I am certainly no expert, but I've noticed a downtick in my short time here.
The most recent official thing I have seen was the 2012 Data Analysis on the Weminuche Herd, comprising S15, S16, and S28. I want to say the pop estimate was around 460 for all 3 units. But I've seen/heard some varying estimations as well- anywhere from 405 to 425, as recent as 2018. So it doesn't seem to be trending up to me.
I talked with a biologist a few years ago who said they are worried about lambs dying, and weren't sure why. They have an order to euthanize bighorns that come into contact with domestic sheep, and they had euthanized 6-7 bighorns that summer (I think it was 2017). That was a dramatic uptick, as they had only euthanized 1 or 2 in the previous 5 years combined.
When I first moved here, I would see bighorns on Wolf Creek Pass occasionally, and could usually find at least one band of ewes with just a few miles of hiking in that area. I know someone who has private land way up by the old Rainbow Trail, and you could sit on their porch and see bighorns skirting the cliffs. They would see them fairly regularly, but in the past 3-4 years have only seen them a handful of times. There is another spot near way up in the Williams Drainage region that has been a very steadily used lambing area. I hike and camp up there a lot, and would almost always see bighorns. 90% of the time it would be bands of ewes & lamps (sometimes 40+ sheep), but occasionally groups fo 4-8 rams. I helped 2 different people take ewes up there in 2016 and 2017. Luck would have it, when I drew a tag this past year, they were no where to be found. I had a friend with a ewe tag, and spoke to a local ram hunter, and we all had the same experience. Something dramatically changed with the sheep, they simply weren't in the drainages they have been in recent years. But no one seemed to find more of them anywhere else. With our abnormally hard winter last year (and coming off a record drought the year before), I suppose it's possible they had a big die off, or a bunch got caught in avalanches or whatnot.
Bottom line- people just aren't seeing them like they used to. I could be way off, but that is just my experience. CPW is in the middle of a 5 year study. They fly and record data. But they are always asking for volunteers to help spot and track them. I'm planning on spending a few nights this summer WAY back in the mountains looking for them.
