Hard Truths of Conservation (2022) s03e02 Episode Script

(adventurous music)
- [Dan] There are a few
things that come close
to the pursuit of stone sheep
in their rugged natural habitat,
but this practice also
generates an immense amount
of funding for
their conservation,
in order to protect
their natural habitat,
learn more about
them as a species
and manage their
populations effectively.
Hunting has become a
controversial practice
in modern times.
My name is Dan Cabela
and I'm traveling the globe
to explore the true impact
that hunting is having on our
remaining wild landscapes.
This practice goes as far back
as human history can remember,
but does it have a place
in modern conservation?
For generations, the Cabela
family has shared a passion
for the outdoors,
a love of hunting,
and a deep respect for wildlife.
Growing up with an outdoor
company inspired me
as a young boy, spent a
lot of time in nature,
and it was through this
exploration, really,
that I learned about
wildlife conservation
and that has influenced
the mission that is
so important to me today.
Wild sheep of North America
are about as iconic as any
of the wildlife
on the continent,
and I'm here in Reno
to attend an auction
that will be doing a lot
of good for wild sheep.
- There's never been really
a project put together
on stone sheep for years,
probably 60 years
since Val Geist did 'em
and he did 'em in our
hunting area in Spatsizi.
And with what's
gone on with sheep,
the extra pressure on sheep
or the extra amount of hunters
that we now have on sheep,
we thought that
it would be worthy
to see how sheep are doing.
So we donated a hunt to wild
sheep to put together a project
and it seems like
there's some places
that they're kind
of are under the gun
and we all wanna
hunt sheep forever,
but I think we need to
care for the sheep too.
- [Dan] Revenue generated
from hunting permits
and licenses for stone sheep
are directly funding
conservation programs aimed at
preserving their
habitats and populations.
- Hey.
- Hey Gray, how are you?
- Hey Dan, good to see you.
- Thanks, good to see you.
Thanks for inviting us out here.
- You got it.
- [Dan] All of these outfitters
love these sheep so much
that they're willing
to do these donations
for the conservation
side of things
so they can keep the
sheep on the mountain.
- You know, they're
stewards of that resource
and they're not gonna
go in there and run
and gun and wipe it out.
I mean, they want long term.
It is in their best interest
and it's certainly in the best
interest for the wild sheep.
What's amazing is that 75%
of all Wild Sheep Agency
fundings comes from an
auction or raffle tag.
And we're pretty proud that 40%
of all wild sheep
conservation funding comes
from this organization.
Wild Sheep Foundation.
- [Dan] Wild Sheep Foundation
is the leader in raising funds
for sheep conservation,
and its members are
very generous in
how they give their money back
to the conservation
of these wild animals.
- [Auctioneer] This is a
12 day stone sheep hunt
in northern British Columbia.
100% proceeds to support the
Northwest British Columbia
Stone Sheep Initiatives.
Thank you, Spatsizi
River Outfitters.
It is.
It is 100.
100 here.
- [Dan] A small number of
permits are auctioned off
to the highest
bidder, and these tags
attract some massive bids.
- [Auctioneer] Thank
you, and now ten.
Two hundred and ten.
And now 20, 210, now 20.
- [Dan] The auction
is in full swing
and the bidding for the
stone sheep hunt is intense.
The funds raised here tonight
will feed directly back into
keeping stone sheep on the
mountains, sustainable.
- [Auctioneer] That'll get
us going tonight, folks.
$320,000.
- [Dan] After witnessing
the eventful auction,
it's time for me to
head into the mountains
on my own adventure in pursuit
of an old stone sheep ram.
(gently music)
Heading to the wilderness
is sort of a release to me.
It provides an escape from the
pressures of modern day life,
and I always find myself
yearning to get back
to that quiet place.
How's it going guys?
- Not too bad, yourself?
Woody, outta the way.
Nice to meet you, I'm Dawson.
- Dan, Dawson?
Timber?
- Yes, sir.
- Dan, nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you too.
- [Dawson] This is Woody.
He's a year old Jack
Russell Terrier that I got
for bear hunting on
Vancouver Island,
and he just likes to be in
the middle of everything.
He's a going concern,
that's for sure.
Obviously likes mosquitoes too.
