Big Horn Sheep in Chelan County Being Collared for Research by Fish and Wildlife Department

The state Department of Fish and Wildlife is now using helicopters to track down and place collars on Big Horn Sheep in Chelan County.

The collars serve a number of purposes, such as monitoring the sheep herds for outbreaks of pneumonia. The outbreaks can result in all-age die-offs when lambs become infected.

Staci Lehman with Fish and Wildlife says the collars also provide information that can be used to improve the habitat for Big Horn Sheep.

"We can tell what areas they're using, where they're going, if there are barriers like major highways, anything like that, that keep them in certain areas," said Lehman. "And then we can assess what they need for better survival."

Lehman also says the GPS data from the collars is used to reduce problems when Big Horn Sheep habitats become urbanized.

"So many people are moving into areas where it was wildlife habitat before, that they’re losing a lot of habitat," Lehman said. "So when grant money comes up, we can use the data from these collars to design projects that may either preserve, or improve habitat for them."

The department plans to quickly tranquilize and collar 10 Big Horn Sheep in Eastern Washington, including Chelan County. The project should be complete by next week.

The sheep being collared are in the Manson, Sinlahekin and Umtanum/Selah Butte herds.