Sheep Fever

As part of WSF's expanding partnerships with Tribal Nations, Sheep Fever co-host Gray Thornton visits with Austin Smith Jr., General Manager of the Natural Resources Branch at the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs in Oregon. With over 15 years of experience in wildlife biology and natural resource management, he manages intergovernmental projects that support the Tribe's land, water, and wildlife goals, including their wild sheep programs. A former U.S. Marine and Oregon State University graduate, Austin has deep knowledge of ecological stewardship, treaty rights, and collaborative conservation efforts.

The International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation (CIC) is a non-profit international NGO dedicated to advocating for biodiversity conservation through the sustainable use of wildlife resources. As one of the oldest conservation organizations in the world, the CIC currently represents 27 government bodies and has a membership of over 1,800 individuals. Today, the CIC is active in more than 80 countries. CIC's Mission is "To promote and support the conservation of wildlife and related landscapes, local communities, and traditions through sustainable use including hunting." Recognizing wildlife conservation and the challenges to our hunting heritage know no borders, the Wild Sheep Foundation has been a CIC supporting member for decades. WSF is also supporting CIC and their outreach initiatives to promote sustainable use and the public acceptance of hunting in Europe. In this episode Sheep Fever co-host and WSF President & CEO Gray Thornton, and Conservation Director for International Programs Kurt Alt visit with CIC Director General Arno Wimpffen to discuss collaboration between our two organizations to benefit wildlife and our hunting heritage.

In this episode of Sheep Fever, WSF President & CEO and Sheep Fever co-host Gray Thornton interviews the seven candidates running in the Wild Sheep Foundation's fall 2026 Board of Directors Elections. The intent is to help our membership better know each candidate so they can make an informed vote.  The candidates are presented in the podcast in alpha order by last name.   They are:  Jacobo Artee (Sonora, MX) 01:42 Clint Bentley (NV) 20:45 Sam Cunningham (TX) 27:25 Emilio Espino (Nuevo Leon, MX) 39:47 Travis Jenson (UT) 53:43 Charlie Kelly (AZ) 1:03:56 Kevin Martin (OR) 1:14:00 There are four open directors seats in this election cycle. Two incumbent directors are running as are five new candidates. Each candidate was asked the same six questions that each had an opportunity to review and prepare their response.  WSF very much appreciates each member's participation in the election process. This is your foundation, please exercise your right vote.   For candidate bios please go the elections section on our website:  wildsheepfoundation.org/About-WSF/Board-of-Director-Elections

WSF began developing Conservation Vision documents in 2013/14 to serve as a guiding document for WSF's conservation and wild sheep enhancement priorities. The first was the Convention Vision (CV) 2020, followed by CV 2025, and our most recent is CV2030 developed during the 2025-26 fiscal year to guide our conservation funding priorities to the year 2030. In this episode, Sheep Fever co-host Gray N. Thornton walks through the process with WSF Conservation staff and biologists Corey Mason, Kevin Hurley, Kurt Alt, and Bill Jex. They discuss the why and how of the current vision and the intended impact and outcome WSF intends to achieve. WSF CVs are collaborative visions  from experts on our Professional Resource Advisory Board (PRAB), WAFWA Wild Sheep Initiative and WSF conservation staff all working together to craft a future for wild sheep. The document also provides the base for WSF Conservation Funding Priorities for Grant in Aid. All of this is covered in this informative episode on how wild sheep conservation works in North America and around the globe.

WSF Chairman Kyle Stelter joins Sheep Fever co-host Keith Balfourd to share his vision for the Wild Sheep Foundation as it approaches a defining milestone—its 50th anniversary in 2027. Stelter outlines ten priorities for his two-year term, building on a decade of remarkable momentum while keeping the focus firmly on what comes next. For Stelter, understanding how far wild sheep conservation has come matters most when it helps chart the path forward. Can we put more wild sheep on more landscapes? The answer is yes. But getting there will require a clear plan, strong partnerships, and an unwavering dedication to purpose. It's a conversation about momentum, opportunity, and ensuring WSF's next 50 years are even more consequential than its first.