Get 'em Woody.
- [Dan] We set up camp
in the remote wilderness
and we'll begin our search
for a mature stone sheep
ram in the morning.
Leaving the city behind
and venturing into
the remote wilderness
of British Columbia
awakens a primal sense
of freedom within me.
Where every step
carries the weight
of anticipation and
every moment resonates
with the raw beauty of
untouched landscapes.
Hunting is the main driver
for wild sheep
conservation funding.
Through auctions such
as the ones provided by
Wild Sheep Foundation,
tons of money is raised.
Also, things like the
Pitman Robertson Act
where license fees
sold go directly back
into sheep conservation.
It is through these efforts
that our sheep are
still with us today.
How many stone sheep
are actually harvested
through hunting?
- We took three as
outfitters in this territory
and the residents took one
or two last year for sure,
but I'm not exactly
sure how many they took.
In the park here,
there's only three tags
for residents anyway,
- So it certainly doesn't
seem like it's the hunting
that's impacting these sheep.
- No, I don't
think it is either.
I think, I think, to be
perfectly honest with you,
I think the wolves have
a bigger impact on these
sheep than anything else.
But there's definitely
more money put back in
by hunters than there
is by the government.
That's for sure.
We're rebuilding populations,
not just hunting
them into extinction.
- [Dan] Make no mistake hunting
stone sheep is no easy feat,
but it's these challenges
that make the
pursuit so rewarding.
- [Dawson] I think just
the size of the country
that stone sheep
live in is part of
what really makes them
difficult to find.
It takes a fairly good
sized piece of ground
to support a number
of stone sheeps.
Right on the ridge.
There's a bunch of black rock
that there's a little pinpoint
of rock that comes down off
the bottom of it into the green
and red, but it's
definitely a ram
and he looks like he's got some
decent mass on his head too.
And it, there's just one.
So, the chances of him
being a good ram alone like
that are fairly high.
- [Dan] Getting a little
bit better sun now.
- [Dawson] Yeah.
- I mean it's, the fact that
he is on his own is promising.
At eight years or older rams
are considered to be mature
and possibly past
their breeding prime.
We came in here looking
for a ram that was clearly
eight years or older, and the
one that we've been looking at
since yesterday
appears to not be
clearly eight years or older.
So there's a chance that we'll
move on and keep looking.
In this part of the world,
weather is a constant challenge.
- [Dawson] We had some of the
highest winds I've ever seen
in the mountains on this hunt.
We had plenty of rain, we
had terrible visibility
for the last few days,
and particularly in
some of the places
that we were really
trying to look into.
And playing the weather
game can be a huge part
of the mental game that
is mountain hunting.
And it's definitely
something we did deal
with on this hunt,
that's for sure.
With some pretty
horrendous weather,
particularly right in the last
few days we were up there.
- So we've been up
here how, I don't know,
two and a half days or
so, looking at some rams,
Dawson has declared
that the rams
that we've been looking
at are not quite legal.
So we're gonna start hiking.
Hopefully we'll get a
break in this weather
and we can hunt on the way down,
but it's time to start easing
our way back to the lake
where we're gonna get picked up.
That looks pretty.
That looks pretty iffy.
I don't think I'd make that.
There's no way.
I still don't feel like I
have that much experience
crossing something like this.
So I guess there's only one way.
Am I pulling on you too tight?
- [Dawson] No, no, no,
you're fine, I got you.
Part of the job is being
able to reassure someone
and make sure that they
feel safe in the environment
that they're in
because people can do almost
anything if they're given the
right direction
and given a little
bit of motivation
just to get it done sometimes.
Yeah, it's getting shallower.
You're good.
- [Dan] That was
fricking scary man.
- Now we just gotta
get outta here.
Probably just up there.
(somber music)
- [Dan] If I'm counting right,
I believe we seen eight
grizzlies at this point.
So there's definitely a pretty
healthy population up here.
There are many memorable
moments to any sheep hunt
and it's the extreme
nature of these hunts
that keep pulling me back to the
mountains in search of sheep.
And there are definitely no
guarantees to harvesting a ram.
One day I was sunburnt, the
next day I'm just soaking wet.
