It’s spring again in Idaho, and from now through the summer months, ranchers will be moving giant herds of sheep up into the Idaho National Forest, according to KTVB. For outlanders, passers-by and others unfamiliar with the annual crossing of Highway 55, it can be a baffling sight and a traffic nightmare.
For the natives, it’s just another one of those uniquely Idaho things, and one worth pulling off the road for a few minutes to watch.
A crowd of about 300 lined the streets awaiting the parade awaiting the herd, 2,500 strong. Its arrival at the crossroads was heralded by the clanging of the lead ewe’s bell, the clatter of hooves and a chorus of baas and bleats. Just as the sheep approached the crossing, the sun broke through the clouds, the tv station reported.
Steve Stuebner, the spokesman for the Idaho Rangeland Resources Commission, said the crowd is one of the biggest turnouts he’s seen in 15 years of being part of the event.
“I think it’s sort of a page out of our history, is what’s appealing to them,” he said to KTVB. “It’s a novelty. Maybe they’ve never seen anything like that before. But it’s real typical in Idaho. When you’re out in rural parts of Idaho in the spring and summer, or fall, you could run into a cattle drive or a sheep drive.”
The sheep will soon depart the road and will travel on through “the sagebrush dotted foothills” toward their summer home, The Associated Press wrote.
Moving the sheep to higher elevations is a tradition dating back around 100 years, KTVB reported. The sheep will continue their march to higher ground a few more weeks until they reach the Boise National Forest and spend the summer, said Frank Shirts of Wilder, Idaho, who owns the herd.
Livestock herders, herding dogs and livestock guardian dogs help protect and guide the sheep for miles down a route that stretches from the Snake River in southern Idaho to the Sawtooth Mountains in the center of the state, the education blog of National Geographic said.
Having the sheep graze in the forest helps prevent fires and invigorates plant growth, the TV station reported.