1st CALL FOR ABSTRACTS
2026 NWSGC Biennial Symposium
Spring 2026

Northern Wild Sheep and Goat Council 20 – 2016

Click on any article title to download a pdf version of the article. Selecting the Table of Contents will initiate a download of a pdf of the table of contents and selecting the conference title will initiate a download of the entire proceedings for that year.

Proceedings of the 20th Biennal Symposium
Moscow, Idaho – Pullman, Washington


Table of Contents

Ecology and Management
Dynamics of a recolonizing Dall’s sheep population in southwest Yukon
Troy M. Hegel

Behavioral connectivity among bighorn sheep suggests potential for disease spread
Nathan J. Borg, Michael S. Mitchell, Paul M. Lukacs, Curt M. Mack, Lisette P. Waits,and Paul R. Krausman

Movements of a localized mountain goat herd: implications for harvest
David J. Vales, Michael P. Middleton, and Mike McDaniel

Limiting factors of bighorn sheep population in central and southwestern Idaho
Bret Stansberry, Rachel Curtis, Hollie Miyasaki, Shane Roberts, and Mark Drew

Delineating and estimating seasonal migration patterns of Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep in the mountain valley complex of south central Idaho
Scott Bergen, Hollie Miyasaki, and Mark Hurley

Understanding Disease Dynamics in the Field
Modeling management strategies for the control of bighorn sheep respiratory disease
Emily Almberg, Kezia Manlove, E. Frances Cassirer, Jennifer Ramsey, Keri Carson, Justin Gude, and Raina Plowright

Status of western Montana bighorn sheep herds and discussion of control efforts after all- age die-offs
Jennifer Ramsey, Keri Carson, Emily Almberg, Mike Thompson, Rebecca Mowry, Liz Bradley, Jay Kolbe, and Craig Jourdonnais

Management responses to pneumonia outbreaks in three Washington state bighorn herds: lessons learned and questioned yet unanswered
Jeffrey Bernatowicz, Darren Bruning, E. Frances Cassirer, Richard B. Harris, Kristin Mansfield, and Paul Wik

The Montana-Wyoming collaborative bighorn sheep research program
Robert A. Garrott, P.J. White, Douglas E. McWhirter, William H. Edwards, Kelly Proffitt, Jennifer Ramsey, Mary Wood, Emily Almberg, and Jay J. Rotella

Evaluating alternative hypotheses to explain bighorn sheep respiratory disease events
Carson Butler, Robert Garrott, Jay Rotella, Hank Edwards, Jessica Jennings-Gaines, Hally Killion, Douglas McWhirter, Emily Almberg, Jennifer Ramsey, and Keri Carson

Investigation of pneumonia mortalities in a Mycoplasma-positive desert bighorn sheep population and detection of a different strain of Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae
Anne E. Justice-Allen, Erin Butler, Jeff Pebworth, Amber Munig, Peregrine Wolff, and Thomas E. Besser

Understanding the dynamics of Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae carriers in a bighorn sheep population
Raina K. Plowright, Kezia R. Manlove, Thomas E. Besser, Patrick E. Matthews, David Paez, Kimberly R. Andrews, Lisette P. Waits, Paul C. Cross Peter J. Hudson and E. Frances Cassirer

Disease introduction is associated with a phase transition in bighorn sheep demographics
Kezia Manlove, E. Frances Cassirer, Paul C. Cross, Raina K. Plowright, andPeter J. Hudson

Evidence for strain-specific immunity to pneumonia in bighorn sheep
E. Frances Cassirer, Kezia R. Manlove, Raina K. Plowright, and Thomas E. Besser

Risk of pathogen spillover to bighorn sheep from domestic sheep and goat flocks on private land
Laura M. Heinse, Linda H. Hardesty, and Richard B. Harris

Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae cross-strain transmissions in captive bighorn sheep
Brandi L. Felts, Daniel P. Walsh, E. Frances Cassirer, Thomas E. Besser, and Jonathan A. Jenks

Disease transmission between sympatric mountain goats and bighorn sheep
Peregrine Wolff, Mike Cox, Caleb McAdoo, and Chris A. Anderson

Detection of Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae in pneumonic mountain goat kids
Chris A. Anderson, Julie A. Blanchong, Danielle D. Nelson, Paul. J. Plummer, Caleb McAdoo, Mike Cox, Thomas E. Besser, Juan Muñoz-Gutiérrez, and Peregrine L. Wolff

Bighorn sheep sinus tumors, an update
Peregrine L. Wolff and Karen A. Fox

Fundamental disease research
An improved method for culturing Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae from field samples
Jessica E. Jennings-Gaines, William H. Edwards, Mary E. Wood, Karen A. Fox, Lisa L. Wolfe, Michael W. Miller, and Halcyon J. Killion

Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae strains associated with pneumonia outbreaks in North American bighorn sheep
Logan K. Weyand, E. Frances Cassirer, Gretchen E. Kaufman, and Thomas E. Besser

Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae originating from domestic goats triggers mild bronchopneumonia in experimentally exposed naïve bighorn sheep (and domestic goats)
Thomas E. Besser and E. Frances Cassirer

Potential disease agents in domestic goats in Idaho and Oregon and their relevance to bighorn sheep management
Mark L. Drew, Glen C. Weiser, and Alton C. S. Ward

Maternal investment partitioning of bighorn sheep: do chronic Mycoplasma shedders exhibit an inferiority complex?
Justin E. Jensen, Spencer A. Carstens, Brandi L. Felts, Austin J. Wieseler, E. Frances Cassirer, Thomas E. Besser, and Jonathan A. Jenks

Habitats and their use
Seasonal resource selection by introduced mountain goats in the southwest Greater Yellowstone area
Blake Lowrey, Robert A. Garrott, Hollie Miyasaki, Gary Fralick, and Sarah R. Dewey

Bighorn sheep movements and mineral lick use in Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park
Tabitha A. Graves, Elizabeth P. Flesch, Kim Keating, and Mark J. Biel

Spatial responses of bighorn sheep to forest canopy in north-central Washington
Tiffany L. Baker, Mark E. Swanson, and Lisa A. Shipley

Pattern of herbivory, nitrogen content, and biomass of bluebunch wheatgrass on a mountain sheep habitat in central Idaho
James Peek

Annual changes in bluebunch wheatgrass biomass and nutrients related to climate and wildfire
James Peek

Production and nutrient content of two shrub species related to fire in central Idaho
James Peek

Genetics
Population genetics of the world’s thinhorn sheep (Ovis dalli)
Zijian Sim, Bill Jex, Troy Hegel, Corey Davis, Nicholas C. Larter, and David W. Coltman

Genetic linkages among Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae strains in wild and domestic sheep and goats
Pauline L. Kamath, Paul C. Cross, E. Frances Cassirer, and Thomas E. Besser

An initial assessment of the potential of genomic analysis to help inform bighorn sheep management
Elizabeth P. Flesch, Jennifer M. Thomson, Robert A. Garrott, and Tabitha A. Graves

Associations between allelic diversity and Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae shedding history in bighorn sheep
Austin J. Wieseler, Brandi L. Felts, Daniel P. Walsh, Thomas E. Besser, E. Frances Cassirer, Kristine L. Pilgrim, Michael K. Schwartz, Michael G. Gonda, and Jonathan A. Jenks