While mountain biking up Ben Lomond on a sunny Sunday in August, Ogden resident Mick McLennan wondered where the mountain goats had gone. He used to photograph them and said it was “fun to see them roaming around the mountains.” But now he said he hasn’t seen them in over five years.
It’s not just his luck to blame: the herd of mountain goats that lives on Willard Peak and Ben Lomond has declined sharply since 2018. Daniel Sallee, Box Elder District wildlife biologist for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, attributes this to a series of harsh winters and dry summers, combined with hunting and the state’s transfer of goats to other areas.
There’s some debate whether mountain goats are native to Utah, but the 2018 Mountain Goat Statewide Management Plan says “that mountain goat habitat exists in Utah and that mountain goats are a valuable part of our wildlife resource diversity and are a legitimate part of our modern Utah faunal landscape.”
Through introduction and successful reproduction, the population on Willard Peak and Ben Lomond grew to more than 300 by 2011, said Sallee.
When mountain goats were abundant, McLennan didn’t just see them; he could smell them. He compared the scent to that of sheep’s wool. “It might have had piss in there or something, but there was a very distinct goat smell when you’d go past these patches, when you're going up on the trail,” he recalled. They found their way into Ogden lore when a man was spotted on the mountain in a goat costume.
The division decided to reduce the population because “the potential was there for overgrazing,” Sallee said.
So, the DWR issued additional hunting permits for the region and transferred 57 mountain goats to other parts of the state.
But the population took a turn.
“Between 2018 and now we had a series of pretty bad winters, followed by pretty severe droughts during the summers,” said Sallee.
Few young goats grew into adults, adding to the decline in population. The division estimated there were only 30 mountain goats roaming the area last year. To prevent further loss, Sallee said they issued only one hunting permit for mountain goats in the region for the last two years.
To bring the population back up, Sallee said the department plans to transport 15 mountain goats to the region later this year.
He expects the transfer to take place in November or December. The division will contract with a capture company to transport the goats via helicopter. That timing is intentional. In early winter, goats will come down from the mountain peaks, and the cooler temperatures will help the helicopter’s performance.
“It'll keep the mountain goats cooler when we're capturing and transporting them, because it's pretty stressful for them,” he said.
Sallee is optimistic the population will recover.
That’s because more mountain goats are making it to adulthood, and by adding more female goats, he thinks “we'll be in a good place [in] the next few years.”
“Maintaining a healthy population of goats up there is good for the ecosystem. It keeps them grazing up there to reduce wildfire risk,” said Sallee.
Plus, he said having mountain goats “really adds the aesthetic value of the ecosystem.”
And McLennan, who bikes, hikes and skis in the area, said he “can’t wait” to see mountain goats once again.
