Protecting Bighorn Sheep: Inside WDFW’s Innovative GPS Project

Here's a form of capture we can presumably all get behind.

The Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is deploying aircraft to literally capture bighorn sheep in Kittitas and Okanogan countries, among other localities in the region.

The captive sheep will be sampled, fitted with GPS collars and released back in the wild to learn about health status and herd interactions, according to a press release.

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The department's methods are being advanced for posterity: they will serve as a guidepost for future management strategies. Biologist Eric Wampole stresses the importance of health and sociophysical data for protecting bighorn sheep and guarding against Movi disease, which left unchecked can cause severe die-offs and "poor lamb survival."

According to Wampole, this activity is far from outré:

The approach is a routine method for capturing sheep safely. These captures, and the resulting data, are vital to WDFW's ongoing effort to conserve bighorn sheep, particularly with the potential for disease among these populations.

 

Data collected by GPS collars can help WDFW better understand how sheep use their habitats and the potential for groups of bighorn to be exposed to or spread Movi,” said Wampole. “The data will also help the Department know where we need to focus future efforts to prevent transmission or eradicate pneumonia from these populations.

 

WDFW will deploy collars and collect disease samples in the Umtanum/Selah Butte, Cleman, Vulcan Mountain, Mount Hull and Sinlahekin herds. People in the area may notice a low flying helicopter while the work is underway.

That last part bears repeating: if you're in the area and see a helicopter hovering at a certain height above ground level, there's probably an innocent explanation.

This whole process started Friday and will conclude Wednesday, the department says.