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Review Vol.17
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Number 51
Thursday, December 17, 2015
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Serving the communities of Keremeos, Cawston, Okanagan Falls and Kaleden
A little sweat helps curb salt cravings Tara Bowie Review Staff
There’s nothing that will get the blood pumping like climbing a mountain on a brisk winter’s day with the intent of protecting mountain goats and motorists. Jetson Gibbs, 17, and Zane Gibbs, 14, strapped 50-pound salt licks to their backs and trotted up the mountain with fellow sportsmen association member Doug Boult. “It wasn’t so bad,” Zane Gibbs said with a smile after getting back to the base of the mountain. This marks the third year Zane has performed the task and the first for his brother Jetson. “It was good,” Jetson said. The Keremeos-Cawston Sportsmen Association took on the task of putting salt licks up the mountain four years ago. “By putting the salt licks up there it keeps the goats off the road,” Norm Parkin, sportsmen association director said. “They
don’t come down in the winter to lick the salt off the road because they have it up there.” The salt licks are placed at a plateau on the mountain side just outside of Olalla. Prior to the salt licks being placed about a kilometre up, mountain goats were being hit quite regularly on the road below. In the last three years none have been struck. “We originally started with three different spots but we found they went to this one. It took awhile for them to figure out it was there,” Parkin said. The initiative is a joint program between the sportsmen association and the Ministry of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resource Operations. At one time it was suggested a fence be put along the stretch of highway where mountain goats were being hit most often. “It would have been unsightly. The salt is a better solution. They
don’t really come down at all,” Parkin said. The spot is used regularly by the mountain goats. Three 50 pound salt licks were placed in the exact same spot last year and just little pieces remain. The Keremeos-Cawston Sportsmen Association also performs a mountain goat count each spring. They cover areas locally around Cawston, Keremeos and Olalla up to Apex and through to Princeton. They’ve done the count for the last 15 years or so. “The goats are holding on quite good,” Parkin said. “The sheep of course are struggling. The last three years a lot of them have contracted a disease like a mange. They aren’t doing so well.” For more information about the Keremeos-Cawston Sportsmen Submitted Association and the important work These photos were taken from the Olalla Goat Trail Cam in May 2014. Because mountain goats have easy access to salt licks on the mountain they do visit www.k-csa.com. they are no longer come down on the road near Olalla.
Tara Bowie
Submitted
Members of the Keremeos-Cawston Sportsmen Association gathered Monday to take the hike up a moun- Zane Gibbs, 14, and Jetson Gibbs, 17, stand at the plateau on the tain north of Olalla. Left to right, Jetson Gibbs, 17, Doug Boult, Zane Gibbs, 14, and Norm Parkin. mountain north of Olalla after hiking to the spot with 50 pound salt licks on their baks.