8/7/13

Fire Out in the canyon. All park campgrounds, The Sinks and Rise, Visitor Center are open

The Fairfield Hill fire, which burned several hundred acres on the south facing slope of the canyon, and more on the National Forest above the canyon is out. All park facilities are open with the exception of a few climbing areas which should open soon.

Even though the fire scar is ugly, the fire could have been much worse. Most of the canyon wasn't touched by flames. No damage was done to the Rise or Sinks or the Visitor Center, so visitor's will still be able to experience the beauty of the canyon.

With enough moisture the burn should heal quickly, and already a few hardy chokecherry plants and other shrubs are sending shoots up through the ash.

 

7/24/13

Fairfield Hill Fire sweeps into Sinks Canyon. Parts of South Facing Slope Burned. Canyon closed until further notice.

A wildfire that began on Fairfield Hill Monday morning has burnt over 1200 acres in and around Sinks Canyon. Authorities ordered a forced evacuation on Monday evening  and only fire fighters or law enforcement is allowed into the canyon until further notice.

As of Wednesday it appears the fire in the canyon is mostly contained, but fire is still burning in the timber north and west on the Shoshone National Forest. Several hundred acres were scorched in the canyon, most on the south facing slope, prime Mule Deer and Bighorn Sheep habitat. A cause for the fire has not been determined. While the fire is bad, it could have been much worse. The majority of the canyon was not damaged, and while the scar will remain for a long time, it will eventually recover.

The campgrounds, Visitor Center and other structures were not damaged, but all will remain closed until further notice.

 

7/7/13

The Sinks Canyon Bam Bam Slam Saturday, July 20

5 mile trail run, kids games, raffles, Bighorn Sheep talks and a memorial service for Bam Bam the Ram

 

Sinks Canyon’s Bam Bam Slam is Saturday, July 20. Events will take place all day with the theme of Bighorn sheep. There will be a morning 5 mile trail run, kids activities, a bake sale and a memorial service for the famous Sinks Canyon Bighorn Bam Bam.

The day is dedicated to Bam Bam, the last Bighorn sheep in the canyon.  Bam Bam died this past winter of old age and Sinks Canyon State Park is trying to raise $5000.00 to have a full body taxidermy mount and diorama about Bighorns  installed in the park Visitor Center.

The last sheep of a herd of about 150 animals, Bam Bam became a local icon for his antics along the roads and parking lots of Sinks Canyon State Park. He earned his name for his habit of banging into vehicles, often leaving sizable dents in them.

Bam Bam became a celebrity on You Tube when a video of him ramming a truck went viral. The clip has been seen worldwide by over 700,000 people.

When Bam Bam died, it made the national news, with media from USA Today to newspapers, T.V. and radio around the country running his obituary.

The day kicks off with the 1^st annual “Run Like A Bighorn” trail run in the canyon. Runners, and walkers and hikers, will travel up and down the canyon starting at Sawmill Campground and ending at the park visitor center. “This is going to be a very different and challenging race,” said Park Superintendent Darrel Trembly.  “There is a lot of elevation gain and loss as people climb up and down the steep slopes of the canyon. The runners will definitely prove they can run like a bighorn!” Trembly added that people who hike the route will enjoy themselves as well, getting great views of the canyon.

All participants will get a 1^st Annual Run Like a Bighorn t-shirt and water bottle. Racers can pre-register at the Visitor Center or at the start point at Sawmill Campground on the day of the race.  Registration is $10 per person. All proceeds go to the park for a new display about Bam Bam and Bighorns for the Visitor Center.

The race will start at 7 a.m. People not racing are encouraged to come up and watch the excitement and cheer on the racers. “We hope this will become an annual event,” said Trembly. “A run like this whould really be of interest to folks who like a challenge.”

Starting at 10 a.m. at the Visitor Center there will be the “Eat Like A Ewe” bake sale. Tasty goodies like pies, cookies, brownies along with lemonade will be for sale. All money raised will go towards the Bam Bam fund.

Starting at 1 p.m. there will be a kid’s coloring contest. The top three Bighorn pictures will win a prize, and all the entries will be displayed.  The contest will run until 5 p.m., and winners will be announced later in the evening.

From 2 p.m. until 4 p.m. there will be a kid’s Bighorn scavenger hunt. Kids that find the horn, hide and other items using the clues and map provided, will win a prize. There is a $5.00 entry fee for the hunt.

