The town of Faro is usually thought of as synonymous with mining, but it has another claim to fame. The same mountain that contains the massive lead and zinc deposits is also home to Fannin sheep, which live only in the Yukon.

Most of the 2,200 or so Fannin sheep in the territory live in remote areas. Faro is the only place where one can easily view these charismatic animals without hiking into the backcountry. The sheep winter close to town, along the south-facing slopes of Mount Mye, and a viewing centre has been built in the area.

This population of sheep is often highlighted as an example of how industrial development and wildlife can coexist under the right conditions. The relationship between the sheep, the mine operation and the people of Faro continues to evolve, and the people of Faro now clearly recognize the value of the mountain sheep that live so close to them.

Fannin sheep are thinhorn sheep, as are all of the 22,000 wild sheep in the territory. With thinner more flaring horns than their southern cousins, the bighorns, the two subspecies of thinhorn sheep can be told apart by their colour.

The 18,000 Dall sheep in the territory are pure white. Fannin sheep are considered to be one of the two colour phases of Stone sheep. In northern British Columbia, Stone sheep are quite dark, but further north in the Faro area, the sheep are much paler. Usually just the saddle, tail and lower legs are dark, explaining why they are sometimes called saddlebacks.

About 100 Fannin sheep live in the Faro area. Their winter range is close to the Faro townsite, along the south-facing slopes of Mount Mye, while their summer range is further back in the mountains.

When mining began in the Faro area in the late 1960s, the Yukon did not even have a Fish and Wildlife Branch. But by the early 1980s, when the mine owners proposed developing two open pits on Mount Mye, the territory had the resources to look at how these developments would affect the sheep.

Little was known about the sheep when Manfred Hoefs, now the chief of habitat and endangered species management for the Yukon Department of Renewable Resources, was put in charge of studying them. When Hoefs and other biologists began monitoring where the sheep spent time, they found that twice a year the sheep migrated along a route that went right between the two proposed open pits.

Hoefs was concerned that this route between the animals' winter and summer ranges would be disrupted once mining began in the area. Curraugh Resources, the mine owners, wanted to help protect the sheep, and agreed to leave a greenbelt between the two pits. A trail was also built around the whole development area, with the hope that the sheep would use it once their traditional route was disrupted.

But after all of these efforts were made, the sheep stayed their course. "They migrated right through the mining area, often in sight of the big ore trucks," says Hoefs.

Hoefs thinks the key to this behaviour is the fact that sheep hunting in the area was banned around this time. "Sheep are very intelligent animals and if they are not hunted, they learn very quickly that people may not be dangerous. When protected, sheep are among the tamest animals there are, so they really adapt to human activity," says Hoefs.

Winter habitat is considered to be a key factor for sheep survival as they must graze constantly to make it through a northern winter. In 1969 a major fire swept through the Faro area, destroying most of the new town. While a disaster for humans, the fire was good for the sheep as grass grew back in the burned areas, improving the quality of the winter range.

Eventually brush and trees began to replace the grass, so in the late 1980s humans intervened again, cutting brush back and burning it. Hoefs says they were trying to slow down the normal process of succession, but could not afford to continue this expensive work indefinitely.

Other major efforts have also been made to protect the sheep. In 1997 the Yukon government paid $150,000 to re-route part of the Blind Creek road so that the sheep would not have to cross it to get to mineral licks in the area.

Just recently the Faro town council agreed to keep a new trail cut through the sheep's winter range closed in winter. The trail is proposed to run from Faro to Ross River.

Bruce Bennett, with the Yukon's wildlife viewing program, says that Faro town council fully supported the move, even though there could be some local opposition to the closure. Bennett points out that because the sheep appear to be so tame, people often do not realize that they are disturbing the sheep when they travel past them.

But Bennett says that any disturbance is a problem. "Every time the sheep stop to look at something, that means that they are not feeding, and they are right on the edge of what their energy requirements are to survive in the area. They react to dogs and any sort of movement. If the disturbance is too frequent, it could be detrimental to the population, he says.

"We all agree that this population should be managed for wildlife viewing. Considerable effort has been devoted to bring about this objective. Reducing disturbances of sheep and maintaining their use of the winter range ensures our opportunity to view them in the future."

The best time to view the sheep is between mid-September and mid-June, when they are on their winter range close to town. At the Mount Mye Sheep Centre, visitors can watch the sheep without unnecessarily disturbing them. For more information contact the Yukon Wildlife Viewing program at 667-5331.