Dedicated to conserving and enhancing desert and Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep populations through science, advocacy, and community support.
Our work combines science, advocacy, and hands-on conservation projects, ensuring these iconic animals and their fragile desert habitats thrive for generations to come.
We strengthen partnerships with agencies, landowners, and volunteers to create sustainable conservation solutions that preserve wildlife and natural heritage.
Since 1967, the Arizona Desert Bighorn Sheep Society has brought together hunters, conservationists, and outdoor enthusiasts to protect and restore bighorn sheep across Arizona.
Guided by passion and purpose, we continue to build a legacy of conservation that inspires future generations to protect Arizona’s wild sheep.
We are dedicated to protecting wildlife and their habitats while offering unforgettable safari experiences. Our mission is to promote ethical tourism that supports conservation efforts.
Guided by science, passion, and community partnerships.
We restore and protect bighorn sheep through water projects, habitat work, and science-based conservation.
Our efforts have grown sheep populations fivefold since 1967, ensuring future generations experience Arizona’s wild heritage.
With over 1,100 members, we unite hunters, outdoor enthusiasts, and conservationists in a shared mission to protect Arizona’s sheep.
Arizona’s vast desert landscapes hold large tracts of habitat that cannot support bighorn sheep without reliable water. To solve this, ADBSS has made waterhole development a cornerstone of our conservation work. Since 1993, we’ve helped construct nearly 150 waterhole projects in partnership with Arizona Game and Fish and federal agencies. These projects often take place in remote country, requiring helicopters to move supplies and hundreds of volunteer hours for construction. Each waterhole provides year-round life support for sheep herds, ensuring that even the harshest desert ranges remain viable.
Average project cost ~$35,000, powered largely by member support and field volunteers.
When settlers arrived in Arizona, bighorn sheep once moved freely between mountain ranges. Today, highways, canals, farms, and development block those migrations. To counter this, ADBSS has aggressively supported transplant programs, moving sheep to restore herds where they disappeared. To date, over 1,086 bighorns have been successfully transplanted into historic habitats, creating viable herds in ranges that had none. These transplants not only expand Arizona’s populations but also contribute sheep to Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, and Texas.
Transplants have not only rebuilt Arizona herds but also supported populations in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Texas.
Every purchase funds water projects, transplants, and education — supporting Arizona’s wild sheep and the habitats they depend on.
Your support fuels water projects, sheep transplants, and education that keep bighorn herds thriving across Arizona’s mountains and deserts.