So it had kind of all
aspects you'd expect,
but yeah, tough
hunt, rugged, hard,
but definitely worth
the price of admission.
The adventure may not have
ended with a successful hunt,
but the experience has
deepened my appreciation
for these incredible animals.
- [Dawson] We saw, three
7-year-old rams on this trip,
two of which were
legal by horn length,
but just weren't the
age we were looking for.
And it doesn't do any
good for the propagation
of the species if we're
taking underage rams.
It's certainly
something that happens,
but it's not good
for the longevity of
the sheep population.
That's for sure.
- [Dan] The pilot brought
us some lunch here
and I know the sandwich
doesn't look like much,
but after 12 days of mountain
house it's pretty darn good.
There are a few
pursuits as exhilarating
as hunting stone sheep in
their rugged natural habitat,
whether successful or not.
But what many don't realize is
that this practice also
generates immense funding
for their conservation efforts.
The work being done by
the Wild Sheep Foundation
for Stone Sheep is
truly remarkable.
- [Gray] We're in
Spatsizi Provincial Park.
Over the next
eight or nine days,
our objective is to
capture 40 of stone sheep,
20 rams, 20 ewes.
The idea here is to
get some data on 'em.
- Stone sheep faced various
predators, grizzly bears,
wolves, golden eagles,
and humans of course, they
face a lot of activities
and stresses from
development pressures.
But out here we're trying
to maintain the biodiversity
on the landscape.
- We wanna make sure
that our activities
as consumptive users
or non consumptive users
in the sense of hikers
and backpackers, isn't
causing a negative impact
that those animals
can't overcome.
So this project here
will specifically look at
hunter movements as
well as sheep movement.
So ewe groups, immature
rams and mature rams.
Over the course of three years,
we hope to learn
a lot about just
how sheep navigate the
landscape when people are in it.
- [Dan] Sheep
capture initiatives,
where samples are taken
and animals are collared,
provide invaluable data
for understanding the health
and behavior of these
majestic creatures.
- [Bill] Hunters, especially
the guide outfitter,
noticing sheep were
behaving differently.
This project's a reality
because of the guide outfitter
and the Wild Sheep Foundation
were able to
generate the funding
and the interest to
be able to support us.
So we were able to pull
in Tahltan First Nation.
We're able to pull in
government staff, we're able
to pull in University
of Alberta.
The collaboration here is huge.
(somber music)
- Just an exceptional
collaboration.
When you look at the team
that was on the mountain
from the Tahltan First Nation,
we're in their territory here
and their wildlife department.
The ministry staff,
wildlife vets, biologists,
the pilots, just
exceptional crew
of 16 people brought here
to Highland Post as guests
of Spatsizi River Outfitters,
who hosted and also funded this.
- Hunting revenue can
support scientific research
and monitoring programs
to better understand
stone sheep populations,
their behaviors
and their habitats.
This information is crucial
for making informed
management decisions
and implementing effective
conservation strategies.
- Captured, assessed, collared,
sampled 40 sheep in five days
and getting all the
data, biopsies of the
ears, ear tagging,
collaring, a nasal
swab, throat swabs,
a health assessment just
on the general condition of
the sheep, hair
samples, fecal samples,
and then measurements.
Providing us data to really see
how these animals
utilize their habitat
and then react to our
presence, whether it's a hunter
or a non hunter, is gonna
be very, very helpful
to the wildlife professionals
that are in charge
of this fabulous resource
that we all enjoy.
To me, that was just
fascinating to see how efficient
and effective this
professional team was.
And then finally,
when it's all said
and done, to release
that beautiful animal
back on the mountain
and watch it run off,
the first one just
brought tears to my eyes.
(adventurous music)
- It is a testament to their
commitment to conservation,
ensuring that every step we
take towards understanding
stone sheep is a step
towards securing their future
in the wild.
Overall, the Wild
Sheep Foundation plays
a crucial role in
the conservation of stone sheep
and other wild sheep species.
By supporting research,
habitat conservation,
population management,
education, and advocacy efforts.
As these majestic animals are
released back into the wild,
we're reminded of the success
of the conservation model
supported by hunters.
The future of stone sheep
relies on initiatives these
ensuring they continue to roam
the mountains for generations
to come.