News release Feb. 20, 2025
Contact: William Moore, Wildlife Biologist, 509-306-8969
Media Contact: Jennifer Johnson, Communications, 509-864-1973
OLYMPIA - The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) will be capturing bighorn sheep via aircraft from Feb. 21 through Feb. 26 in Yakima, Kittitas, Okanogan, and Ferry counties as part of ongoing efforts to monitor disease within multiple herds throughout the state.
Captured bighorn will be sampled, fitted with GPS collars, and released onsite to help WDFW learn more about their disease status and understand sub-herd and herd-level interactions. The combination of spatial and disease data will inform the Department’s future management within these populations.
"The approach is a routine method for capturing sheep safely," said Erin Wampole, WDFW district wildlife biologist. "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.”
Bighorn sheep conservation in Washington is challenged by the consistent potential for transmission of Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae or “Movi” from domestic sheep and goats to wild bighorn sheep populations. Once transmission has occurred, a small percentage of adults (e.g., 5-15%) will be chronic carriers of the pathogen. Populations with Movi typically exhibit an initial all-age die-off after transmission, followed by years of chronic carriers infecting annual lamb cohorts resulting in poor lamb survival and suppressed population growth.
“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.
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife works to preserve, protect and perpetuate fish, wildlife and ecosystems while providing sustainable fish and wildlife recreational and commercial opportunities.