Wyoming could move or kill Encampment bighorns

A state lawmaker wants the option to remove a small herd of bighorn sheep from U.S. Forest Service lands in southeastern Wyoming if necessary to protect local sheep ranchers. Sen. Larry Hicks, a Baggs Republican, says he hopes it won't be necessary to remove about 40 bighorns from the Encampment River canyon in Carbon County. Hicks plans to ask a legislative committee later this month to endorse his proposal in case it's needed. The Biodiversity Conservation Alliance, a Laramie conservation group, is pushing a lawsuit against the Forest Service challenging its decision to allow continued domestic sheep grazing in the area. The group says domestic sheep could pass diseases to the bighorns. Ranchers in Idaho are challenging a Forest Service decision to cut domestic sheep grazing to protect bighorns there.