Santa Maria Times from Santa Maria, California • A2

NEWS HOTLINE 739-2228 or email hotlinesantamariatimes.com A2 Times Sunday, June 26, 2011 California Endangered Bighorns face new threat from lions SANTA MARIA TIMES A Lee Enterprises Newspaper 3200 Skyway Drive P.O. Box 400, Santa Maria, CA 93456-0400 Main Switchboard: (805) 925-2691 Home delivery (805)739-2200 or 739-2207 Delivery by 5:30 a.m. Monday-Saturday 6:30 a.m. Sunday For missing papers, call by 10 a.m. daily.

Subscription Rates (including tax) Includes Monday and Sunday Effort to save sheep pits two protected species against one another ByTracie Cone associated press YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK -On the easternmost edge of this expanse of glacial granite far from tourist haunts a tiny lamb rams his mother's udder then flutters its tail when milk starts to flow. California biologists watching through spotting scopes take note, for this is no ordinary baby and this treacherous sheet of talus rock at elevation is not particularly safe even for a creature as sure -footed as his mother. On this day they'll count him as part of the precarious population of Sierra-Nevada Bighorn Sheep, at 400 one of the most endangered big mammals in the U. S. But they know the odds are 75 percent against this little guy reaching adulthood: rock-slides, avalanches, disease and mountain lions all stand in the way.

"This was a harsh winter and we've been anxious to see how tain lions suspectedof beingathreat. But saving Bighorn Sheep by harming mountain lions is creating new controversy within the sheep recovery project and it pits an endangered species against one that received special protections by California voters in 1990. Late last year one of the four pro -gram biologists nledaformal complaint about an increase inmountain lion hunting since 2007 prompted by a spike in sheep deaths. It resultedin tense office discussions and, eventually, arulingfavorable to lions this winter from the state Legislative Counsel. "We have to look at the whole ecosystem and not treat the sheep like they're in a captive breeding program," said Becky Pierce, the associate wildlife biologist and cougar expert who filed the complaint.

A lion proven to kill endangered bighorns can be shot But the ruling now forbids snaring to collar a lion to track its movements or even capture a killer, and it is altering the recovery program as scientists search for answers on how to protect the sheep while keeping the balance of nature "It's so easy to say, 'we'll just take out as many as we can in their range' when the bigger issue" getting sheep to live alongside their main predator "will ultimately provide the most benefit," said Stephanie Boyles, wildlife scientist with the Humane Society of the United States. "It's a good question for a college class," said Stephenson, of the California Department of Fish and Game. "Ask them if it's OK to kill mountain lions and they'll say But ask them if it's the only way to preserve the species and get them back into Yosemite National Park and their other historic ranges, and they might say 'yes." Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep, with horns that splay sideways, are related to the classic Desert Bighorns whose circular horns are like the icons on Dodge trucks and Rams footballhel-mets. There never were very many maybe 1,000 scattered since prehistoric times in a dozen herds across the alpine eastern Sierra. But settlers brought guns and, worse, domestic sheep and the numbers quickly dwindled.

By 1999, when Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep were federally listed as endangered, they numbered 114. Today, due to intensive management there are 40 0 in eight of the 12 remote areas optimum for their long-term survival. Associated Press file In this Dec. 2003 photo provided by the California Department of Fish and Game, a pair of big horn sheep are shown on Wheeler Ridge in the Sierra Nevada near Rovana. they'd do" said Thomas Stephenson, the senior environmental scientist with the Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep Recovery Program from his perch in Lundy anyon in the east -ern Sierra Nevada.

For a decade California and federal biologists have helped the species by removing the obstacles they could: disease carrying domestic sheep were banned from Bighorn Sheep territory two years ago and trappers hunted, snaredandcoHaredmoun- Motor Carrier 4 Weeks $11.50 12 Weeks $34.50 26 Weeks $74.88 52 Weeks $149.75 In-State Mail 1 Month $14.70 Out-of-State 1 Month $21.00 Weekend: Friday Saturday Sunday, Monday 4 Week $7.88 Weekend delivery includes the following bonus days; New Year's Day, Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day, School Bus Schedule Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Wednesday after Election Day, Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve. Unclaimed account balance under $50, inactive for 15 months, will be used to purchase newspapers for classroom use. Executives Publisher Cynthia Schur (805) 739-2154 publishersantamariatimes.com Executive Editor Tom Bolton (805) 739-2229 tboltonsantamariatimes.com Operations Director George Fischer (805) 739-2234 gfischersantamariatimes.com Circulation Director Rich Pulsifer (805) 739-2147 rpulsifersantamariatimes.com News contacts Five Cities Editor Emily Slater (805) 739-2217 eslatersantamariatimes.com Lifestyle Linda Olvera (805) 347-4582 lolverasantamariatimes.com Sports Editor Elliott Stern (805)739-2235 elliottsternsantamariatimes.com News Hotline (805) 739-2228 hotlinesantamariatimes.com Advertising 805-925-2691 Classified ads 1-888-422-8822 Death notices 737-9020 Legal ads 739-2157 Billing questions 925-2691 Santa Maria Times Inc. June 26, 2011 -Vol. 130, No.

66 (ISSN 0745-6166, USPS 48-760) Published daily by Santa Maria Times Inc. Periodicals postage paid at Santa Maria, Calif. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Santa Maria Times, P.O. Box 400, Santa Maria, CA 93456-0400. All contents are copyrighted by the Santa Maria Times.

Any reproduction or other use is strictly prohibited without prior written permission. Corrections The Times corrects errors of fact appearing in its news columns. If you have a correction, please call (805) 739-2228. Lottery MEGA MILLIONS Friday 062411 10 14 40 49 51 (7) California Prizes Winners (0624- 5of5Mega 0 $76,000,000 5 of 5 0 $442,872 4of5Mega 7 $9,074 4 of 5 231 $183 3of5Mega 280 $172 3 of 5 12,288 $8 2of5Mega 4,720 $10 lof5Mega 30,766 $3 Mega Only 59,524 $2 Past Draws 0621 11 24 25 31 46 17 0617 12 29 46 47 51 24 0614 9 10 20 51 53 24 Tuesday's estimated jackpot: $88,000,000 SUPER LOTTO San Francisco Organizers: Gay event stays strong San Francisco's annual Gay Pride weekend, which began Saturday, has not been af-fectedbythefinancialhole the group that runs it has been in for much of the year, organizers say. The 2011 Pride weekend is expected to include just as many stages and events as last year.

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