There will be 21 total ram permits available in the 2026 draw, which is an increase of 5 permits from last year. All 21 permits will be California bighorn sheep permits; there will be no Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep permits in 2026. Washington attracts sheep hunters from everywhere because of the trophy quality of their California bighorns and Rocky Mountain bighorns, with no separate non-resident quota, all of the permits are up for grabs by anyone in the draw each year. In 2025, Washington had over 41,000 applications for bighorn sheep permits. Permit winners should keep in mind that there are a few tribal permits available each year in addition to the permits issued through the state draw, so there may be additional hunters on most units. The Wenaha, Umtanum, Manson, and Mountain View units will be closed for 2026.
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The Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep in the Hells Canyon area have been dealing with disease issues for a while now. The Rocky Mountain sheep herd in southeastern Washington falls under the Hells Canyon Initiative Restoration Program where animals are tested and removed to curb the effect of M. ovis-associated pneumonia. It is important to note that this herd is managed in conjunction with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Nez Perce Tribe.
The Wenaha tag rotates between Washington and Oregon. Washington will not have the tag available for 2026. If you want to hunt a Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep in Washington in 2026, you need to be buying raffle tickets from the Washington Wild Sheep Foundation. The tickets sell for $20 each and you can download the raffle form from their website at https://www.washingtonwsf.org/.
For California bighorn sheep, they reopened the Selah Butte unit. There will be two tags available, and—because the season has been closed since 2022—there are some older-age-class rams available. The WDFW also doubled the ram tags available in the Cleman Mountain unit and will offer 8 ram tags in 2026. All other California bighorn sheep units are doing well and have plenty of mature rams available. The lucky few that draw tags should have a fun, high success hunt. If you are looking for the top-scoring California bighorn sheep units, you should be applying for the Swakane and Chelan Butte units.
The only hunts with ewe permits available this year will be in the Lincoln Cliffs, Swakane, and Chelan Butte units. The ewe permits available in the Chelan Butte unit are only available for youth hunters and disabled hunters. There will also be a new youth hunt for ewes on the Swakane unit this year with two tags. This year, the only juvenile ram hunts available will be a hunt for disabled hunters in the Chelan Butte unit and a new hunt on the Cleman Mountain unit with 2 tags.
For access to all of our research and data we've collected over the last 20+ years, then join today and access the best research tools for hunting Bighorn Sheep in Washington including Draw Odds, Consultations and much more. Go on more hunts with better information!
The Washington Big Game deadline is May 20, 2026.
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| 2026 Washington Non-Resident Fees | |
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| Special Permit Application (per species category) | $152.30 |
| Special Permit Application - Youth Under 16 (per species category) | $5.05 |
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| Bighorn Sheep, Shiras Moose, or Mountain Goat | $2,729 |
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| Bighorn Sheep, Shiras Moose, or Mountain Goat | $77.90 |
Washington Bighorn Sheep Hunting Articles from Huntin' Fool Magazine
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