Winter Bighorn Sheep Viewing Near Dubois at Whiskey Mountain

Wyoming Game and Fish once estimated the Whiskey Mountain bighorn herd at about 2,500 sheep. Its current estimate is about 750. When the ewes and rams come down onto the slopes east of Dubois in late November, they look the same as they always have. The herd itself is in a very different spot.

The difference matters for anyone who drives out to Whiskey Basin with binoculars this winter. Biologists now think the herd's trouble shows up most in winter, during the same months the sheep sit in plain view a few miles from town. The vehicle closure, the request to stay in your truck, and the habitat work on the ridges all respond to that.

A herd that is holding on, not bouncing back

On its Whiskey Mountain herd page, Game and Fish blames the herd's continued shortfall mostly on low lamb survival and persistent pneumonia concerns. The agency's 2026 hunt forecast, released August 31, 2026, points the same way. It says lamb production in the Whiskey Mountain herd was higher than in previous years but "is still low and continues to be a concern."

The Pinedale Region section of that forecast is blunter. It says the Whiskey herd's overall population "is struggling due at least in part to chronic pneumonia and poor lamb recruitment." It also notes that the non-migratory sheep counted on winter flights in Hunt Area 8 have stayed stable. A March 2025 high-elevation flight counted 102 of those non-migratory sheep. Ram licenses in that area have dropped after several years of low hunter success. For 2026, two any-ram licenses will be issued, plus two resident licenses carried over after last fall's Dollar Lake fire.

Taken together, the herd is stable in places, short on lambs, and still well below where it once stood. That's the herd you'll be glassing from the road this winter.

Winter is where the disease does its work

The most useful research for anyone watching these sheep comes out of the University of Wyoming. As reported by WyomingNews.com, Ph.D. student Rachel Smiley and professor Kevin Monteith found that sheep carrying pneumonia pathogens put on less fat over the summer and lost more over the winter. Ewes in poorer condition were linked to weaker lambs. The same report included comments from Dubois-based Game and Fish biologist Zach Gregory and from Katie Cheesbrough, executive director of the Wyoming Wild Sheep Foundation.

That puts the stakes on the winter range. A ewe on the slopes above Torrey Creek in January is drawing down fat reserves that pathogens have already shrunk. The lamb she carries depends on what she has left in spring.

The Whiskey Basin page from Game and Fish says winter "is very stressful for these and many other animals." It asks visitors to watch from their vehicles to cut down on disturbance and help wintering sheep survive. Given the UW findings, that request makes sense. Every time a band gets pushed uphill, it spends energy these sheep are already short on.

The test-and-remove effort

Game and Fish has also gone after the pathogen directly. In the 2024 range-wide wild sheep status report published by the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, Game and Fish's Daryl Lutz reported that the test-and-remove program had expanded to the whole Whiskey Mountain herd. In March 2024, crews captured and tested 42 ewes. Fourteen of them, or 33 percent, tested positive for Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae and were removed under a one-strike protocol. Rams and yearling ewes were not targeted.

So if you see collared ewes on the hillside, there's a good chance they're part of that work.

The ridges are being rebuilt for sheep

Biologists are working on the habitat at the same time. Bighorns rely on open ground where they can spot predators and get to forage. As conifers creep onto winter range, they close it in. Several projects in and around Whiskey Basin target that problem:

• Trail Lake Meadow burn. Game and Fish described this 2021 prescribed burn as part of a multi-year habitat plan. Farming work was planned afterward to improve supplemental winter forage.
• Conifer removal on Torrey Rim, Sheep Ridge and BLM Ridge. In August 2023, Game and Fish announced mechanical removal of up to 120 acres of conifers to reopen winter range and movement routes. Terrestrial habitat biologist Amy Anderson said the goal was more open forage and better sightlines.
• Torrey Rim prescribed fire. In September 2024, County 10 reported a planned burn of roughly 1,300 acres on Torrey Rim. It was meant to improve forage and loafing areas for the Whiskey Mountain herd. Partners were the USDA Forest Service, Game and Fish, the Wild Sheep Foundation, the National Bighorn Sheep Center and the University of Wyoming.

Anyone who looks at land for a living knows the pattern. A pasture that's growing up in brush feeds less stock no matter how many acres are on the map. Sheep range works the same way, and these projects are an attempt to win back usable ground. When you drive past Torrey Rim this winter, you're looking at land shaped for these sheep on purpose.

Where and when to look this season

Whiskey Basin Wildlife Habitat Management Area is four miles east of Dubois off U.S. Highway 26/287. It was set up in 1954 as crucial winter range for bighorn sheep. Glaciers shaped the basin. It runs from sagebrush grassland and creek bottoms up to rocky slopes and timber, between about 7,000 and nearly 9,000 feet.

The closure covers vehicles only. Foot and horse access stay open all year. If you trailer in to ride, the area only allows certified weed-free hay, and camping is capped at 14 days. The reason for watching from a vehicle applies just as much to a rider. A horse and rider moving across a slope can push a band uphill as easily as a hiker can.

Game and Fish also lists elk, moose, deer and coyotes in the basin, and sandhill cranes nest there. Two miles of Torrey Creek and three glacial lakes hold trout. The basin was also a favored wintering ground for the Sheepeater Clan of the Shoshone Tribe. The petroglyphs they carved into the glacial boulders can't be replaced, and Game and Fish asks visitors to protect them.

The Center in town, and the November fundraiser

The National Bighorn Sheep Center on U.S. 26/287 is a partner in the Torrey Rim work, and it's an easy stop before or after a drive out to the basin. Winter hours run Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., from September 11 through May 19. Admission is $6 for adults, $5 for seniors 60 and up and for veterans, military and first responders, $3 for ages 8 to 17, and free for children 7 and under. According to Wind River Country, the Center is the starting point for a self-guided Torrey Valley driving tour, and the listing links to a Trail Lake area map.

Guided winter trips are harder to pin down. The Wyoming Office of Tourism says the Center may schedule winter wildlife-viewing tours to the Whiskey Mountain winter range from November through March. No 2026–27 dates or prices have been posted yet. The Center's hours page lists a Torrey Valley Adventure Tour starting at $75, but its booking link opens a school and organization reservation form. If you want a guided trip this winter, call the Center directly.

The Center's 33rd Annual Bighorn Bash, its banquet and fundraiser, is Saturday, November 7, 2026, from 5 to 10 p.m. Tickets are $40 per person or $75 per couple, according to Destination Dubois. That's a few weeks before the sheep come down onto the basin, and it supports one of the groups working on their winter range.

If you see collared ewes on a burned ridge above Torrey Creek this winter, you're looking at the recovery work in progress. At Premier Horse Property, we look at land in terms of what it can support: forage, water, open ground and access through the seasons. If you're weighing acreage in the upper Wind River country and want to talk about how a place works for horses in winter, we're glad to walk it with you. View Horse Properties.