WSSBC Convention March 2016

[WSSOBC]

We are excited to announce registration for the Wild Sheep Society of BC’s (WSSBC) 23rd Annual Convention and Fundraiser, March 11 and 12, 2016! This year we will be back in Kamloops at the Coast Kamloops Hotel and Convention Centre by popular demand. This location will enable us to bring back the popular field trip into local sheep country, better affordability, and more convenient travel for a large majority of our members.
This past year has been a busy one for the Society; we’ve been very active in emergency wild/domestic disease mitigation, government consultation and fundraising efforts. The WSSBC hosted the Wild Sheep Foundation Chapters and Affiliates Meeting in June, hosting delegates from across the continent. This event was a huge success in networking and strategic planning and also netted BC important funds for the Wild/Domestic Sheep Separation Program. We have a new formal partnership with the BC Wildlife Federation and more in the works with like-minded conservation organizations. We’ve also been working diligently on a major habitat restoration project to benefit a failing sheep herd, which we hope to release details on as soon as formal consultation is completed. All of this was made possible because of the support of our members through generous donations and volunteer time. In 2016 we look forward to maintaining the momentum generated in the last year beginning with the Convention, our biggest fundraising effort! Wild/domestic disease issues will continue to be our focus until a resolution is found, with habitat rehabilitation being a close second.
The WSSBC 2016’s Convention and Fundraiser will be a two-day event including informative seminars for novice and seasoned sheep hunters, updates on issues provincially and internationally and on the Society itself. Last but certainly not least, Saturday’s fundraiser dinner continues to be the biggest social event for this province’s sheep enthusiasts and a great opportunity at a bunch of raffle and auction items raising funds for BC’s wild sheep! A full agenda will be released in the coming weeks.
We hope to see you there!

Yours in conservation,

Wild Sheep Society Board of Directors

Register at https://wildsheepsociety.com/2016-convention-info/

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[WSSOBC]

Attend our Convention and Fundraiser, pick up a membership, get your Hunt of a Lifetime tickets. YOU can help us do more!

News Release: Ashnola Burn Funding Committed
February 1, 2016

The WSSBC is pleased to announce that we have committed $30,000 to the proposed ecosystem restoration (ER) burn in the Ashnola River Valley to benefit California Bighorn Sheep. The funds coming directly from WSSBC’s 2015 Hunt of a Lifetime Raffle.
The Ashnola bighorns have historically been a vibrant mainstay in the South Okanagan, enough so that they have been the source of several successful transplants including Okanagan Mountain Park near Kelowna in 2007, the South Okanagan during the 2000 die-off, the Gilpen Herd in Grand Forks as well as several transplants into the United States. They’ve also supported a limited hunting season for all user groups for many years. Since the early 2000’s wildlife managers have documented a decline of more than 75% in the Ashnola population. Specific causes of the declines are unknown but disease, forest ingrowth, habitat deterioration and predation may all be contributing.
It has been a long process to reach the point of announcing this project and the first match is certainly not lit but the timeline is targeting spring of 2016. The goal of the burn is to rehabilitate key habitat in order to improve lamb recruitment and adult survival. The site provides known travel and foraging sites used by the Ashnola bighorns with few commercial and industrial activities. Hopefully this burn will help return the site to a grassland ecosystem and Okanagan biologists from the Ministry of Forest Lands and Natural Resource Operations (FLNRO) are considering this burn to be one of their highest regional priorities.
The proposed ER site is located on the west side of the Ashnola River between Crater and Redbridge Creek. The ER burn will focus on the east aspect, open forested slopes. A detailed map of the proposed area is included for reference. The total size of the proposed site is approximately 600 hectares.
Our funds for this project were a direct result of WSSBC’s 2015 Hunt of a Lifetime Raffle. Looking forward the Board of Directors hopes to build on the success of this raffle program, offering more hunting opportunities and generating more funds for habitat enhancement province wide. We look forward to updating our members with news on this project as the winter progresses.
We would like to acknowledge and extend our thanks to the rest of the stakeholder groups and government ministries involved in this process including the Lower Similkameen First Nations, BC Wildlife Federation, Ashnola Guide Outfitters and BC FLRNO staff from Wildfire Management Branch and the Okanagan Wildlife Branch.

Yours in conservation,

WSSBC Board of Directors

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[WSSOBC]

Less than a month left before Convention 2016. Ticket sales are already up and we are capped at 360 people so don't wait too long. We've got some great raffles organized, fantastic speakers including HBC's proguide66 presenting on Wolf Trapping, a sheep tour with KIB, a Town Hall meeting in our joint push toward a wild/domestic disease resolution. This year is going to be BIG! Make sure you're a part of it!

[WSSOBC]

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[WSSOBC]

Thank you to everyone that attended WSSBC’s Convention and Fundraiser 2016! This was a record setting year in attendance with over 400 in the crowd and we were glad to be back in Kamloops. Thank you to all our donors, speakers, vendors, members, and life members and all the volunteers that pulled it off! Over the next several weeks we will be tallying what was earned for wild sheep conservation, you can look forward to a comprehensive update in the next issue of Wild Sheep Forever Magazine!

Please set aside the date for next year’s fundraiser, back in Kamloops, March 10/11, 2017!