Funds cut for bighorn study
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Los ANGELES County bighorn sheep numbers plummeted 90% in the last two decades, making it one of the most imperiled herds in the West, but the federal government has cut funds to study the animals.
Pinching pennies to balance the budget deficit, San Bernardino National Forest officials cut $650,000 for bighorn research.
The agency can fund only about one-third of a study to see if terrain cleared of brush by fires helps sheep escape mountain lions.
Hunting and conservation groups say they are searching for funds to make up the difference.
“It’s a perfect science experiment,” says Steve Holl, a biology consultant who helped draft a bighorn recovery plan.
About 70 sheep live in crags in the eastern San Gabriel Mountains, but predators have taken a heavy toll.
-- Ashley Powers
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