The Colorado Division of Wildlife (DOW) and eight non-profit wildlife conservation organizations have selected more than $480,000 in wildlife projects that will be funded this year with proceeds from the sale of special auction and raffle hunting licenses in Colorado.

One day in school, I was fascinated by the different species of wild sheep, and the white variety caught my eye. These beautiful animals intrigued me like no other animal. My dream was to go on a hunt for a trophy Dall’s Sheep some day.

The Colorado Department of Wildlife will begin tagging about 25 bighorn sheep next month as part of a multiyear study of sheep in the Black Canyon Wilderness. About 75 sheep are estimated to live on the northern end of the Uncompahgre Plateau around Black Canyon ridge.

The DOW will use a low-flying helicopter over the Black Ridge Canyons Wilderness to capture and collar many of the sheep, though the agency won’t do that in Colorado National Monument, where such flights are forbidden.