{"id":114,"date":"2016-08-05T17:06:45","date_gmt":"2016-08-05T17:06:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kevanbracewell.com\/?page_id=114"},"modified":"2021-04-07T18:57:25","modified_gmt":"2021-04-07T18:57:25","slug":"mountain-goat-surveys","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.kevanbracewell.com\/conservation\/mountain-goat-surveys\/","title":{"rendered":"Kevan Bracewell Conducts Mountain Goat Surveys In Thompson to Ensure Sustainable Populations"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Kevan Bracewell and biologists conduct mountain goat surveys in Thompson. This aids conservation by ensuring mountain goats have self-sustaining populations.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>At a glance\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>Kevan Bracewell has partnered with biologists to complete regular population counts of mountain goats in the Thompson region.<\/li>\n<li>How it works: These surveys, conducted by helicopter, provide data on the size, location, and health of mountain goat herds in this region.<\/li>\n<li>Purpose: This real-time data plays a significant role in establishing policies that ensure the health and self-sustainability of mountain goat populations in both Thompson and the greater Bridge River Valley watershed.<\/li>\n<li>Goals Achieved: The resulting policies have consistently fostered healthy, self-sustainable mountain goat populations and supported larger conservation efforts.<\/li>\n<li><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>The Whole Story&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The majority of mountain goat populations in the Thompson region had not been formally surveyed since the mid-1980s. In the absence of reliable data and population counts, it was difficult to create effective policies that would ensure viable, self-sustaining mountain goat populations. In response to this problem, Kevan Bracewell joined forces with the the British Columbia Conservation Foundation to obtain precise population counts and indices of productivity. Funded by the BC Ministry of Environment through the Recreational Stewardship Inventory fund, the team conducted their first official survey on July 18, 2005.<\/p>\n<p>From this initial survey, the team determined that the Thompson populations of mountain goats were healthy and stable. The ratios and groupings of kids, nannies, and billies provided further data from which biologists discerned the productive capacity of these herds, and whether or not they could be self-sustaining. The July 2005 survey provided baseline data that has allowed biologists to analyze trends in population growth, gender ratios, adult to kid ratios, movement, and the overall health of Thompson mountain goat herds.<\/p>\n<p>In 2011, Kevan Bracewell and biologists Chris Proctor and Doug Jury conducted another mountain goat survey. With the financial support of individual donors and multiple chapters of Safari Club International, the team of three obtained accurate mountain goat population counts over the Bridge River Valley watershed. As they set out to fly the ridge tops and scan the tree line, the team anticipated sightings of 70% of the total mountain goat population from the air. Even with challenging conditions and patches of snow, the team managed to spot 100% of the total anticipated mountain goat population. In the 2005 survey, approximately half of the females had a kid. In this population count, the team spotted one kid for every nanny. This was a very positive sign for the health and productivity of the mountain goat herds. Even more encouraging, the mountain goat numbers were 40% higher than was necessary for the herds to be self-sustaining.\u00a0 The committed efforts of Kevan Bracewell, Chris Proctor, and Doug Jury, combined with the generosity of individuals and associations, contributed significantly to biologists\u2019 knowledge and understanding of mountain goat herds in the Bridge River Valley watershed. The substantial investment of time, energy, and resources provided the requisite data to formulate responsible policies. These policies protect the long-term vitality of mountain goat populations in Thompson and the greater Bridge River Valley watershed, ensuring that these creatures will roam the ridge tops for years to come.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Next steps\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>During more recent mountain goat surveys, Kevan Bracewell noted that there are 10 mountain goats isolated on the Shulap Mountains. These mountain goats are stranded between the Shulaps and Carpenter Lake. Because of its isolation, this specific herd requires at least 50 mountain goats to promote a viable, self-sustaining population. Kevan Bracewell, together with the WSF, took action by writing and submitting a grant application to BC Hydro\u2019s Fish &amp; Wildlife Compensation Program. The goal is to obtain funding for the relocation of goats to this region, thereby securing the viability of the herd that\u2019s in jeopardy.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Be the first to know what happens next with our mountain goat relocation project.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/chilcotinarkinstitute.com\/contact\/\">Contact the Chilcotin Ark Institute<\/a> and they\u2019ll keep you up to date on this and other conservation projects.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #333333;\"><span style=\"font-family: Open Sans;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Learn more about Kevan Bracewell\u2019s work:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.chilcotinholidays.com\/\"><span style=\"color: #485637;\"><span style=\"font-family: Open Sans;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><u>Chilcotin Holidays<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span style=\"color: #333333;\"><span style=\"font-family: Open Sans;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">,\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/wilderness.stewardship.foundation\/\"><span style=\"color: #485637;\"><span style=\"font-family: Open Sans;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><u>Wilderness Stewardship Foundation<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span style=\"color: #333333;\"><span style=\"font-family: Open Sans;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">,\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.stewardship.foundation\/\"><span style=\"color: #485637;\"><span style=\"font-family: Open Sans;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><u>Stewardship Foundation<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span style=\"color: #333333;\"><span style=\"font-family: Open Sans;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">,\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.trails-to-empowerment.org\/\"><span style=\"color: #485637;\"><span style=\"font-family: Open Sans;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><u>Trails to Empowerment<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span style=\"color: #333333;\"><span style=\"font-family: Open Sans;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">,\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/chilcotinarkinstitute.com\/\"><span style=\"color: #485637;\"><span style=\"font-family: Open Sans;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><u>Chilcotin Ark Institute<\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span style=\"color: #333333;\"><span style=\"font-family: Open Sans;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">,\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"color: #485637;\"><span style=\"font-family: Open Sans;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><u><a href=\"http:\/\/wildernesstrainingacademy.com\/\">Wilderness Training Academy<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/communitymill.ca\/\">Community Mill<\/a> <\/u><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kevan Bracewell and biologists conduct mountain goat surveys in Thompson. This aids conservation by ensuring mountain goats have self-sustaining populations. &nbsp; At a glance\u2026 \u00a0Kevan Bracewell has partnered with biologists to complete regular population counts of mountain goats in the Thompson region. How it works: These surveys, conducted by helicopter, provide data on the size, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":15,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kevanbracewell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/114"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kevanbracewell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kevanbracewell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kevanbracewell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kevanbracewell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.kevanbracewell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/114\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":406,"href":"https:\/\/www.kevanbracewell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/114\/revisions\/406"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kevanbracewell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/15"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kevanbracewell.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}