Odds and Ends
As you can see, there is much common ground shared by a variety ofindividuals and groups. What we need to have happen in the provinceconcerning wildlife is very well documented now, and makes a lot of sense. Ido think the most difficult obstacle for the “Together for Wildlife ManagementPlan” could be finding enough people in government with the foresight,dedication and courage to actually implement it. There are a lot of great peopleinvolved to take up the challenge, so here’s hoping! Finally, here are a couplemore things I’m sure you will be more than interested in.
Of note is that Columbia Valley MLA Doug Clovechok has been working on aplan with many different groups to try and mitigate mortality rates caused byvehicles on Bighorn sheep along the highway in the Radium area. Some of theoptions that are being considered are possible underpasses, overpasses,fencing, signing, and better law enforcement on speeding limits. In the past,cougar predation also has been a factor in the decline of Bighorn herds in thatregion. Bighorn sheep are an iconic species and it would be tragic to see themcompletely disappear in the Columbia Valley, or anywhere in B.C. for thatmatter.
On another front, testing continued this year for signs of Chronic WastingDisease on ungulates in the East Kootenay. Here is all the current informationI received from the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resources Operationsand Rural Development. To date, all testing so far has been negative which isgreat news. The BC Wildlife Health Program has been testing free-rangingdeer, elk, moose and caribou for CWD province wide, with a focus in thehighest-risk regions of the Kootenay and Peace Regions. So far, in 2020, 653animals from the Kootenay region and 89 animals from the Peace region haveall tested negative for CWD. Additional tests are pending.
The risk of CWD continues to increase as there have been cases diagnosedclose to our borders. CWD surveillance and testing will continue into the futureto enable detection as soon as possible. Hunters should know that everysample that they contribute adds to the Management teams knowledge, butmore samples are needed to help assess with early detection. CWD isextremely difficult to manage, or control, but the critical information derivedfrom testing, better informs the team, on CWD status and response.
The Surveillance and Response Plan for CWD in BC is available at:www.gov.bc.ca/chronicwastingdisease. Here it outlines what proposed initialresponse activities will be, should a positive diagnosis be confirmed in ananimal from B.C., but for now, prevention and knowledge are sited as the beststrategies.
The BC Wildlife Health program also told me they wish to sincerely thankhunters, businesses, and their many partners for the continued support. Theircontributions are vital to understanding and protecting wildlife health in B.C.
Well, there is a lot of information in this article to digest and ponder that is forcertain. I hope that you and yours have a great New Year and that we will allbe able to get back to some level of normalcy as early as possible in 2021.2020, due to the pandemic, has truly been a year to forget, but there is light atthe end of the tunnel and we will get through it.
Looking forward to seeing you in the field!