All day long there will be raffles for signed copies of Lander author Joe Hutto’s book about Bighorn Sheep in Wyoming, “The Light in High Places.”  Winners will be announced in the evening. The raffles for the 3 framed Bam Bam pictures by Bill Briggs will be on going, the winners for that raffle will be drawn on Labor Day.

The Memorial for Bam Bam begins at 7 p.m. at the Visitor Center parking lot.  A number of experts on Bighorns will give short programs on the animals, their habitat and threats to them. Bill Briggs, an award-winning photographer from Riverton, who chronicled Bam Bam’s  life, will give a narrated slide show of the ram from his youth to the last days in the canyon.

Afterwards members of the audience will be asked to share their recollections, and thoughts  about Bam Bam and the canyon.

Scheduled to speak about Bighorns are Suzan Moulton from the National Bighorn Sheep Center in Dubois, Stan Harter of the Wyoming Game and Fish, and Joe Hutto who has researched  Bighorn Sheep and written a book about them called “The Light In High Places.”

People attending are urged to bring lawn chairs. Parking will be along the road shoulder beside the Visitor Center.

For more information call the park at 307-332-3077, visit the web at www.sinkscanyonstatepark.org or visit Facebook at: Bam Bam the Ram of Sinks Canyon Wyoming.

 

 

 

7/7/13

The Trail Run Map!

Get ready for the big race July 20th. Pre-registration at the Visitor Center or register at the starting line at Sawmill Campground from 6 a.m. until 7 a.m.

7/5/13

The first ever Sinks Canyon State Park float in  the annual Lander 4th of July Parade

Two of the "herd" getting ready for the parade in their Bighorn hats!

The float in the parade. We used the park law enforcement truck to pull a flatbed with a 1948 jeep being rammed by a Bam Bam mock-up while our "herd" handed out candy and flyers about July 20th.

The whole herd getting ready for the parade.

 

6/27/13

Our 1st annual Bam Bam day kicks off Saturday July 20th at 7 a.m. with a 5 mile Trail run (or walk/hike for folks not interested in racing). The run starts at Sawmill Campground and goes up the south facing slope, along the rim, down into the canyon, up the north slope, then back across and ending at the Visitor Center. Registration is $10 and all participants get a T-shirt and water bottle. All funds go to the Bam Bam fund to put him on display in a new diorama.

Events will take place all day. An "Eat Like a Ewe" bake sale starts at 10 a.m. at the Visitor Center with lots of goodies and lemonaide for sale.

From 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. there will be a kid's coloring contest, the best Bam Bam picture wins a prize. All entreis will be displayed in the Visitor Center. From 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. a kid's scavenger hunt will take place. Whoever finds the ram horn and other items using the map and clues provided wins a prize. Entry fee is $5.00.

All day there will be raffles for signed copies of Joe Hutto'sbook about Bighorns,  "The Light In High Places." People can buy tickets for the ongoing raffle for Bill Brigg's 3 portraits of Bam Bam.

At 7 p.m. a celebration of Bam Bam will take place in the Visitor center parking lot. Speakers will discuss Bam Bam and bighorns and Bill Briggs will do a narrated slide show about the life of Bam Bam. Then people attending will be able to share their memories of the animal.

Speakers include Suzan Moulton of the National Bighorn Sheep Center in Dubois, Bill Briggs, Stan Harter of the Wyoming Game and Fish. Call 307-332-3077 to register for the race or get more information or check out our Facebook page: Bam Bam the Ram of Sinks Canyon.

 

6/1/13

Bam Bam gets his own Facebook page!

Bam Bam looking at the Rise parking lot. Photo by Wanda Crowe.

Even before he died people would come to park almost daily to share their stories about Bam Bam. The Bam Bam Memorial on July 20th will allow people to tell about their expeirences in person, but a Facebook page has been set up for folks to share pictures, video and memories of the famous ram. Go to Facebook and search for Bam Bam the Ram, Sinks Canyon, Wyoming.

 

 

5/27/13

Three "Bam Bam The Ram" photographs to be raffled to raise money to have the famous sheep put on display in the park Visitor Center.

Bam Bam on the rocks in the canyon in the winter. One of three fully matted and framed 16 x 20 images to be raffled off this summer. Photo by Bill Briggs.

Noted wildlife photographer Bill Briggs has generously donated 3 matted and framed 16x20 portraits of Bam Bam to raffle off this summer to help raise funds to bring the sheep back to the canyon. Tickets will be on sale in the park visitor center through the summer. The drawing will be held on Labor Day and three lucky people will win pictures that will be a highlight of any home or office. Tickets are $2 each or 6 for $10.

