The conservation group Wildsight is pointing out four additional bighorn sheep deaths near Radium Hot Springs over five days last week.
鈥淭his is the latest in a spate of deaths decimating the Radium bighorn sheep herd that saw an additional 13 highway mortalities in 2021,鈥� Said John Bergenske, Wildsight鈥檚 Conservation Director. 鈥淟ast week there were collisions on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday 鈥� each resulting in a dead ram. Then on Friday a ewe was killed.鈥�
Bergenske says immediate action is required, and although efforts are underway to perhaps see fencing and an overpass built, that will not happen soon enough.
鈥淭he One Mile Hill leading into Radium Hot Springs has long been known as a dangerous spot for both motorists and Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep. This stretch of highway is the gateway to the Columbia Valley which sees heavy traffic, especially on weekends and tourist-heavy seasons. The problem has been exacerbated by the prolonged closures of Highway 1, which forces traffic to detour through Radium. This highway also carries heavy trucks, particularly logging and chip trucks, up and down the valley.鈥�
Bergenske says that immediate action should include getting rid of the passing lane on the hill and reducing the 90 kph speed limit. That will require an order by the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure.
鈥淢OTI needs to take action to protect bighorn sheep and motorists while sheep are near the highway. Most collisions occur in a three kilometre-strip of the hill which has a passing lane and 90 km speed limit 鈥� clearly proven to be a recipe for disaster. MOTI has thus far refused calls to reduce speeds and close the passing lane. The existing warning signs have proved ineffective. Reduced speeds that are enforced, along with active signage that warns travelers when they are not slowing down could certainly make a difference in dealing with the present carnage.鈥�
Columbia River - Revelstoke MLA Doug Clovechok is part of the working group looking at the construction of an overpass, however he said last January that work on an overpass is still in the beginning stages.
Clovechok says he respects Bergenske鈥檚 thoughts on the matter but something as simple as reducing the speed limit and taking out a passing lane is not the answer.
鈥淭here is no silver bullet,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here is real science behind speed limits.鈥�
He says One Mile Hill can get very congested and when there are sheep on the road, some cars slow down, others don鈥檛. Taking out the passing lane could create even more havoc, he says, because people will pass on a double line.
鈥淚t鈥檚 easy to say it will fix it,鈥� he said.
Clovechok says MOTI has been putting real money into engineering work on an overpass, but the ultimate cost could be four to five million dollars.
鈥淎n awful lot of work has been done on this in the past two years, people are working hard on it. There is no magic bullet. But we do have to find ways to protect these sheep.鈥�
鈥淩adium welcomes visitors into its community with an impressive $300,000 public art sculpture paying tribute to the bighorn sheep,鈥� Bergenske said. 鈥淭he irony is not lost that, mere metres from this exhibit, sheep are meeting their demise from those very drivers. A few minutes鈥� delay in arrival is a small price to pay to protect both motorists and the sheep who are this community鈥檚 icon.
鈥淭here is no excuse for MOTI not to be treating this section of highway the same way as they do an active construction zone whenever sheep are present in the area. A lack of action is inviting the next accident to happen, and it may not be just sheep that are the victims.鈥�
Black Press reached out to the Ministry of Transport but as yet, has not received a response.
carolyn.grant@kimberleybulletin.com
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