Utah national forest laments sheep herd ‘traffic jam’ in stunning video of livestock blocking mountain pass
Stunning video shows a large herd of sheep blocking a car from passing through a Utah national forest.
The footage, tweeted out by the Manti-La Sal National Forest on Monday, warned drivers to be mindful of large herds of livestock passing through the 1.4-million-acre mountain range, which occupies parts of central and southeastern Utah, as well as parts of Colorado, around this time of year.
“Monday morning traffic jams are the worst,” forest officials tweeted, sharing the video of sheep completely covering the two-lane highway, appearing to prevent one vehicle from passing.
The herd stretches as far as the eye can see straight down the center of the valley.
“It’s that time of year again where livestock is on the move throughout the forest,” the tweet said. “Please make sure to take your time, especially around those blind turns, and be respectful if you come across people & animals on the road.”
The Manti-La Sal National Forest is the source of 85% of the coal mined in Utah, according to the U.S. Forest Service. Its name is derived from a Book of Mormon city, Manti, and its “white” mountain tops that reminded Spanish-speaking explorers of the salt, or la sal.
At the request of local citizens, the Manti Forest Reserve was created by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1903 and the La Sal Forest Reserve was created in 1906-1907. The two forests merged in 1949. The forest contains over 5,000 known archeological sites dating from 10,000 years ago to the mid-1900s