Bam Bam died this past winter and Sinks Canyon State Park was able to obtain his body with the plan to have him mounted by a taxidermist as a full body mount to go in a new South Facing Slope display in the park visitor center. Unfortunately with state budget cuts there is no money available to do the work, so the park is trying to raise the approximately $5000 needed to do the work.

"We really want to bring Bam Bam home," said park superintendent Darrel Trembly. "The money from any raffle tickets sold will go directly to the fund to have Bam Bam mounted and displayed."

A close-up portrait of Bam Bam in his prime. One of three matted and framed 16x20 Bam Bam pictures to be raffled off this summer at the park.

Bam Bam picking his way down the canyon slope. One of three matted and framed 16x20 Bam Bam portraits to be raffled ofgf this summer at the park visitor center.

 

2/4/13

Bam Bam the Ram Dies

Bam Bam, the infamous Sinks Canyon Bighorn Sheep has died.  Officials estimate he was about 12 years old. It is believed he died of natural causes.

Bam Bam became a local celebrity in the years 2007 through 2009 because he was so visible in the canyon. He was the last survivor of the Bighorn Sheep herd in Sinks Canyon, and was an almost constant  presence around the public for two years. A video of him trying to butt a truck became a You-Tube sensation and was viewed by people around the world.

The ram earned the moniker Bam Bam after park officials discovered his penchant for butting vehicles. When he saw his reflection, Bam Bam tended to break taillights and mirrors on cars in the parking lot. "Pretty much every park vehicle and many of our personal vehicles had broken taillights or some pretty good dents in them," said Park Naturalist Randall Wise. "You could hear that sound of him thumping on a vehicle all the time. … You'd run out and of course, it'd be too late by then."

Sinks Canyon Park officials tried to keep him away from people, but he was so habituated to humans he hung around the parking lots and buildings, often being petted and fed by people. It was only a matter of time before he would have been hit by a car or hurt someone, so the decision was made to move him away from easy contact with people.

In the fall of 2009 Bam Bam was moved to the Game and Fish’s research facility in Sybille Canyon near Wheatland. He spent the last 4 years in a large pasture with a few other Bighorns and some Bison. According to Terry Krueger manager of the Sybille facility, he was popular with the public driving by since he was often close to the road, albeit behind a tall fence.

Darrel Trembly, Sinks Canyon State Park Superintendent, said the park had an agreement with the Game and Fish that when Bam Bam died, the park would get him back so he could be mounted by a taxidermist and put on display in the park visitor center.

“We are planning a major renovation of the Visitor Center in a few years and hope to have Bam Bam as the centerpiece of our south slope habitat display,” said Trembly. “Bam Bam was such a part of this canyon for so many years. People would come up and tell stories about him for years after he left,” Trembly said. “We felt it only right he would come back to the canyon.” Trembly went on to say the mount, along with the other taxidermy and displays in the center would help explain the natural history of the canyon.

Trembly said that the park is actively trying to raise funds for the visitor center renovation. “To do a full body mount of a big animal like a Bighorn costs thousands of dollars. We are hoping the community will help us raise funds to get the taxidermy Bam Bam needs to be a permanent part of the park. People who are interested in helping with the project are encouraged to call Darrel Trembly at the park at 332-6333.

For more information about Bam Bam and the park visit the park’s website at www.sinkscanyonstatepark.org

1/20/13

Antique photo shows Sinks from 1890s

Sinks Canyon State Park recently obtained a rare photograph of the Sinks. The image taken by A.E. Dickerson of Ohio is believed to have been shot in the 1890s. Dickerson was a commercial photographer who frequently traveled west to shoot natural landmarks. He often took stereographic images of landmarks. These images were to be viewed by a handheld viewer that made them look like they were in 3D.  He took a number of shots in and around Lander, but is best known for his images of Yellowstone National Park and mines in Colorado.

1/2/13

 

 

1/5/12

Win a spectacular framed Bighorn Sheep photo in Sinks Canyon Raffle

Award winning Wyoming photographer Bill Briggs donated a 16x20 print of a Bighorn Sheep to the park for a raffle to raise funds for new displays in the Visitor Center.

Briggs, from Riverton, has spent many hours shooting pictures in the canyon, particularly of  "Bam Bam" the Bighorn ram. Bam Bam became infamous for hanging around the parking lots and Visitor Center and ramming cars. He was eventually moved out of the canyon for his own safty.

