A species in danger
Grizzly bear populations cannot endure overhunting and survive. There are several factors that make grizzlies vulnerable-low population densities and a low reproductive rate compare to other species such as deer and moose.
The grizzly is known to be less adaptable than the black bear to man's ever-expanding activities such as logging and mining. Grizzlies need large areas of land to satisfy their requirements for food and denning sites. The chances of a cub reaching adulthood may only be 20 to 50 percent.
Northwestern Canada and Alaska are North America's last strongholds for grizzly bears. It is estimated that Canada presently has about 20,000 grizzlies or about one-third to one half of this continent's population.
Canada is in a strategic position in terms of grizzly preservation. British Columbia, home to about 6,600 grizzly bears, has the greatest variety of grizzly habitats in North America. These range from salmon rivers and rain forests on the Pacific coast to green meadows in the Rocky Mountains and to rolling forested plateus in northeastern B.C.
Canada is in a strategic position in terms of grizzly preservation. The survival of the grizzly bear in four of the six areas where they still occur in the lower 48 states in the U.S. is dependent on good management on the Canadian side of the border because the animals wander over such a huge area.
Because the grizzly bear's continued existence is at our mercy, there is concern that we are not doing enough in Canada, to ensure their long-term survival. The last several decades has witnessed accelerated clearcut logging, mining, agriculture, oil and gas development, dams, transportation corridors, outdoor recreational development and hunting. Many such developments have been conducted in Canada with few if any guidelines to protect grizzlies. Their ranges are being altered or destroyed as extensive areas of new wilderness are logged annually with few or no measures to safeguard grizzly bear habitats. Garbage dumps placed in their domain are creating spoiled bears whose destruction is inevitable because of contact with man.
Even regulated trophy hunting sometimes lacks careful monitoring of kill rates. B.C. Wildlife Branch studies in 1979 and 1984 identified over-hunting in some areas of the province. Also, there is much controversy that the grizzly populations in Waterton Lakes National Park are threatened by over killing due to legal hunting outside the park. In Kananaskis Country, Alberta, a controversial grizzly hunt for 1987 has been discontinued.
Recreational developments such as campgrounds, trails and public and commercial alpine huts can inadvertently lead to serious conflicts with grizzly bears if they are not carefully planned to avoid key grizzly habitats. Despite some careful planning in B.C. provincial parks, recreational developments are being allowed in sensitive areas. This includes the escalation of permits to allow privately operated alpine huts, heli-skiing and many trails and campsites developed by the Ministry of Forests. Environment Canada Parks also needs to more carefully consider grizzly habitats when locating recreational facilities in grizzly country. The general lack of careful planning of man's activities in Canada's grizzly range can only contribute to the growing conflicts between grizzlies and man where the grizzly will be blamed for our mistakes.
The grizzly bear is an important symbol of wilderness and left unmolested, poses very little threat to public safety. But, without your help, the grizzly will eventually vanish from many more areas of Canada. The following programs have been suggested by various sources as part of well-funded cooperative national strategies to safeguard the survival of this valuable international resource.
1. Adequate sanctuaries
The World Wildlife Fund recently proposed a system of protected areas in Canada for large carnivores, including grizzlies. Although these bears and their habitats are protected in many national, provincial and territorial parks, these areas have usually been designated both for the use of people and for the protection of wildlife such as grizzlies. It is very doubtful whether this multiple use system will safeguard the survival of grizzly bears into the 21st century.
An adequate system of sanctuaries and preserves needs to be established. Alaska, for example, has been successful with several. In Canada this would entail a variety of protective designations ranging from large no-hunting reserves-which would still allow some industrial activity with careful guidelines-to protect both grizzlies and their habitats. One example is the 600,000 hectare no hunting reserve for grizzlies established on a large portion of the B.C. coast. Several more such reserves are slated for B.C.'s Skeena region and have been recommended for areas of Alberta such as Swan Hills and all the area south of the Bow River.
Even more important is an adequate system of fully protected sanctuaries. Today, Canada's best candidates include the Khutzeymateen Valley in B.C. and the Bear Cave Mountain/Fishing Branch River area in the northern Yukon.
2. Better planning
Thorough planning of all industrial and recreational developments in grizzly country is required to minimize negative impacts on the bears. This will require a far greater commitment by government agencies to ensure adequate safeguards for grizzly bears.
3. Adequate research and management
More research and better monitoring of hunter kills and other grizzly mortalities are urgently needed throughout Canada. As well, because grizzlies travel over large areas, and come under the jurisdiction of different governments, there needs to be an improved, cooperative approach to managing grizzly bears throughout their range. For example, many of the bears that are protected in parks spend part of the season wandering outside park boundaries. Here some become targets for hunters or are lured for garbage dumps where they are spoiled. Once a grizzly loses its fear of humans, as is almost guaranteed at a dump, it becomes very dangerous.
4. Better public appreciation
Television and newspapers have over-sensationalized the occasional grizzly bear attack on people in Canada, giving this bear a bad public image. Generally, driving to your hiking area is more hazardous than hiking and camping in grizzly country.
Through much greater public awareness, we can learn to appreciate this majestic species and its
fascinating ecology and at the same time, minimize conflicts. Natural areas need to be developed
for the public to view and photograph grizzlies in safety. These developments would greatly
enhance public appreciation, and could only compare favourably to the garbage dumps where most
Canadians now venture to view spoiled bears amidst unsavory surroundings.
