the hells Canyon die-off. They can be found if you do a google search on the Journal of Wildlife Diseases website. I will look a little later and reference them. In the three papers, Dr. Rudolph explains that the biovariant 1 and ToxA + organisms were limited to the three animals shot on 29 November 1995 and WERE NOT ISOLATED from ANY of the other Bighorn Sheep in Groups A and B. The BHS identified in Group A either had signs of respiratory disease or were dead, and were within a radius of 30 km from where the feral goat was shot. The Group B BHS consisted of 72 BHS located north of the Grande Ronde River and west of the Snake River.
So as I read it, and as Dr. Weiser explained to me, there is no evidence that the feral goat caused the catastrophic die-offs in Hells Canyon. The BHS possessed organisms of a completely different Biovariant type of organism than the feral goat.
But there are papers out there that accuse goats as being the culprit. This leads me to believe that the authors of these papers are banking on the fact that most folks won't immerse themselves in to the scientific papers, but will take their word for it.
http://www.jwildlifedis.org/doi/pdf/10.7...8-39.4.897
Read page 901 first column 2nd paragraph.
http://www.bighornsheep.org/article_USAH...091109.pdf
Read page 5. Talks about management of brush goats and packgoats.