WILDLIFE

Prime time for watching bighorn sheep

Bighorn sheep rams have been performing their ritual mating dances and crashing heads on sunny slopes near Georgetown.

Cold weather and the annual courtship season, which starts in November and continues into January, have brought the bighorn herds down near Interstate 70, making for excellent wildlife watching.

To view the sheep, motorists should exit at Georgetown, turn left on Alvarado Road and follow signs to a Division of Wildlife viewing station near Georgetown Lake. On weekends, volunteer guides help viewers locate sheep and understand their behavior.

Ptarmigan head count in progress at Guanella

Biologists with the Colorado Division of Wildlife and the U.S. Forest Service have been strapping on snowshoes and counting white-tailed ptarmigan on their wintering grounds near Guanella Pass above Georgetown.

The alpine grouse count started in December and will continue through March across 3 square miles of habitat.

The surveys are being conducted partly because biologists are concerned about the potential impact of a road-improvement project near the pass. Guanella Pass supports one of the largest wintering populations of ptarmigan in Colorado.

SHOOTING

Byers Canyon range closed to protect herds

The Division of Wildlife has closed its Byers Canyon Shooting Range west of Hot Sulphur Springs to protect mule deer herds wintering in the area.

The popular shooting range north of U.S. 40 is closed each winter when deep snow pushes deer down from higher elevations. The closure gives deer herds undisturbed use of the state land until spring, when they can move to higher ground. The shooting range will stay closed until at least April.

FISHING

Eleven Mile trout looking up for contest

Trout are biting well, and catches are starting to include kokanee salmon, just in time for the Colorado Classic on Saturday, said Kevin Tobey, Eleven Mile State Park's manager.

The Colorado Classic Team Ice Fishing Tournament is sponsored by the Eleven Mile Marina.

Check in for teams of two anglers starts at 5 a.m., and fishing will begin at 7 a.m.. Cash prizes will be awarded for best catches.

Tobey cautions all anglers to fish with a partner, drill test holes and take other precautions, including keeping clear of pressure ridges and porous ice.

Information: www.11Milesports.com.