Nevada gets federal funding to track pronghorn antelope

The U.S. Interior Department has announced a nearly $283,000 grant for Nevada to track

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said Monday the money is part of a larger effort across 11 Western states intended to improve collaboration with the federal government, and improve the winter habitat of big game.

Zinke says the Nevada Department of Wildlife plans to capture and place GPS collars on up to 60 pronghorns to track their movements.

State Wildlife Director Tony Wasley says the effort will help fill data gaps in biologists' understanding of a herd of 2,000 animals that migrates annually in Elko County and northeast Nevada.

Conservationists say Nevada's pronghorns are losing key habitat to development and are threatened by oil and gas drilling, especially along the Ruby Mountains.