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Review Vol.18
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Thursday, February 25, 2016
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Burning for a bighorn sheep solution
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A controlled burn is expected to take place sometime this spring in the Crater Mountain area along the Ashnola River. It’s hopeful the burn will help re-establish grasslands and provide much needed habitat for the bighorn sheep herds in the area.
Ministry hoping controlled burn helps increase sheep population Review Staff
Steps are underway to improve habitat for Bighorn Sheep herds in the area. Keremeos council received a letter from Andrew Walker, wildlife biologist for the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations detailing plans for a controlled burn in the Ashnola River area this spring. The controlled burn area will be located on the west side of the Ashnola River just north of Crater Creek and north to Redbridge Creek and will focus on the east aspect and open forested slopes. “The Ashnola River is known for its steep, open, grassy slopes and its iconic resident California bighorn sheep herds. These bighorn
have faced many challenges over the decades but none perhaps as serious as the challenges they face today,” the letter stated. Over the past decade biologists have noted significant declines with all Ashnola bighorn herds, but the herds that call Crater Mountain home seem to have suffered the most significant losses. The herd has seen a 75 per cent loss since 2006. “Reasons for the declines are unknown; however, we suspect several factors are contributing including disease and habitat degradation,” the letter stated. In addition to loss of habitat, the bighorns are also facing psoroptes, also known as sheep mange. The disease is new to Canada and was
detected in the herds in 2011. A study was initiated in 2014 to determine the impact the disease has on the herds but its influence remains unknown. Several bighorn sheep were killed in 2015 by two motorists. The sheep were run down by the motorists when they came down tot the roadway. Traffic charges were laid against the driver but the incident resulted in a huge loss for the herd. Although hard work from the Wildfire Management Branch has resulted in fewer large fires throughout the province, ingrowth has altered the bighorn ranges in the Ashnola. Fire suppression has allowed trees to grow in areas that fire
would have once maintained as grasslands. “Bighorns depend on open environments with access to escape terrain where they can access forage, and detect and avoid predators in order to survive.” The Fish and Wildlife branch of the ministry is proposing a controlled burn to treat several hundred hectares of bighorn habitat in the Ashnola River Valley in the spring of 2016. An exact date for the start of the burn is not known at this time. “We consider this Ecosystem Restoration (ER) proposal our highest regional priority and believe a prescribed burn is the most effective management option to begin a population recovery.”
The burn is expected to improve body condition of bighorns, increase lamb survival and reduce mortality rates. In addition to improving conditions for the bighorns the burn will restore grasslands, improve forage quality for all animals and reduce the risk of wildfire in the area. The project is a collaborative effort between multiple agencies including Wildfire Management Branch, Fish and Wildlife, Lower Similkameen Indian Band, Ashnola Guide Outfitters, Wild Sheep Society of BC and the British Columbia Wildlife Federation. Keremeos council received the letter as information at its last regular council meeting.