Colorado Sheepman Trying Something Different

September 2004 -- Tom Maneotis of Oak Creek, Colo., is trying something new this year with 700 head of yearling ewes; he is grazing them this summer on 750 acres of ski slope on the edge of Steamboat Springs.

The acreage, which was put into a conservation program a number of years ago, has grown so much foliage and underbrush that it has become a fire hazard.

Maneotis says he was contacted by the county Extension agent about putting the sheep on the pasturage as a way to keep down the vegetation and limit fire hazard. The acreage is right next to the Steamboat Springs city limits.

Maneotis started grazing the sheep on May 15 and removed them about Aug. 1. Ironically, the area where he is running the ewes used to be a summer grazing place for his father?s sheep some 40 years ago.

?I was concerned at first about being so close to the town,? Maneotis says, noting that the area is a big draw for mountain bike riders who come to race. In addition, he was concerned about town dogs getting into the flock. However, he has not had any dog troubles and the bike racers actually named one of their July 7th races ?the Lamb Chop Run.?

Maneotis is a second generation sheepman. He runs 2,500 Rambouillet-Columbia cross ewes on his place about 20 miles from Steamboat Springs. His late father, a Greek immigrant, got into the sheep business after earning enough money in the Utah mines to buy sheep and start a ranch. He and his three brothers have continued in the business, but each operates separately.

Maneotis says he has a herder with the sheep, and the animals are brought into camp each night. He brought in a guard dog to stay with the sheep when he learned that a mountain lion had been reported in the area.

?I did not put the guard dog with the sheep at first because I did not want it to draw attention of town dogs. So far, we have not had any trouble,? he says.

Maneotis says his main operation is located at Oak Creek, where the main flock is situated.

?I haul my sheep east of Denver and put them on alfalfa fields for the winter. We get too much snow here.?

He winters his sheep about 180 miles from the home ranch.

Maneotis says he has to pay more than $2 per head for shearing, and usually markets his wool through Brown Sheep Co. in Nebraska. However, he says his lambs are the principal money-makers. He has already contracted his lambs to a Greeley, Colo., packer.