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Mutton to worry about, sheep herd crosses Idaho 55

In the annual trip, a group of more than 2,000 sheep stopped traffic on Idaho 55 Friday afternoon.

EAGLE -- There was an unusual traffic back-up on Idaho 55 Friday afternoon, a special group occupied the highway at Beacon Light Road in Eagle.

Some call it the old sheep slowdown, but it's mutton to worry about.

The annual trip for thousands of sheep across Idaho 55 went smoothly and traffic is back to normal in the area.

The real question though is why were more than 2,000 sheep marching along the road?

Every year Wilder rancher Frank Shirts takes his sheep through the Boise foothills to graze in a new territory.

Shirts has been doing this for years, but today he says some extra attention from people on the road made the trip a little more difficult than usual.

"There is a lot of people out there and some of them standing in the way. They didn't understand when we were hollering and waving at them to move over. Usually, the police stop the cars up on the top of the hill instead of at the bottom, so that kind of goofed it up but those old ewes, they know where they're going," said Shirts.

So, if you are out on Idaho 55 during the crossing in future years, stay out of the way.

There is a chance you could run into the flock if you are up in the Boise foothills over the next few weeks.

If you do, hikers should keep pets leashed, and mountain bikers should dismount and walk through sheep if they encounter them.

Ranchers want to avoid having people antagonize the Great Pyrenees guard dogs, who are there to protect the sheep from predators.

The sheep will be in the foothills for about a week or so and then move up through Robie Creek and into the Boise National Forest.

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