Bear Matters BC

 What’s new: the Virtual Rainforest Initiative from www.pacificwild.org

This year, we are continuing to work with both the Bella Bella and Hartley Bay Community Schools to deliver live streaming video of remote wildlife behaviour into the classroom.

Students can monitor live streaming video, control the pan-tilt-zoom cameras, and save clips of interesting video for their own use. Now through partnerships with several organizations, the Virtual Rainforest Initiative is developing classroom content that incorporates video from the remote cameras. This program, called the Virtual Rainforest Initiative, is a partnership between the schools, Pacific Wild, The Nature Conservancy, the American Museum of Natural History’s Department of Biodiversity and Conservation, and the Centre for Digital Media in Vancouver, B.C. Some of this content will be delivered via SmartBoard technology, an interactive, web-enabled teaching toolkit with a touch-sensitive board. Our goal is to inspire and engage students with the coastal temperate rainforest where they live, and to allow them to share their experiences with students from other schools through live web-based applications.

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Meet Skeena – Our Newest Face at TLC

Skeena, TLC’s travel-blogging bear takes
a moment to enjoy the beauty of Fort Shepherd.Tour across the province with TLC’s official travel guide, Skeena the Grizzly Bear. Our travel-blogging bear has the enviable task of exploring B.C.’s special places and blogging about it for all to read.
“I am very excited about my new assignment. Touring some of TLC’s spectacular properties will allow me to reconnect with my Grizzly heritage. Did you know more than half of Canada’s Grizzly Bears live in B.C.? That’s a lot of family!”
Join the journey and stay tuned for the next installment! First stop: Fort ShepherdHere’s the link to their website. View it on our website.

Hello all Watershed Aficionados,

For a good time, please go to this YouTube link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0gHCWnWjxY

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BY JUDITH LAVOIE, VICTORIA TIMES COLONIST, JANUARY 21, 2010

Predatory behaviour of humans is causing some species to shrink at an unprecedented rate, says a Victoria research scientist whose study has been deemed one of the top science stories of last year.

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B.C.’s policy frameworks fail to take ethical issues into consideration BY CHRIS GENOVALI, SPECIAL TO TIMES COLONIST, JANUARY 21, 2010 

A new decade has dawned and in a few months yet another year of grizzly bearhunting will commence in British Columbia. The B.C. grizzly bear hunt has been a source of unrelenting controversy.Both sides are stuck in a continual expert-driven argument in which bothcamps claim science supports their positions. It is time that the debate was conducted within the context of ethicalconsiderations, as the present conflict will likely never transcend thedeeply entrenched inflexible stances. In his paper, Environmental Ethics and Trophy Hunting, Alastair Gunn statesthat “Nowhere in the [scientific] literature, so far as I am aware, ishunting for fun, for the enjoyment of killing, or for the acquisition oftrophies defended.” Many who are outspoken advocates of grizzly hunting do not recognize, orchoose not to recognize, that it is a moral matter. They feign that huntinggrizzlies is amoral when, in fact, it is not. They pretend the trivial valueof hunting grizzlies somehow outweighs the much greater harm done to thebears. In Ethics and the Environment, Dale Jamieson writes of the problematicnature of deciding to “choose amoralism and opt out of morality. The veryties that bind us to a society entangle us in a morality. Morality isubiquitous; amoralists are rare.” 

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Please sign new and unique petition that will make a difference:  http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/trophyhunt  

‘Faltering Light;Visual Petition’ Imagine Making a Difference for Bears in B.C. 

The ‘Faltering Light; Visual Petition’ will be published and presented as a high-quality book to Premier Campbell before the start of this year’s Spring Bear Hunt;

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 http://www.calgaryherald.com/travel/Black+bear+death+tally+deemed+atrocious/2425708/story.html Report says 449 killed by humans in mountain parks

