By Abbye Shattuck
For Hailey Barton, the great outdoors has always been more than just a place to explore; it’s been a way of life. Growing up in rural Idaho, she spent much of her childhood hiking, camping, and working alongside her family’s horses and goats.
“I grew up in a northern state with rivers and pine trees and big, big mountains,” Hailey recalls. “I knew I wanted to be outdoors.”
Initially, Hailey wanted to be a zookeeper, but she soon realized that most zoos are located in large cities, an environment she wasn’t fond of. A pivotal moment came when friends introduced her to wildlife programs at the University of Wyoming.
“I got into that and realized, ‘Oh, duh! This is what I want to do!’” she says.
From that moment forward, Hailey immersed herself in wildlife classes and extracurricular activities. After earning her undergraduate degree, she took on a variety of technician jobs across six or seven different states, working with fish, birds, and big game species in an effort to narrow down her focus.
The opportunity to pursue her master’s degree came after a series of conversations with professionals in the field about their career experiences. While working with Idaho Fish and Game, she met Jacob Locke, who encouraged her to pursue graduate school. When a coworker found a job posting for a research position at Borderlands Research Institute (BRI), Hailey and her coworker mentioned it to Locke, who revealed he had been a graduate student at Sul Ross and worked with BRI himself.
With his encouragement, Hailey reached out to BRI’s Dr. Lalo Gonzalez and Dr. Justin French, who introduced her to a project on bighorn sheep and mule deer carrying capacity at Elephant Mountain Wildlife Management Area (WMA) just south of Alpine, Texas.
“There are sects within the wildlife field that are just, you’re shooting for the moon to get one of those jobs, and one of those jobs is working with bighorn,” Hailey said of the opportunity to work on a desert bighorn project.
Though working with desert bighorn sheep was a once in a lifetime opportunity, Hailey was hesitant about moving to Texas. Although she had some experience backpacking through the Mojave Desert, she had never lived in such an arid environment. Nor had she ever lived in such a rural community. Moving far from home was daunting, but any doubts quickly faded as she immersed herself in her research and the breathtaking landscape of the Chihuahuan Desert.
“Working with this species, in this area, and on this project has been so stinking cool,” she says. “I had played in a lot of desert environments, but I had never actually lived and worked in one. The Chihuahuan Desert does not disappoint. It’s awe-inspiring.”
She vividly remembers the first time she saw a desert bighorn sheep up close.
“I drove down to Texas in May of 2023, and about a week or so after, I went out on one of my first solo surveys at Elephant Mountain. It was a really weird, rare foggy morning for June, and I had my nose in Doc Harveson’s plant book when I heard something behind me. I’m up there in the fog and the clouds, and I look behind me, and there were the first desert bighorn sheep I’d ever seen up close—a few really big, mature rams. They were huge! They were awesome!”
Now, Hailey enjoys bringing people to Elephant Mountain and watching them experience that same awe. “In Texas, this is one of the only places where you can get a really good look at a desert bighorn sheep up close,” she says. “I get excited about seeing sheep every time I see them.”
For her research, Hailey is using remote sensing and satellite imagery to assess forage availability and quality across the landscape. This work will help determine a carrying capacity estimate for bighorn sheep—specifically, how many sheep Elephant Mountain can sustain without negatively impacting their nutrition, the nutrition of mule deer, or the health of the landscape.
As Hailey’s graduate program progresses, she is beginning to see her data come together. “I feel like I’m taking a step forward,” she says.
Looking ahead, Hailey hopes to return to Idaho and work with Idaho Fish and Game as a Management Biologist. Her experience at BRI has provided her with invaluable insight into wildlife management practices and has helped shape her career path.
From the big, big mountains of Idaho to the awe-inspiring landscape of the Chihuahuan Desert, Hailey’s journey has been one of adventure, discovery, and passion for wildlife. Wherever her career takes her next, one thing is certain, she will always be right where she belongs—the great outdoors.