Canfor Corporation donates 50 k to Radium for its Save the Sheep campaign
Thu, August 4, 2022
Canfor Corporation a global leader in the manufacturing of sustainable forest products, based in Vancouver recently made a contribution to the Village of Radium Hot Springs that was anything but sheepish. Canfor issued a cheque of $50,000 last month to the Village of Radium Hot Springs to reach its $400,000 campaign goal to Save the Radium Bighorn Herd.
The donations stem from Canfor’s Good Things Come from Trees program which provides support to organizations that benefits any communities where Canfor operates and its employees live. In 2021, Canfor provided over $1.8 million through Good Things in financial support for communities, sponsorships and scholarships, and product donations to over 310 organizations in its priority giving areas of education, health, sustainability, and community.
“As a forestry company with a significant presence in the Kootenay Rockies region of B.C., we are very proud to make this contribution supporting conservation of the Radium-Stoddart herd,” said Michelle Ward, Senior Director, Communications & Government Relations in a recent press release. “The community, including our own employees who call Radium home, has shown great commitment to increase awareness of the risks faced by the sheep and to accelerate the building of a safe wildlife overpass for Radium’s One Mile Hill.”
The proposed goal for Save the Sheep campaign may seem a little more realistic with this last donation that came in from Canfor putting the current campaign total at more than $100,000 and all the closer now reaching the quarter mark.
“It has made a big impact and shows the importance of the partnership between Canfor and our Village and how there is grassroots support for the Sheep Herd,” Reinhardt said of the company’s donation. “Canfor has been a strong, long-time community partner and, with safety as a fundamental pillar of its culture, it’s no surprise that Canfor has chosen to support this initiative. “The bighorn sheep are much celebrated residents in our mountain community.”
A decline in bighorn sheep population by more than half over the years has been recognized as a special concern that has brought the community together. It started as a Facebook page by community member Nicole Trigg that was dedicated to Helping the Radium Sheep and grew quickly. With support from the entire community and the Ministry of Transportation and Industry, momentum was created, and money began to be pledged.
“I might have to own committing to 10 per cent of the project from the village and supporters as we really needed all ministries of B.C. government to pay attention and take some ownership,” Reinhardt said. “This herd belongs to us all, not just the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure or the village.” Reinhardt also gave a nod to local MLA Doug Clovechok, who struck a committee at the start of his tenure, the Lake Windermere Rod and Gun Club and the work that Kent Kebe and Irene Teske have been doing for more than 20 years to draw attention to the plight of this herd.
All funds collected will be used first to get the ball rolling and will allow some of the base work to be started prior to B.C. and Canada determining how they will allocate funds.
Reinhardt said the project has a project manager assigned by the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, which means the project will proceed.
For more information on the cause, visit radiumhotsprings.ca/save-our-sheep
Chadd Cawson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Columbia Valley Pioneer
Beautiful bighorn-The Wild Files: It's our Nature
Thu, August 4, 2022
Named for their large and majestic horns that can weigh up to 30 pounds. Beautiful bighorn sheep are a sight one may get to see when heading up Highway 93/95 south of Radium, Highway 93 South east of Radium, and on Highway 95 going north to Golden all located on the unceded territories of the Secwépemc and Ktunaxa People and the land chosen as home by the Métis Peoples.
Once boasting a population of 250 in the valley, the animal’s numbers have been rapidly declining, with now fewer than 120 left of the species that roam just outside of Radium. Accumulating deaths of bighorn on the highway over the years have raised more than concerns, but also awareness and pledges. There have been local initiatives, such as the Save the Sheep Campaign and the Slow Your Roll, Save The Sheep driver awareness campaign, which conducts sheep patrol and spearheads a community-driven fundraising effort that targets raising 10 per cent of the construction cost of a wildlife highway overpass, with its main intention being to keep both people and animals safer.
It was nearly 750,000 years ago, during the Pleistocene era, that wild sheep crossed from Asia to North America over the Beringia land bridge, which led to adaptation and evolving throughout different areas. There are now three sub-species of the animal: Desert, Sierra Nevada, and the beloved Rocky Mountain Bighorn sheep, which can be seen from British Columbia to Arizona
Have ewe herd?