 BY RICHARD CUTHBERTSON, CALGARY HERALDJANUARY 10, 2010  A landmark study into black bear deaths in Canada’s mountain national parks has found hundreds of the carnivores have been killed by human activity in the last two decades.The statistical report determined at least 449 black bears were killed by human causes during the period, with highways proving the source of more than half those deaths and railways accounting for about a quarter.One conservation group calls the number of deaths “atrocious,” and says it’s not right that so many bears are being killed in parks tasked with protecting wildlife.But a Parks Canada superintendent cautions there’s no reason to believe human-caused deaths are hurting population numbers, as black bears have higher reproduction rates than the more sensitive grizzlies.Jasper National Park superintendent Greg Fenton said the new report helps focus their attention on problem areas. That could include looking at certain stretches of roadway, for instance, where bears have been hit in larger numbers. Work could then be done to reduce deaths, such as dropping the speed limit.“Mortality of any kind of wildlife is cause for concern,” Fenton said. “The large numbers, it’s because it’s a 20-year compilation and it’s bringing to the light the numbers that are killed. But at the same time, we have been making strides in reducing some of the causal factors.”The report by Parks Canada experts drew on data from the seven national parks that stretch along the Rockies and, for the first time, offers a compilation of black bear deaths, highlighting cause and location.The study looked at data from 1990 to 2009 and the mountain parks are: Banff, Jasper, Kootenay, Yoho, Waterton Lakes, Mount Revelstoke and Glacier.The report comes less than two years after a similar study on grizzly bear mortality. That 2008 report raised concerns that human-caused grizzly deaths were hurting population numbers.Jasper had by far the highest number of human-caused black bear deaths in the last 20 years, with 193. Banff had 84, by comparison.Fenton suspects the high number in Jasper is because there are simply more black bears in the park. Jasper is also larger than its cohorts.Jim Pissot, with the Defenders of Wildlife, said the study can help point out what needs to be done on roadways and railroads to return to a natural dynamic of bear deaths in the parks.“It’s pretty shameful if our national parks are not a place where bears can die of natural causes, (that) we have this much mortality,” Pissot said.The heavily travelled Trans-Canada Highway has the highest number of bear fatalities (87) during the last 20 years, but Pissot is confident those will continue to decline as fencing, overpasses and underpasses are extended.But he’s particularly concerned with Highway 93, both North (where there were 44 deaths) and South (where there were 35 deaths). Speeding through the parks continues to be a problem, he said.Pissot suggested that if this study can be overlaid with mortality data for other species, the parks can better invest public money to reduce the likelihood wildlife will be struck.Another black bear killer are trains, with railways the cause of 125 deaths during the last two decades.In the last several years, both Canadian National and Canadian Pacific have implemented programs to prevent bears from being attracted to the tracks.CP, whose track runs through Banff, is replacing faulty doors on grain hoppers so there’s less spillage, a $20-million project, according to spokeswoman Breanne Feigel.As grain is an attractive food source for bears, there are vacuum trucks that suck it up along the tracks, and rail cars are no longer stopped for lengthy periods in the parks.“It’s an ongoing struggle. There really is no easy solution, unfortunately,” Feigel said.By The NumbersThe human causes of black bear deaths in Canada’s mountain national parks from 1990 to 2009.- Highways: 238- Railways: 125- Wildlife official because the bear was attracted to garbage: 57- Wildlife official because the bear was a threat to public safety: 17- Capture/handling: 5- Other: 7- Total: 449The total number of human-caused black bear deaths from 1990-2009, by national park.- Jasper: 193- Banff: 84- Glacier: 55- Yoho: 45- Kootenay: 36- Waterton Lakes: 29- Mount Revelstoke: 7rcuthbertson@theherald. canwest.com
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http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2010786260_bear14m.htmlOriginally published Wednesday, January 13, 2010 at 3:12 PM

 Japanese hunter charged here with gun possession, smuggling bear organs

 A Japanese psychiatrist who travels the world as a big-game hunter was 
 charged in King County Superior Court Wednesday in connection with the 
 smuggling of black-bear gallbladders, popular in traditional Asian medicine.

