MOOSE, Wyo. — After the initial season of voluntary winter closures for bighorn sheep, the results from a survey of backcountry users have been released.
An online survey conducted from April 11 to June 6 asked backcountry skiers and winter climbers to share their perspectives and knowledge in an effort to inform Grand Teton National Park’s Bighorn Sheep Winter Habitat Protection Plan. Orchestrated by Teton Backcountry Alliance, Teton Climbers’ Coalition, Winter Wildlands Alliance, Access Fund and American Alpine Club, the survey asked questions about respondents’ willingness to follow closures, suggested alternatives for protecting sheep habitat, recommendations for how skiers and climbers can work with agencies, comments on specific closure locations and observations of sheep in the backcountry.
Over the past few years, the balance between winter habitat requirements for Teton Range bighorn sheep and backcountry winter recreation has been a hotly contested topic. In the last decade, research suggested that the Teton Range herd had been cut in half, but a 2020 study revealed there were more sheep than previously thought. Sheep avoid areas where humans are, so they become displaced from their preferred habitat. They must move and burn more energy in the winter, which can result in issues with reproduction and starvation. Disease and pressure from non-native mountain goats put additional stress on the sheep herd.
The survey results showed that out of 258 respondents, 67% were residents of the Teton region, with most having decades of backcountry experience in the area. About 25% were from other areas in the Mountain West, and 12% were employed as Teton guides during the winter months. Almost half (47%) of respondents said they had more than 20 years of backcountry experience, and 43% said they have an average of more than 20 backcountry winter days per year in the last five years.
- Only 12% of all respondents reported that they were unlikely or extremely unlikely to follow voluntary closures, with 67% indicating they would likely follow closures or were neutral on the question.
- Respondents were slightly (10%) more likely to follow (mandatory) non-voluntary closures.
- High-use skiers were slightly less willing to comply with closures (voluntary and mandatory) than low-use skiers.
- Those employed as guides were slightly less willing to comply with closures (voluntary and mandatory) than those not employed.
More than half of respondents suggested alternatives to closures, including more and better monitoring and research, halting agency-sponsored hunt of bighorn sheep, establishing more backcountry travel corridors, providing sheep migration corridors, limiting number of skiers in certain areas and addressing growth in the valley bottoms.
The most referenced area was Avalanche Canyon, which includes classic ski descents like Chinstrap, The Nugget, Amora Vida and 4-Hour Couloir. Eighteen percent of backcountry users who took the survey said they had seen sheep during their outings. Better education, signage, real-time monitoring and improved communication were mentioned as ways for agencies to work more closely with climbers and skiers.
Read the full survey results here and the comment letter from survey organizations to Grant Teton National Park Superintendent Chip Jenkins here.
