USDA orders more scrutiny of bighorns The U.S. Forest Service has been ordered to work more closely with state fish and wildlife agencies before introducing any more bighorn sheep onto agency lands, a Bush administration official said Nov. 8 at the annual gathering of Idaho sheep producers. Mark Rey, USDA undersecretary for natural resources and the environment, said he issued a memorandum in September directing the Forest Service to suspend any further bighorn introductions onto agency lands unless the introductions were "consistent with and compliant with a federal-state wildlife plan" in the affected states. Rey's remarks came amid a long-running controversy in Idaho and other Western states concerning interactions between wild bighorn sheep and domestic flocks. Some environmental groups want the government to impose restrictions on domestic sheep grazing in areas where they may come into contact with bighorn sheep. Activists contend that bighorns are dying off in large part because they can contract pasteurella, a form of pneumonia, from domestic sheep. Rey acknowledged that there's some data to suggest a significant risk of disease transmission from domestic sheep to bighorn sheep. But he also said it's likely that some diseases are transmitted the other way around and that there isn't enough information about the health of bighorn sheep before they're released onto the national forests. "I've become increasingly concerned that there are inadequate assurances that the bighorns that are being moved around are themselves disease-free," he said....