Briggs' protrait of the sheep will be raffled off this summer to raise funds for new displays in the Visitor Center. The 16x20 picture was professionally matted and framed and would be a magnificent picture to put in a home or office.

Raffle tickets are $2.00 each or 6 for $10.00 and are available at the Visitor Center. The drawing for the picture will be held on Labor Day 2012. Tickets are also available in Lander at The Lander Chamber of Commerce, and Reeds Office Supply.

All proceeds go directly to the park for new interpretive displays in the center.

Call 307-332-3077 for more information.

Update 9/15/12

The framed photo of Bam Bam was won by a Lander man who bought his ticket on Labor Day weekend. Over $300 was raised by the raffle to help with new displays in the Visitor Center.

 

 

 

 

 

 

1/9/12

Campfire programs continue in Popo Agie Campground this summer

Visitors listen to a program by the banks of the river on a pleasant summer evening.

The Friday evening campfire programs will continue this summer at the camp host site in Popo Agie Campground this summer.

The programs will start at 6 p.m. and will feature park staff and other experts talking about wildlife, ecology, geology and the natural history of the canyon.

The programs will last about half and hour with a question and answer period after. The programs are free and open to the public.

 

 

5/28/11

SINKS CANYON STATE PARK ANNOUNCES EVENING CAMPFIRE PROGRAMS FOR SUMMER 2011

 

 

Campfire programs about the natural history of Sinks Canyon and Wyoming will be given on Friday evenings in Popo Agie Campground in Sinks Canyon State Park.

 

The programs will start at 6 p.m. in the campground. The programs will be every Friday evening through May, June and July.

 

Programs will feature park staff talking about geology, wildlife, plants and other topics of interest to visitors. The programs will last about a half and hour with a question and answer period after. The programs are free and open to the public.

 

The park is taking a break from its successful Tuesday evening speaker series held at he park visitor center for the past fifteen years. “We felt the speaker series had about run its course,” said Park Superintendent Darrel Trembly. “We had a tremendous response to the programs over the years, but over the last few summers more and more organizations were doing the same thing, pulling from the same few speakers and audience.”

 

Trembly said the park decided to focus this summer on a more informal campfire program geared towards campers in the park. He said the Tuesday visitor center programs drew few campers to the park since Tuesday was a slow night for campers.

 

“We aren’t dropping the speaker series entirely,” he went on to say, “If a speaker we think comes to us and is a good fit we will schedule them, but we want to offer the campfire programs to reach people traveling through.”

 

For more information on the campfire programs call the park at 307-332-3077 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 307-332-3077 end_of_the_skype_highlighting.

 

12/31/10

Record High Water in 2010

The Sinks cave filled to the brim with water.

After almost a decade of drought conditions caused by warm, dry winters, The years of 2009 and 2010 saw a return to wetter weather.

2010 had high levels of spring moisture (snow and rain) which created record high water in the Middle Fork of the Popo Agie (and in many Wyoming rivers).

There had been heavy spring snows in the Wind River Mountains pushing snowpack levels well above normal. May 2010 had record cold, so the snow didn’t melt off early in the season.

When it did warm up in early June the extensive snow in the mountains began to come off quickly, pushing rivers above their banks.

The Middle Fork of the Popo Agie crested at 7.7 feet on June 7, and the river stayed extra high for a week after.

According to the National Weather Service the overflow channel (the normally dry channel below the Sinks cave that runs with excess water when the river fills the cave completely) begins to run at 4.5 feet. The 7.7 feet crest was the highest since records were kept.

In 2010 the overflow channel ran for 32 days (the average is a little under 2 weeks).

There was only minor flooding in the canyon during the high water. Some campsites in Popo Agie Campground were flooded as were parts of the Sinks to Rise Trail. There was more extensive flooding in the Lander Valley where the river has more room to spread out.

The spectacle of the high water drew many people to the canyon to witness the power of the water roaring down the rocky river channel. Sinks Canyon State Park set a new record for visitors to the visitor center, many coming back repeatedly to see the water.

 

An interpretive sign on the overflow loop trail with several inches of water covering the trail. The overflow channel behind it is full.

 

10/1/09

Bam Bam goes Bye Bye

 

Wyoming Game and Fish Personnel lure the wayward Bighorn sheep into a trailer.