Established in 1977, and celebrating, like WSF, it's 50th anniversary next year, FACE represents the interests of Europe's 7 million hunters as an international non-profit-making non-governmental organization (INGO). This makes FACE the largest democratically representative body for hunters in the world and probably one of the largest European civil society organizations. As The Voice of European Hunters FACE is made up of its members which include national hunters' associations from 37 European countries including the EU-27. FACE also has 6 Associate Members and has its Secretariat in Brussels. FACE upholds the principle of sustainable use and has been a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) since 1987. FACE works with its partners on a range of hunting-related matters, from international conservation agreements to local implementation issues with the aim of sustaining hunting across Europe.  WSF is an Associate member of FACE, a financial supporter of its outreach programs, and FACE is an affiliate of WSF. In this episode Sheep Fever co-host Gray Thornton visits with FACE Secretary General David Scallan as well as WSF International Conservation Director to introduce FACE to the WSF membership and discuss the importance and impact of our cooperative work in Europe and North America.  

Sold to unsuspecting voters as an animal-cruelty initiative, this measure garnered enough signatures to make it onto the November ballot in Oregon but failed in the signature validation process. Regardless, this attempt will not be the last in Oregon or other states. What Oregonians would have actually been voting on is to eliminate the state's food production - ranching, farming, and animal husbandry- while also making hunting, fishing, wildlife conservation, and pest control illegal. In this episode of Sheep Fever, we sit down with Amy Patrick, a policy and legislative lobbyist who has spent the past five years on the frontlines of this latest attempt to rewrite how animals and wildlife are valued and utilized by people.  There is a lot to unpack: how an initiative like this could get this far, what's the endgame, why Oregon has become a testing ground for such radical ideas, and what it could mean, if passed, for sportsmen, ranchers, conservationists, and rural communities, not to mention food at the grocery store, and mice in your house. Even if you do not live in Oregon, pay attention—your state could be next.

Matt Besko is the Executive Director of the Hunting and Fishing Branch within the Lands Operations Division in Alberta Forestry and Parks. He is tasked with the management, regulations, and policies affecting Hunting and Fishing allocation and use, trapping, managing carnivores and human-wildlife co-existence. In Part II of Sheep Fever's conversation with Matt, he and co-host Gray Thornton discuss the hunting cultures of Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and North America with a deep dive into Europe & North America. While Europe's hunting culture and traditions remain at the forefront of their hunting experience, North American traditions, while still robust in the First Nation/Tribal community, appear less prominent. Is this a problem? Does it contribute to a lack of understanding of hunting and hunters by the non-hunting majority? Has North American hunting culture and traditions been replaced by technology? By something else? Is hunting culture and art relevant? Besko is uniquely qualified to answer these questions and more.

What can we say about J. Alain Smith? Hunter, conservationist, adventurer, acclaimed author of articles, hunting books, and novels, musician, comedian, farmer, Rugged Expeditions show host, podcaster, emcee extraordinaire, Conklin Award winner, Weatherby Award winner, WSF's Chris Klineburger Mountain Hunter Hall of Fame inductee, and a successful businessman in commercial painting, real estate, and shipping. J. Alain is a modern day Renaissance Man. J. Alain and Sheep Fever Co-Host cover the gamut, from his early hunting beginnings in the Pacific Northwest, his hunts around the globe, his passion for sheep hunting, and why he hunts. Hunting Awards, trophy hunting, how to protect our hunting heritage from the threats of today and how we ensure its future are all covered in J. Alain's characteristic style and flair. You'll enjoy this episode!

Colorado has become a proving ground for ballot-box wildlife management, from wolf reintroduction and efforts to ban mountain lion hunting to recent pushes targeting trapping and predator management. In this episode of Sheep Fever, we welcome back Dan Gates of Coloradans for Responsible Wildlife Management to break down what's happening in Colorado, who's behind these initiatives, and why the latest effort to establish a Constitutional Right to Hunt and Fish matters. If successful, Colorado would join 24 other states that have already secured this protection. The stakes reach far beyond Colorado. Across the country, hunting, science-based wildlife management, and predator control are increasingly being challenged by activist-driven campaigns. This conversation explains why sportsmen and conservationists everywhere should be paying attention. Even more can be found at https://savethehuntcolorado.com/