A political and wildlife crisis surrounding one of Idaho's iconic animals is brewing between state officials, environmentalists and the domestic sheep industry.

By The Idaho Statesman, Boise Sep. 23--Salmon recovery is as much a political battle as it is a scientific struggle. The politics are more highly charged than ever -- perhaps to the benefit of the fish. Sen.

To: POLITICAL EDITORS Contact: Andy Mitchell of P

Biologists at Washington State University say they have isolated a bacteria that may have contributed to the deaths of thousands of bighorn sheep in the West over the past five decades.

An organism that may have played a part in killing thousands of bighorn sheep in the West over the last five decades and in thwarting repopulation efforts has been isolated in a lab and found in struggling bighorn herds in the wild, biologists say.