An astute Fish & Game deputy, C.O. Fisher who was stationed in Susanville during 1920s kept records of the wildlife in the region. He noted that was a band of forty big horn sheep (Lava Bed Bighorn) that lived on Observation Peak of the Madeline Plains country. Fisher believed that they all had perished during the severe winter of 1922. In the summer 1923, Fisher found horns and skeletons of the sheep on the mountain.
By happenstance, in 1927 Fisher discovered a small herd consisting of four females and two males in upper Smoke Creek/Painter Flat region. What is became them is not known.
Tim
My daughter was out by Pyramid Lake and spotted a herd of Big Horns. When she told me I thought she must be mistaken but the pictures were clear. I read that in 2022 Fish and Game released 4 rams and 17 ewes at Pyramid, they were taken from Battle Mountain. This is so cool, I can’t wait to see them!