Mountain Goat Conservation

The Toby Creek Mountain Goats

Protecting an Iconic Regional Species

Mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus) are an iconic species that both represent and require wilderness — and approximately half of the world’s population live in British Columbia. However, their numbers appear to be dwindling, and quickly. Inventories have been far from consistent, but the last count conducted in 2015 revealed lower populations over roughly a decade in 70% of the survey units, with many herds facing population declines of more than 30%. The most recent estimate for the Kootenay region is a total of 6,913 mountain goats. The consistent negative population trend suggests that there are cumulative, region-wide factors contributing to these startling figures.

Image captured in a set camera at a mineral lick in Toby Canyon near Invermere, BC by John Zehnder

We know, for instance, that mountain goat habitat is imperilled by current land-use practices such as clearcut logging and road-building. Over and above industrial resource extraction is the seemingly endless surge in outdoor recreation, both motorized and non-motorized. Illegal hunting, wildfire and the accelerating impacts of a changing climate serve to further exacerbate the immense toll taken on this creature. The upper Columbia Valley is a microcosm for these region-wide trends.

Here, we are fortunate enough to play host to a unique, lower-elevation herd — the Toby Creek mountain goats. In 1988, the herd was documented as being 80- strong. Today, it is estimated as being 16 — a total that we have heard from renowned wildlife biologist and mountain goat researcher Douglas Chadwick is, quite simply, not viable. In short, and without intervention, this herd will not survive.

Photo by Marco Delesalle

While some of the herd’s decline is attributed to a steady relocation of 47 mountain goats over a 24-year period, the external pressure of increasing recreation infrastructure, particularly in what is understood to be the herd’s winter range — including a skidoo and snowmobile area in the Brewer Basin — and the continued expansion of Panorama’s ski hill footprint and mountain bike trails threaten the goats’ capacity to recover. Approximately nine kilometres of the goats’ canyon habitat is also found on private land, which has recently been divided into parcels for residential development. This includes a development directly across from the Toby Creek Mineral Lick — a formally designated Wildlife Habitat Feature that is a critical source of nutrients for the goats, and which they return to each spring in order to replenish their depleted salt stores following the winter.

What We’re Doing

Photo by John Zehnder

We never thought that we would lose mountain caribou in the Purcells – and now they’re gone. Yet, in our region, wildlife such as mountain goats play a central role in our community identity — many of us choose to live here, at least in part, because it affords us the opportunity to observe the multitude of critters that also call this area home on a daily basis. We must better manage ourselves to allow them their place on the landscape, as there is no limit to who or what benefits from their continued presence here.

Our ongoing efforts to ensure the preservation of mountain goats in our region and province publicly commenced with a webinar featuring renowned biologist, author and mountain goat researcher Douglas Chadwick in April 2021. The webinar — which attracted over 220 participants from countries including Canada, the United States, Australia and Germany — not only demonstrated the passionate investment of our local and regional audience in the well-being of the Toby Creek herd, but also the extent of global support for ensuring a future for this species through public education, ecosystem conservation and climate adaptation.

More on Mountain Goats

  1. Read more about about the issues facing mountain goats in our region in Climbing high and losing ground
  2. Dig into the history of the Toby Creek Mountain Goat Herd further and how our community has come to their aid in the past in Saving the Toby Creek mountain goats
  3. Watch Original Alpinists: Safeguarding a Future for Mountain Goats, our panel webinar featuring Douglas Chadwick, John Bergenske and John Zehnder

 


“If you see a problem, you can do something about it. Cuz typically, we created it.” This is how the film Study Aboard starts out…Read More 
A chance discovery by a group of Invermere birders led to a conservation success for a fledgling bank swallow colony in Invermere, British Columbia.Read More 
"What will have a lasting impact?" This is the question Columbia Valley resident Tracy Flynn asks herself when she chooses how to spend her time…Read More 
Read more news

Upcoming Invermere events

Home Retrofit Fair

Sunday, November 10

With a fall chill in the air, many animals are busy preparing their winter homes. We too could benefit by making our homes more cozy and protected from cold winter…

Bighorn Sheep Citizen Monitoring

November 2 - November 15

We are holding a monthly Bighorn sheep monitoring event. No experience is needed to be a citizen science sheep monitor, just the ability to walk and be outside for 4…

11th Wild & Scenic Film Festival in Invermere

Saturday, November 16

A night of films, friends and a call to action! New this year: online access to the films so you can watch from anywhere. This is Wildsight Invermere's annual fundraiser. Don't forget our 50/50 Raffle for the Wild!

50/50 Raffle for the Wild

October 22 - November 16

Help us make Wildsight Invermere’s annual fundraising event a SUCCESS! Our 50/50 Raffle for the Wild has launched as part of our 11th Wild & Scenic Film Festival. Proceeds go directly towards Wildsight Invermere's work.

View all events

Join The Team

Want to protect wildlife, clean water and wild spaces? Volunteer with us! Wildsight volunteers are a very special group of people who give generously of their time to stuff envelopes, attend rallies, help run events, put up posters, keep tabs on forestry practices in their communities and participate in citizen science initiatives.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Branch Information

Contact

625 4th St
Box 601
Invermere, BC V0A 1K0
Phone: 250.409.5708
invermere@wildsight.ca