Known as grazers, a group of bighorn sheep is referred to as a herd, with a diet made up of grasses and shrubs. These sheep can be many shades, ranging from light to a greyish- or chocolate- brown. Known as rams, the males can be 41 inches tall at the shoulder and weigh up to 315 pounds in general, but the Rocky Mountain bighorns have been known to exceed 500 pounds. Females, or ewes, come in a little smaller, at up to 35 inches tall and weighing up to 201 pounds.
This is explained by the fact females will forage and be on the go while protecting their lambs, whereas males will take the time to rest, which is better for digestion and overall size.
Unlike deer, female bighorns also have horns, but they are smaller and slightly less curved. Home is where the horns are and bighorns’ favourite places to inhabit include meadows, grassy mountain slopes, rocky cliffs and bluffs. Their main predators are black bears, grizzly bears, wolves and mountain lions.
Sheep tales
One false myth about bighorn or any kind of sheep is that they are stupid. Regarded as quite intelligent, all sheep are known to have an excellent memory and ability to learn. A few other fun facts about sheep are that there are more than 1,000 different breeds and that newborns can walk almost immediately. All sheep are known for bonding well with others and can remember their pals for up to two years. Sheep represent many things in different religions and cultures. For many Indigenous people and cultures, bighorn sheep are one of the first animals they associate with the high mountains and are considered sacred. They were also a source of food for many. Also associated with vast sky, bighorn sheep have often been thought of as guardian spirits.
Chadd Cawson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Columbia Valley Pioneer
Thu, August 4, 2022
Named for their large and majestic horns that can weigh up to 30 pounds. Beautiful bighorn sheep are a sight one may get to see when heading up Highway 93/95 south of Radium, Highway 93 South east of Radium, and on Highway 95 going north to Golden all located on the unceded territories of the Secwépemc and Ktunaxa People and the land chosen as home by the Métis Peoples.
Once boasting a population of 250 in the valley, the animal’s numbers have been rapidly declining, with now fewer than 120 left of the species that roam just outside of Radium. Accumulating deaths of bighorn on the highway over the years have raised more than concerns, but also awareness and pledges. There have been local initiatives, such as the Save the Sheep Campaign and the Slow Your Roll, Save The Sheep driver awareness campaign, which conducts sheep patrol and spearheads a community-driven fundraising effort that targets raising 10 per cent of the construction cost of a wildlife highway overpass, with its main intention being to keep both people and animals safer.
It was nearly 750,000 years ago, during the Pleistocene era, that wild sheep crossed from Asia to North America over the Beringia land bridge, which led to adaptation and evolving throughout different areas. There are now three sub-species of the animal: Desert, Sierra Nevada, and the beloved Rocky Mountain Bighorn sheep, which can be seen from British Columbia to Arizona
Have ewe herd?
Known as grazers, a group of bighorn sheep is referred to as a herd, with a diet made up of grasses and shrubs. These sheep can be many shades, ranging from light to a greyish- or chocolate- brown. Known as rams, the males can be 41 inches tall at the shoulder and weigh up to 315 pounds in general, but the Rocky Mountain bighorns have been known to exceed 500 pounds. Females, or ewes, come in a little smaller, at up to 35 inches tall and weighing up to 201 pounds.
This is explained by the fact females will forage and be on the go while protecting their lambs, whereas males will take the time to rest, which is better for digestion and overall size.
Unlike deer, female bighorns also have horns, but they are smaller and slightly less curved. Home is where the horns are and bighorns’ favourite places to inhabit include meadows, grassy mountain slopes, rocky cliffs and bluffs. Their main predators are black bears, grizzly bears, wolves and mountain lions.
Sheep tales
One false myth about bighorn or any kind of sheep is that they are stupid. Regarded as quite intelligent, all sheep are known to have an excellent memory and ability to learn. A few other fun facts about sheep are that there are more than 1,000 different breeds and that newborns can walk almost immediately. All sheep are known for bonding well with others and can remember their pals for up to two years. Sheep represent many things in different religions and cultures. For many Indigenous people and cultures, bighorn sheep are one of the first animals they associate with the high mountains and are considered sacred. They were also a source of food for many. Also associated with vast sky, bighorn sheep have often been thought of as guardian spirits.
Chadd Cawson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Columbia Valley Pioneer