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An opportunity this rare shouldn’t be lost
Watch this 2-min. Wildlife Media video - with new, ground-breaking footage - to see what’s at stake:
http://wildlifemedia.org/  Click site to see video
Help us film this little-known bear’s story in January and deliver critical project funding through “BEARTREK,” our non-profit movie and campaign to save the world’s bears.
Help the spectacled bear today
Forward this video to friends
Follow the BEARTREK adventure
Learn more at WildlifeMedia.orgOn behalf of our small, but dedicated team, thank you and happy holidays!Chris Morgan
Wildlife Media Executive Director and BEARTREK Co-Producer
Scientist and Conservationist, MS Ecology
P.S. What’s good for bears is good for people. By protecting bear habitat, you protect fresh water, healthy forests, and clean air. Please help make it happen with a tax-deductible gift today.
P.P.S. Let’s go “viral” - forward this email to your friends and family.Photos courtesy of Robyn Appleton

THE ENCYCLOPEDIA SHOW VANCOUVER PRESENTS!

VOLUME 1: BEARS

AT CAFÉ DEUX SOLEILS ON SATURDAY, JANUARY 16, 2010

Vancouver, BC – Chicago performance poet Robbie Q. Telfer brings to you The Encyclopedia Show – BEARS, at the Cafe Deux Soleils, 2096 Commercial Drive, on Saturday, January 16 at 8:00 pm. Tickets $7 at the door. All ages. www.encyclopediashow.com

Vancyclopedia Show Volume 1: BEARS

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The Globe & Mail, 25th December 2009 B.C. salmon fishery’s decade of decline

JOHN LEHMANN/GLOBE AND MAILIn 10 years, the Fraser River’s fish stocks have plummeted. A look at the precarious state of the salmon fisheryIn the early 1990s, about 24 million sockeye a year swam up the Fraser, suggesting the river might return to the 40 million it saw a century ago. It wasn’t to be.

1999 – More than eight million sockeye are expected but only three million reach the Fraser, the lowest figure since 1955.

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http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5hl817VpPQ7Vsq0jmCAX_pXhKh1dQ 

By John Cotter (CP) – 1 day ago- Dec 26,2009EDMONTON — Wildlife and railway experts will be thinking outside the boxcar this winter to come up with ways to reduce the number of grizzly bears that are killed by trains that rumble through the Rocky Mountain national parks.Placing water cannons on trains to squirt bears away from the tracks is the most colourful idea being floated.But the talks involving Parks Canada and Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. (TSX:CP) are expected to focus on more practical solutions such as fencing off portions of the tracks and building special overpasses so bears can walk over the rail line instead of on it.It’s all part of efforts to cut an unacceptable number of grizzly deaths, particularly among females who are of cub-bearing age, says Bill Hunt, resource conservation manager for Parks Canada in Banff, Yoho and Kootenay national parks.“We are sitting down this winter with Canadian Pacific to talk through the pros and cons of each of these options and some of them might not be practical,” Hunt says.“The bear population in this part of the country is sensitive to any increase in human-caused mortality. If we can get rid of a fairly significant unnatural cause of death, then that is going to make the bear population that much more viable for future Canadians to enjoy.”A Parks Canada report done in May notes at least 63 bears, mainly females, have died in the mountain parks between 1990 and 2008. The vast majority of the deaths were related to interaction with humans. Railways are listed as the main cause.The biggest problem is in Banff National Park, where the number of deaths of independent female grizzlies has exceeded Parks Canada targets for the past seven years.Why are so many bears dying on the tracks? Experts say that one of the main reasons is grain spilled from bulging hopper cars en route to Vancouver from Prairie farms.Spills of wheat, corn, peas and other grains are irresistible to the hungry omnivores, described as walking stomachs with noses.Some grizzlies will revisit spill sites again and again, year after year, clawing holes in the rail bed in search of kernels of grain. Once they start eating they are oblivious to approaching trains.Since 2007 CPR has been working to fix faulty gates on 6,600 grain cars so they won’t leak. More than 4,400 of the cars have been refurbished so far and it’s possible the company will finish the job by the end of next year or early 2011 - years ahead of schedule. The price tag for the repairs is $20 million.The company also uses a special rail vehicle to vacuum spills along the line, says Breanne Feigel, a CPR spokeswoman.“We are reducing the spillage of grains as it travels west,” Feigel said. “We believe we are on the right path to making a difference.”Parks Canada says dealing with grain spills is important, but it’s only part of the solution. Bears and other wildlife are well accustomed to using the tracks as a pathway. CPR trains have been running through the area for 125 years.Fencing off problem areas and building wildlife overpasses are reducing the number of bear deaths on the Trans-Canada Highway through Banff National Park. The same idea could work on the rail line, Hunt says.Research is underway into how to prevent bears from simply walking around such fences, perhaps with electrified gates, similar to cattle guards used by ranchers.“The numbers are very clear that the crossing structures are effective,” Hunt says. “We are fairly confident that if we can manage the end of the fence issue we could, over time, build successful crossing structures there as well.”Feigel says CPR is also looking at blowing train whistles going into curves and perhaps putting high frequency wildlife whistles on locomotives to shoo the bears away.CPR has worked closely with Parks Canada for years and remains committed to helping the bears thrive in the mountain parks, she says.As for squirting the grizzlies, Feigel says that idea doesn’t hold much water.“It would take years to implement or even think about,” she says. “We have 1,400 locomotives. The water cannon idea would not be considered.”
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NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

