The South Dakota Department of Transportation is still looking for the right funding and equipment to reduce the chance of collisions between bighorn sheep and vehicles during the creatures' mating season in late winter, according to a DOT official.

In the meantime, state Game Fish & Parks Department officials are urging drivers to use caution when driving in areas such as S.D. Highway 44 near Cleghorn Springs Fish Hatchery, where bighorn sheep tend to congregate this time of year.

"We do want to stress to people that they need to drive the speed limit, if not slower," GF&P regional wildlife manager John Kanta said. "The first thing that motorists can do is drive defensively to alleviate some of these sheep-vehicle collisions."

Sheep tend to come down to lower elevations to breed in November and December. That has led to collisions in the Cleghorn Springs area and on U.S. Highway 385, especially near Hill City and Three Forks.

Linda Eddy, who lives in Cleghorn Canyon, said she keeps seeing sheep on Highway 44 near the canyon and is worried that a car will hit them.

"I noticed they were down again this morning, and one of them was in the road licking off the salt," she said.

The two state departments have been looking for signs more effective at warning citizens of the sheep than the orange "Wildlife at Large" sign that has been used in past years.

A sign with a motion sensor would be ideal, Kanta said, since it would go off only at certain times.

"After a while, people kind of put the blinders on and forget it's there," he said of the "Wildlife At Large" signs and other flashing devices.

Kanta said he would like to put up signs with some type of motion sensor first at the Cleghorn location on a test basis, and possibly near Hill City if the first signs work.

He said the sign will be placed as soon as the DOT finalizes its part of the project.

The new sign was originally scheduled to be put in this year, but the DOT is still trying to come up with the proper design and the funding, according to highway access engineer Dan Staton.

"We're reviewing budget sources at the moment to see if we can't find a category that could fund this," he said. "We hope in the not-so-distant future to settle in on a style and find a funding category that could provide the monies."

Staton said he is trying to find federal funding rather than local funding for the project, because local funding is in short supply.

He has been exploring a number of sign options, many of which include motion sensors. Some use infrared beams, and others involve a collar on the bighorn sheep and other animals crossing the road.

Staton said he has been researching signs used in other states to see which have been the most successful. It is unlikely that the new sign will be erected before next year at the earliest, Staton said.

Eddy thinks the motion-sensor sign that was discussed last year should be put up for the drivers entering and leaving Rapid City on Highway 44 in the area where the sheep tend to congregate.

She said Cleghorn area of Highway 44 is dangerous for car-wildlife collisions in general.

"It's too bad that the speed limit can't be slowed down in that area because I think there's a lot of deer and stuff that get killed in that stretch," she said.

Contact Ryan Woodard at 394-8412 or ryan.woodard@rapidcityjournal.com