JACKSON HOLE, WYO – Game & Fish biologists captured mountain goats from the Snake River Range near Alpine last month. It was the fifth straight year WGFD has studied the goats in that area.
Previously, goats were darted on the ground and captured. This year, a helicopter capture crew was able capture four goats (two billies and two nannies) from backcountry locations in North Indian Creek.
According to WGFD, the goal of the research is to learn more about the health, seasonal movements and survival rates for the mountain goat herd that spans western Wyoming and eastern Idaho. Mountain goats were first introduced in the Snake River Range by the Idaho Fish and Game Department in 1969. Since that time, the goats have slowly, but steadily, expanded their range into Wyoming. An aerial survey completed in 1996 noted 24 goats in Wyoming. The latest survey completed in August of 2016 recorded 93.
The goats have not only increased in number, but also their distribution, with animals (primarily billies) now being sighted in the Wyoming and Salt Ranges and both sexes in the Teton Range.
To help curb herd growth, and provide a recreational opportunity, the WGFD initiated a hunting season for the Palisades herd in 1999, offering four licenses. The once-in-a-lifetime licenses were increased to eight in 2005 and then to 12 in 2015.
