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Desert Bighorn Sheep |
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Desert Bighorn Sheep Restoration Program
Our goal is to help restore desert bighorn sheep populations within their former natural range in North America. To this end we work with government agencies, private landowners, conservation NGOs, universities, and others to achieve this challenge.
Historical Perspective
Desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) historically occupied many of the rugged desert mountains of North America. The gradual extirpation of the bighorn sheep in most of the region was attributed to loss of habitat, transmission of diseases from domestic sheep and goats and unregulated hunting. |
The Return of Desert Bighorn Sheep to Northeastern Mexico
The return of the desert bighorn sheep to Northeastern Mexico became a reality in 2000, with the first transplant of sheep from Sonora to Coahuila. With the purpose of maximizing bighorn reproduction, CEMEX built a large 5,000 hectares breeding reserve located near the Maderas del Carmen Protected Area for Flora and Fauna in Coahuila. Currently the reserve has a growing population of over 200 bighorns. As the breeding reserve reaches its optimum carrying capacity, bighorns will be released to pre-selected free ranging sites in Northeastern Mexico.
Alliances
In 2006, CEMEX entered into a partnership with Mr. José A. Vallina at his La Guarida bighorn breeding reserve located in Coyame, Chihuahua. This 3,000 hectare reserve has a growing population of approximately 100 bighorns.
One year later, CEMEX established an alliance with Mexican NGO, Organización Vida Silvestre A.C. (OVIS), which has an excellent history of desert bighorn restoration in Baja California Sur and Sonora. Our first joint project was the restoration of bighorn sheep in the Sierra del Viejo of Sonora.
In 2008, CEMEX completed a long-term agreement with the Texas Bighorn Society and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to expand the area adjacent to the Black Gap Wildlife Management area with the primary purpose of restoring desert bighorn sheep. This agreement further provides for the development of a bi-national agreement that will ensure a common management plan and for restoring viable desert bighorn sheep populations along the strategic cross-border ecological corridors of the region.
The strategic partnerships that have been formed between CEMEX, government agencies, private landowners, conservation NGOs, universities and others are committed to helping ensure a bright future for the return of the desert bighorn sheep to the wild.
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