犹他州东南部启动沙漠大角羊保护研究：三座国家公园同步调查，直升机作业持续至12月
美国国家公园管理局（NPS）宣布，该局与土地管理局（BLM）、犹他州野生动物资源局和犹他州立大学合作，在犹他州东南部的 Arches、Canyonlands 和 Capitol Reef 三座国家公园及周边土地启动一项综合研究，调查当地沙漠大角羊的疾病、种群数量与栖息地状况。
11月初至12月期间，研究团队将开展直升机调查以及大角羊捕捉与放归作业。公园方面提醒，这段时间在有大角羊出没的区域可能看到或听到直升机；游客若遇上野外作业，应与野生动物、直升机和工作人员保持安全距离，并遵守区域限制与公园工作人员的指引。
东南犹他公园群主管 Lena Pace 表示，这个项目将为野生动物管理者提供所需的新信息，帮助理解和保护犹他州东南部的沙漠大角羊；大角羊面临疾病、环境变化和人类休闲活动等多重压力，监测其健康、数量、分布和迁徙，有助于管理者了解种群如何应对这些压力，并作出有依据的保护决策。
公园方面介绍，这项研究收集的数据将用于多项关键管理工作，包括为保护产羔地等敏感栖息地实施季节性区域关闭、对拟议项目开展影响评估、解读种群变化并识别每个种群的疾病传播来源与风险，以及理解累积的环境压力因素。
由于大角羊会跨越不同管辖边界迁徙，这项跨机构区域合作尤为重要。各机构协调监测后，研究人员可以从景观尺度理解大角羊的种群、迁徙、栖息地利用和疾病动态，这种尺度更贴近大角羊实际生活的生态尺度；这项研究还将在既有研究基础上，提供基于 GPS 的大角羊种群监测新数据。（来源：美国国家公园管理局）
Desert Bighorn Sheep Conservation Study Launches Across Southeastern Utah: Helicopter Surveys Run Through December
The National Park Service (NPS), in partnership with the Bureau of Land Management, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, and Utah State University, has announced a comprehensive study on regional desert bighorn sheep disease, population, and habitat across Arches, Canyonlands, and Capitol Reef national parks and surrounding lands in southeastern Utah.
Helicopter surveys and bighorn sheep capture and release operations are expected to occur from early November through December. Visitors may see or hear helicopters operating in areas occupied by bighorn sheep during this period. Visitors who encounter field operations should maintain a safe distance from wildlife, helicopters, and crews, and follow any area restrictions or directions from park staff.
"This project will provide wildlife managers with updated information needed to understand and conserve desert bighorn sheep across southeastern Utah," said Lena Pace, superintendent of the Southeast Utah Group, which includes Arches and Canyonlands national parks. "Bighorn sheep face a range of stressors, including disease, changing conditions, and human recreation. Monitoring their health, abundance, distribution, and movement helps managers understand how populations are responding to these pressures and make informed decisions about their conservation."
Data gathered from this multi-agency initiative will guide crucial park management decisions, including implementing seasonal area closures to protect sensitive habitats such as lambing grounds, conducting impact assessments for proposed projects, interpreting population changes and identifying sources of disease transmission and risk for each population, and understanding cumulative environmental stressors.
The regional partnership is especially important because bighorn sheep move across jurisdiction boundaries. By coordinating monitoring across agencies, researchers can develop a landscape-scale understanding of bighorn sheep populations, movements, habitat use, and disease dynamics that more closely match the ecological scale at which these animals live. The study will provide updated GPS-based monitoring data on bighorn sheep populations, building on previous research. (Source: National Park Service)
来源：美国国家公园管理局
发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）
图片来源：图片来源：沙漠大角羊（Andrew Cattoir 摄，国家公园管理局 NPGallery，公共领域） / Image: Desert bighorn sheep, by Andrew Cattoir, National Park Service (public domain)
GSM Global · 本篇英文版 English edition of this story
