Vail Bighorn Initiative receives award from Wild Sheep Foundation
The local initiative was recognized for its fundraising and advocacy efforts to help the town of Vail acquire Booth Heights
Courtesy Photo
The Vail Bighorn Initiative was awarded the “Outstanding Achievement Award” at the Wild Sheep Foundation’s 2024 Sheep Show in Reno, Nevada.
The local initiative is a citizen-led effort to conserve and protect the Gore Range S2 Bighorn Sheep herd’s crucial winter habitat on the Booth Heights parcel in East Vail.
“There’s a local misperception that this herd will be able to survive without this habitat and that Vail Bighorn Initiative is anti-employee housing. That simply isn’t true. The science is clear, and our purpose is to spread the message that we can do both. We want nothing more than to work with Vail Resorts to save the sheep and build affordable housing,” said Gaby Milhoan, a cofounder of the Vail Bighorn Initiative, in a press release.
The Wild Sheep Foundation — a global group dedicated to wild sheep conservation and other mission programs — recognized the Vail group’s fundraising and advocacy efforts — “growing a grassroots local effort into a nationwide campaign that raised over 700 individual donations from 26 states” — to help the town of Vail acquire the East Vail parcel.
Kim Langmaid, former Vail mayor, took the stage at the Sheep Show with the Vail Bighorn Initiative leadership team to accept the award.
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“Conservation is not a solitary endeavor; it requires collaboration and a shared vision. Many of you in this room and many far beyond these walls have been the driving force behind this effort,” Langmaid said.
“As we celebrate this moment, let us not forget that the battle to protect the Vail Bighorns is not over. We must continue to persevere until a permanent conservation easement is attained. Let this award be a call to action. Conservation is a shared responsibility, and this award serves as a reminder that our work matters and must continue. It is a call to redouble our efforts, to engage more people and donors, and to invite you to help spread the word, support this effort and be a voice for the bighorn sheep,” Langmaid added.
The 2024 Sheep Show drew over 10,000 attendees from 48 states and 15 countries. The four-day show raised over $12 million dollars for wild sheep conservation.
In addition to the award presentation, Vail Bighorn Initiative’s short film “Home For the Wild” was screened at the show, followed by a panel discussion with Langmaid as well as other film contributors, Kristen Bertuglia, Terry Meyers and Trey Milhoan.
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“Our team, donors, partners, and supporters will relentlessly continue our advocacy and outreach efforts until we know this herd is protected in perpetuity and our local workforce can live, work and play here,” said Gaby Milhoan.
“We are grateful to the Wild Sheep Foundation for sharing their global platform to help us expand our reach far beyond Colorado, and for serving as our fiscal partner so all funds raised for Vail Bighorn are 100% tax-deductible and directly benefit this monumental conservation effort. Our work to conserve the Vail Bighorns has just begun.”
