Burrowing Owl Estate Winery is helping BC’s endangered wildlife, including the burrowing owl for which the winery is named. The winery used funds raised in their tasting room to purchase land and return it to the South Okanagan Rehab Centre for Owls and the Burrowing Owl Conservation Society of BC.
In 2003, The Land Conservancy of BC saved the day for SORCO founder Sherry Klein, by purchasing her land that was the home of her rehabilitation centre for injured birds of prey. The site also attracted the BOCS. These two societies thought their future at that location was assured. In early 2013, however, TLC went into creditor protection and every property in its portfolio was at risk of being sold to satisfy creditors. This put both societies in a state of uncertainty, which has affected almost every decision they have made over the last year. It could also have had a negative effect on the amount of financial support the societies receive.
Jim Wyse, the Chair of Burrowing Owl Estate Winery, was able to convince the court that, for a modest fee of $50,000, this property should be released from creditor protection and conveyed to the two societies so that this situation would never repeat itself.
“We collect a ‘voluntary’ $3.00 donation from all of our winery visitors, and these funds are used for a wide variety of strictly environmental and conservation uses,” Wyse notes. “Every year these donations provide about $80,000 so that we have been able to provide essential funding when government sources have really dried up.”
SORCO and BOCS are proud joint-owners of the property north of Oliverwhere their programs operate. The future is bright for all involved, including TLC, which at last report is expected to come out of this period of protection and reorganization stronger than ever.
The South Okanagan Rehabilitation Centre for Owls (SORCO) is a non-profit society based in the South Okanagan. We specialize in the rescue and recovery of any injured or otherwise incapacitated bird of prey at our clinic and specialized flight cages. In addition we provide an educational program which generates public interest and support for the preservation of this vital part of our natural inheritance. www.sorco.org
Contact: Dave Whitton (dpwhitton@shaw.ca) cell 250 488 6031
The Burrowing Owl Conservation Society of BC is a non-profit society whose goal is to restore the population of burrowing owls in BC to a sustainable level, through captive breeding and site development including the installation of artificial burrows, throughout the southern interior grasslands. The society is also mandated to conduct an educational program which includes among other things travelling to many schools throughout the year. www.burrowingowlbc.org
Contact: Mike Mackintosh (groundowl@yahoo.ca) cell 604 562 5810