Plan Aims to Restore Bighorn Sheep Herd

Wildlife officials plan to work at multiplying the numbers of a remnant bighorn sheep herd that is clinging to survival in the Ventura County back country.

Using helicopters and ground crews, state biologists will comb a vast area of the Sespe Wilderness to determine how many animals remain and what measures can be taken to rebuild the herd. The county Fish and Game Commission on Wednesday approved $16,100 for the work, which is expected to begin in September.

Also, the state Fish and Game Department is poised to hire a wildlife biologist in the next 30 days to work in Ventura, Los Angeles and Santa Barbara counties. A chief task for the new scientist will be management of the bighorn herd in Ventura County, said Larry Sitton, biologist for the state agency.

Thirty-seven Nelson bighorns, transplanted to the back country north of Fillmore in the 1980s, were thought to have perished until hikers reported seeing and photographing 14 or more animals earlier this year. Bighorns were once common in California, but most herds are in serious decline.