Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs honored for bighorn sheep restoration efforts

WARM SPRINGS, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs were honored for their decades-long bighorn sheep restoration efforts during the Wild Sheep Foundation's annual show last month.

The Tribes received the Wild Sheep Foundation's Federal Statesman Award, which recognizes government agencies for outstanding contributions to wild sheep conservation.

The recognition follows a successful funding initiative that raised $760,000 for wildlife habitat from 2024 to 2026. These funds, generated through permit sales and auctions, support habitat restoration, invasive species removal and watershed projects in the Mutton Mountains.

The Wild Sheep Foundation auctioned the Tribes' third annual permit for $250,000 at the 2026 Wild Sheep Show. This followed a 2024 permit that sold for $230,000 to hunter Timothy Haught. These sales, combined with 2025 permit revenue, brought the total conservation funding to $760,000 over a three-year period. The contribution of these funds also makes the Tribes eligible to apply for the Wild Sheep Foundation's Grant-In-Aid program for further restoration work.

Haught received the 2026 North American Wild Sheep Gold Award for a successful bighorn sheep hunt that achieved a 177 five/eight Boone & Crockett score. Proceeds from his 2024 bid have been used to support habitat restoration and invasive species removal on the reservation.

The conservation funding also benefits aquatic life in the Mutton Mountains watershed. Reinvested funds support anadromous fish such as steelhead. Austin Smith Jr serves as the general manager of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Branch of Natural Resources.

Jr emphasized that the primary focus of these programs is the long-term health of the ecosystem. "All of our restoration efforts are in pursuit of achieving one goal: returning fauna and fish populations to their historic levels," Jr said. "We appreciate the Wild Sheep Foundation's recognition of these efforts and will continue to collaborate to restore bighorn sheep populations throughout our lands."

Warm Springs Tribal Wildlife Biologist Camille Brooks and Warm Springs Wildlife Range and Agriculture Manager Michael Leecy presented details on the success of the bighorn restoration efforts at the annual show. The Tribes are among only 24 award winners honored by the foundation with the Federal Statesman Award in the last 40 years.

The Wild Sheep Foundation has invested more than $145 million to support wild sheep populations across North America throughout its history. By collaborating with local affiliates, tribes and government agencies, the foundation has helped triple wild sheep populations over the past few decades.

The Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon is a sovereign Indian tribe representing the Wasco, Warm Springs and Paiute peoples. Their reservation stretches from the Cascade Mountains to the Deschutes River in Central Oregon An 1855 Treaty with the United States reserved the Tribes' right to fish, hunt and gather foods throughout the John Day, Hood River, Deschutes and Columbia basins.

The Tribes donated a single ram permit to the Wild Sheep Foundation. The permit will be auctioned at a later date to raise funds for future bighorn restoration efforts.