"Bighorn sheep represent a healthy, intact ecosystem and live in some of the most beautiful and rugged landscapes in Wyoming. We all need to continue the work that will ensure their future." Wyoming Game and Fish Department wildlife biologist Zach Gregory said this in the Jackson Hole Land Trust's 2026 Winter Newsletter, in a feature on the Whiskey Mountain herd.
That work has a location. According to the same newsletter, about 100 Whiskey Mountain sheep come down into Torrey Valley each November to spend the winter there. This month, most of Dubois's wildlife calendar comes back to that valley floor south of town. The list includes the Bighorn Sheep Center's annual fundraiser in town, a federal proposal to clear trees from winter habitat, the peak of the rut and a seasonal vehicle closure. The sheep you can see from Trail Lakes Road over the next few weeks are the part of the herd the recovery effort is built around.
A Herd That Supplied the West, Now Working From a Smaller Base
The Whiskey Mountain herd was once the largest in North America. The Land Trust newsletter says it peaked at more than 2,000 animals in the 1980s, and that more than 1,900 sheep were transplanted from it to start or supplement other herds across the West.
The same newsletter puts the herd today at about 400 sheep. Game and Fish's population objective is 1,350. The newsletter names disease and habitat loss as the main challenges.
The agency's own outlook is careful. In its 2026 Hunt Forecast, published August 31, Game and Fish said the overall Whiskey herd "is struggling due at least in part to chronic pneumonia and poor lamb recruitment." It also said the nonmigratory sheep counted on winter flights in Hunt Area 8 "remain stable." The forecast says lamb production has improved over prior years but is still low and concerning. The Land Trust described the same trend as early promise, with observed lamb numbers on the rise.
So the herd is about 400 animals against an objective of 1,350, and lambing is improving from a low base. About a quarter of those 400 sheep spend the winter in one valley you can drive to from downtown Dubois.
Why Winter Ground Gets So Much of the Attention
Summer range is spread out. The Land Trust says the sheep migrate upward each year in late May, traveling as much as 60 miles and more than 10,000 feet to reach summer range. Winter range is much more concentrated. The newsletter says the herd "depends heavily on Torrey Valley's open, rugged landscape and intact ecosystems during the coldest winter months."
That dependence explains decades of protection on the valley floor. Game and Fish established the Whiskey Basin Wildlife Habitat Management Area in 1954 specifically to provide crucial winter range for bighorn sheep. The area sits four miles east of Dubois off U.S. Highway 26/287 and covers nearly 12,800 acres of sagebrush grassland, creek bottom, rocky slopes and glacier-shaped basin between about 7,000 and 9,000 feet. Private land has been added to that protection over time. The Jackson Hole Land Trust secured the Ring Lake Ranch Conservation Easement in 2009, protecting key migratory routes and historic petroglyphs. Torrey Lake Ranch was permanently conserved a year later, which protected wetlands, riparian areas and sagebrush steppe.
The newsletter describes the division of labor this way. Game and Fish brings the science and management, the Land Trust's Wind River Program protects habitat and migration corridors, and the National Bighorn Sheep Center in Dubois handles education and outreach. In the same piece, the Center's interim director, Anna Miller, describes its goal as building "a conservation ethic" around wild sheep.
The Newest Proposal Targets the Trees
Protecting winter range from development is one problem. Keeping it usable for sheep is another. On October 19, 2026, the Bureau of Land Management's Lander office invited public comment on a project to mechanically remove encroaching conifers such as pine and fir from about 225 acres near Dubois. Part of that acreage lies inside the Whiskey Mountain Wilderness Study Area.
The agency's stated purpose is to restore vital winter habitat and open sightlines for the herd, which it describes as having "seen a significant population decline." Bighorns rely on open terrain, and on winter ground where trees have crept in, they have less of it.
The BLM asked for comments within 30 days of the announcement, which puts the deadline in mid-November. The comments will feed into the project's environmental assessment and final decisions. The public notice and map of the proposed removal area are posted on BLM's planning site. Written comments go to Jared Oakleaf, Outdoor Recreation Planner, at the Lander Field Office, 1335 Main Street, Lander, Wyoming 82520, or by email to [email protected].
So the comment period overlaps with the sheep arriving on the same winter range the project is meant to improve.
The Next Four Weeks on the Winter Range
From Thursday, November 5, the dates fall in this order:
- Saturday, November 7, 5 to 10 p.m. The National Bighorn Sheep Center holds its 33rd Annual Bighorn Bash, a banquet and fundraiser at Headwaters Arts & Conference Center, 20 Stalnaker St. Destination Dubois lists tickets at $40 per person or $75 per couple. The proceeds support conservation education and outreach for wild sheep, wildlife and wildlands.
- Tuesdays through Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. These are the Center's off-season hours at 10 Bighorn Lane off U.S. Highway 26, in effect from September 11 through May 19. Adult admission is listed at $6. Sunday and Monday visits are out until spring.
- Mid-November. The BLM's 30-day comment window on the conifer removal project closes.
- Friday, November 20, 1 to 2:30 p.m. The Center's November Friday Fun Day features autumn observations and activities. Questions go to 307-455-3429 or [email protected], according to the Destination Dubois events calendar.
- Late November into early December. The Land Trust newsletter says this is the peak of the rut, when visitors may see rams fighting for dominance. An older Wind River Country guide to the rut gives a typical window of the last two weeks of November and the first two weeks of December.
- Tuesday, December 1. Whiskey Basin WHMA closes to motorized vehicles through May 15. It reopens to vehicles at 8 a.m. on May 16.
The rut and the vehicle closure overlap. Whatever driving you plan inside the management area has to happen before December 1, while the rut is still building toward its peak.
Watching From the Truck, and On Foot After December 1
The Land Trust newsletter points visitors to Torrey Valley south of Dubois off Highway 26, along Trail Lakes Road, where Game and Fish maintains a viewing shed. It describes viewing on the winter range as excellent from late fall through early spring. Game and Fish's Whiskey Basin page gives a slightly narrower window of late November through April. It also asks people to view the animals from their vehicles, because winter is stressful for bighorns and less human disturbance helps them survive it.
The December 1 closure applies only to vehicles. Game and Fish keeps foot and horse access open year-round. The agency's broader guidance in Wyoming Wildlife magazine covers the basics for anyone walking in. Keep a safe distance, never feed or approach wildlife, keep pets under control and stay on designated roads and trails.
The basin also holds history. Game and Fish notes that Whiskey Basin was a favored winter ground of the Sheepeater band of the Shoshone because of its relatively mild winters and abundant game. Their petroglyphs are carved into the large glacial rocks, and the agency calls them irreplaceable. The Land Trust newsletter adds that the Mountain Shoshone, known as the Tukudeka or "sheep eaters," made highly valued bows and drinking vessels from rams' horns. The petroglyphs at Ring Lake Ranch are part of what that 2009 easement protects.
The Whiskey Basin area also has elk, moose, deer and coyotes, plus brown and rainbow trout in two miles of Torrey Creek and three glacial lakes. The bighorns wintering in Torrey Valley are the roughly 100 animals that the 1954 management area, the Ring Lake and Torrey Lake Ranch easements and the BLM's proposed 225-acre conifer removal all exist to serve.
At Harland Brothers Real Estate, we pay close attention to how conservation easements, management areas and seasonal access shape life on ground like Torrey Valley. If you own land in the Upper Wind River Valley or are thinking about it, and want to talk through how wildlife habitat and access rules affect a particular property, we're glad to walk the ground with you. Work With Us.
