News Forestry
Canfor donates $50,000 to save the Radium’s bighorn herd, in latest community initiative

Canfor’s latest community initiative includes a contribution of $50,000 to help the village of Radium Hot Springs save the Radium Bighorn herd. The funds will help the village reach its $400,000 campaign goal.

Radium Hot Springs’ Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep is recognized as a species of special concern.

“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 the conservation of the Radium-Stoddart herd,” said Michelle Ward, senior director of communications and government relations. “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.”

Once at a population of 250, the herd’s numbers have dropped by more than half and are now less than 120 animals. On average about 10 sheep have been killed yearly in vehicle-wildlife collisions, the majority on Highway 93 south of the Village. Recently, highway deaths have spiked and are on trend to supersede these concerning numbers. Residents have rallied together to save the sheep through various community efforts, including the ‘Slow Your Roll, Save The Sheep’ driver awareness campaign, conducting sheep patrol and spearheading a community-driven fundraising effort targeted at raising 10 percent of the construction cost of a wildlife highway overpass.

“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,” said Mayor Clara Reinhardt. “The bighorn sheep are much celebrated residents in our mountain community. We are grateful for this significant investment that gets us closer to realizing a win-win solution to make Radium safer for sheep and for people.”

The donation is part of Canfor’s Good Things Come From Trees program which provides support to organizations that provide benefits to the communities where Canfor operates and its employees live.