© 2024 Boise State Public Radio
NPR in Idaho
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Apple's latest iOS (17.4) is preventing our livestreams from playing. We suggest you download the free Boise State Public Radio app & stream us there while we work to troubleshoot the issue.

A Year In The Life Of The Foothills Sheep Man

Scott Ki
/
Boise State Public Radio
Sheep chow down in the Boise Foothills each Spring.

A couple of truckloads of sheep were delivered by truck to 8th Street above the Foothills Learning Center Monday. They are slowly heading north.

For experienced Boise Foothills trekkers, spotting sheep wandering through the scrub and pathways in the spring is not so unusual. But not everybody is familiar with the story of Frank Shirts and his sheep.

Shirts is a real-life sheep rancher with 12 bands (groups) of sheep. That adds up to about 28,000 ewes and lambs each year.

He runs the sheep from Wilder to the Boise and Payette National Forests each year, going where the food grows. And for a few weeks each spring you can spot his sheep as they disembark their trucks, heading into the foothills. 

From there, they head north to more forested climes.  But while they share the paths with bikers and hikers, the Idaho Rangeland Resource Commission has some tips for getting along:

1. Keep your dogs on leash! Loose dogs can harass the sheep, including fragile young lambs. And the bands are protected by Great Pyrenees guard dogs who may think your dog is a threat to the sheep and defend their band. They're primarily there to keep the coyotes away from the sheep.

2. If you're on a bike, get off and walk through the area. The guard dogs may think you are playing or could charge or chase you. If you walk your bike, the dogs will leave you alone. If the dogs approach, talk to them and let them know you're a human, not a threat.

3. Feel free to take pictures, but give the sheep a wide berth. They need their space. 

What's it like to make your living from thousands of sheep? It's not an easy life, but it is fascinating. Here's a video featuring Frank Shirts and his sheepherders.

Find Samantha Wright on Twitter @samwrightradio

Copyright 2017 Boise State Public Radio

As Senior Producer of our live daily talk show Idaho Matters, I’m able to indulge my love of storytelling and share all kinds of information (I was probably a Town Crier in a past life!). My career has allowed me to learn something new everyday and to share that knowledge with all my friends on the radio.

You make stories like this possible.

The biggest portion of Boise State Public Radio's funding comes from readers like you who value fact-based journalism and trustworthy information.

Your donation today helps make our local reporting free for our entire community.