The UC Hopland Research and Extension Center currently maintains a flock of about 600 breeding ewes for research and range management purposes. If you add in the younger replacement ewes and rams then HREC's total sheep flock runs at about 800 head. The photo here shows the ewe flock grazing in what we call "Watershed I" pasture ... which is a 60 acre watershed that was cleared of woody vegetation around 1960 as part of a hydrology and vegetation type-conversion experiment.
Also in the photo you see one of HREC's "mixing shelters" where ewes and newborn lambs are housed to increase maternal bonding prior to them being turned out onto the open range... a management method that has proven to increase lamb survival. The phone line that you also see leads to one of the UC Berkeley seismographs ... part of the statewide system that records earthquakes and earth movement.
The small stature of the "Western Targhee" sheep breed that comprises the HREC flock is very efficient at converting range forage to meat and wool on steep terrain that is so common in the North Coast.