Bam Bam gets the boot: G&F relocates popular bighorn sheep over concern for his, public's safety

JEFF GEARINO Southwest Wyoming bureau trib.com | Posted: Tuesday, August 25, 2009 12:00 am


GREEN RIVER - Like a lot of two-legged celebrities unaccustomed to the spotlight, this four-legged star couldn't handle fame either.
He rose quickly to the top of the YouTube.com charts, then turned on his adoring fans and now he's got a long, rocky climb back from seeming obscurity.
"Bam Bam" the famous bighorn ram has been banished from Sinks Canyon State Park.
The bighorn sheep who gained local popularity and a devoted following on the Internet was moved to a new home in the eastern Wind River Mountains last week by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department.
"We hope he will stay where he's at and live a happy sheep life," Sinks Canyon State Park Naturalist Randy Wise said. "He was all by himself here … and we all felt he was kind of lonely and just looking for some company."
The ram had become something of a local celebrity because he was so tame and easy to pet, Wise said in a phone interview Tuesday.
But he was also prone to chasing visitors around the park for no apparent reason.
"Why he chased any given person, we just don't know," Wise said. "Ten people could walk up to him and he would be just fine, but that 11th person he'd charge for some reason."
The ram earned the moniker Bam Bam after park officials discovered his penchant for butting vehicles. When he saw his reflection, Bam Bam tended to break taillights and mirrors on cars in the parking lot.
"Pretty much every park vehicle and many of our personal vehicles have broken taillights or some pretty good dents in them," Wise said.
"You could hear that sound of him thumping on a vehicle all the time. … You'd run out and of course, it'd be too late by then."
So early one morning last week, several wily Game and Fish biologists lured Bam Bam into a trailer and transported him to his new home in the north end of the range.
"It went as smoothly as any transplant could," said Kent Schmidlin of the agency's Lander Regional office. "Now he can be with other wild sheep and live like he's supposed to."
People from around the world visiting the park over the past few years got close-up looks at the ram, which Wise said was a rarity among bighorn sheep.Bam Bam even starred in his own YouTube video earlier this year in which he was video-taped charging a truck in the park.
"He was so habituated, he would just walk up to people and they would feed and pet him," Wise said.
"But he sort of get a wild hair every once in a while and started chasing people or cornering them against fences, butting cars and things like that," Wise said. "The problem was getting worse. He was just getting more and more aggressive."
Park Superintendent Darrel Trembly said it became too easy for people driving through the park to stop and pet or feed Bam Bam by the roadside.
"It was only a matter of time before someone got hurt, or he got hit by a vehicle," he said.
Last survivor
The popular Sinks Canyon State Park is located six miles south of Lander on Highway 131 in central Wyoming's Fremont County.
The park contains hiking trails, a visitors center and abundant wildlife, and offers camping, rock climbing and fishing opportunities.
The park also features a geologic phenomenon in which the Popo Agie River vanishes into a large cavern known as the Sinks, but reappears in a trout-filled pool called the Rise about a half-mile down the canyon.
The approximately 7-year-old Bam Bam was one of the last surviving bighorn sheep from the Sinks Canyon herd that was transplanted to the region in the early 1990s.
"There were two big transplants of sheep into this canyon back then, with the idea they would take because it's great habitat for sheep," Wise said. "Unfortunately, it just didn't work out for a variety of reasons, most prominently because of disease. … So over the years the herd dwindled down to just two rams and a ewe last year.
"The other ram died over the winter and the ewe just sort of disappeared and we were left with Bam Bam."
He said park personnel spent most of the summer trying in vain to haze Bam Bam back up the hill and away from roads and people. After consulting with Game and Fish staff, park officials decided to relocate the ram.
"So we stayed out of the (capture effort) because Bam Bam knew when we came, we were there to chase him off," Wise said. "But he didn't know the Game and Fish guys and he literally walked right up to them, they scratched him behind his ear and he followed them right into the trailer."
Biologists set the odds at 50-50 as to whether Bam Bam will make his way back to the park, Wise said.
"It's been a week so far and he hasn't shown up, which is a good sign," he added.

"Bam Bam" is the trailer ready for his move to a new home.

 

Update October 1, 2009

"Bam Bam" did make his way back to Sinks Canyon after a little over a month and returned to his behavior that got him moved in the first place. The Game and Fish returned and recaptured him. This time he was taken to the Game and Fish Research Facility in Sybille Canyon in Southeastern Wyoming. Now Bam Bam is in a large corral with a few other Big Horns and seems to have settled in. Visitors in the area can sometimes see him from the highway.