Bears need more protected wilderness sanctuaries for their long-term survival
Baby black bear cub Photo: Andrea Maenza.
Besides respite from hunters, bears require key wilderness sanctuaries--large roadless wilderness areas--for their long-term survival. Grizzlies are especially vulnerable to industrial activity--primarily logging and mining. Wherever human activities, including roads, predominate, the Grizzlies are driven out forever.
British Columbia fortunately still has enough wilderness left to sustain the bears. But we must preserve as parks and wildlife reserves more key big wilderness areas...and they are all currently threatened by industrial exploitation! It will be necessary to exceed the artificial upper limit of 12 percent of the province's land base that the current provincial government has set for our protected area system. Twelve percent of the land is not enough to sustain big mammals like our bears.
Here are a few of the key B.C. wilderness areas needing protection:
- the 5 million hectare Northern Rockies.
- the 180,000 hectare Taku watershed located near Atlin in northwest B.C.
- the 250,000 hectare region around Princess Royal Island, home of the rare spirit bear (a white phase of Black bear found only in B.C.)
- the last large wild watersheds on B.C.'s mid-coast, stronghold of the coastal Grizzly.
- the 260,000 hectare Stoltmann Wilderness, the largest unprotected wilderness area and prime Grizzly habitat close to Vancouver.
- Additions to the Granby Wilderness and the White Grizzly Wilderness, newly created parks in the Kootenays that must be expanded to make them viable bear sanctuaries.
WCWC continues to fight for the preservation of these wilderness areas while it fights to end sport and trophy hunting of bears.