2009ENV0042-000761

December 14, 2009

Ministry of Environment 

KAMLOOPS BECOMES B.C.’S FIRST ‘BEAR SMART’ COMMUNITY 

KAMLOOPS - The Ministry of Environment, in partnership with the British

Columbia Conservation Foundation and the Union of British Columbia

Municipalities, is pleased to announce the City of Kamloops is B.C.’s very

first ‘Bear Smart’ Community, Environment Minister Barry Penner announced

today. 

“Kamloops stepped up to the plate by developing a community plan to reduce

bear-human conflicts, installing bear-proof garbage cans, and educating

people about Bear Smart practices,” said Penner. “I congratulate the

residents of Kamloops for their diligence and enthusiasm in working towards

Bear Smart status and achieving it, and setting an example for other

communities to follow.”

Designed by the Ministry of Environment, in partnership with the British

Columbia Conservation Foundation and the Union of British Columbia

Municipalities, the Bear Smart Community program is a voluntary,

preventative conservation program.

“Through partnerships with the B.C. Conservation Foundation and Thompson-

Nicola Regional District, the City of Kamloops has been successful in

implementing a conservation program including educating our citizens on

reducing bear-human conflicts,” said City of Kamloops Mayor Peter Milobar.

“Receiving this designation is a great accomplishment for our city staff,

our partners and all community members. I thank everyone for their

participation and support in keeping our community a healthy and safe place

to live.”

The goal of achieving Bear Smart Community status is to address the root

causes of bear-human conflicts, reducing the risks to human safety and

private property, as well as the number of bears that have to be destroyed

each year. There are a number of criteria that communities must achieve to

be recognized as Bear Smart, including:

* Prepare a bear hazard assessment of the community and surrounding area.

* Prepare a bear-human conflict management plan designed to address bear

hazards and land-use conflicts identified in the previous step.

* Revise planning and decision-making documents to be consistent with the

bear-human conflict management plan.

* Implement a continuing education program, directed at all sectors of the

community.

* Develop and maintain a bear-proof municipal solid waste management system.

* Implement Bear Smart bylaws prohibiting providing food to bears, whether

as a result of intent, neglect, or irresponsible management of attractants.

“There are many benefits that come with being designated a Bear Smart

Community,” said Terry Lake, MLA Kamloops-North Thompson. “Benefits include

reducing the number of bear-human conflicts, and fewer bears being destroyed

because of careless human behaviour. Kamloops is a great ambassador for the

Bear Smart program, and an excellent model for shared environmental

management and stewardship goals.”

The Conservation Officer Service (COS) is the enforcement program of the

Ministry of Environment. It delivers compliance and enforcement services in

support of more than 30 provincial and federal statutes. The COS is also the

lead program for managing and responding to wildlife-human conflicts where

there is a risk to public safety or property damage.

For more information on B.C.’s Bear Smart Program, go to:

http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/wld/bearsmart/bearsmintro.html

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Contact:

Matt Gordon 

Communications Director

Ministry of Environment

250 387-9973

For more information on government services or to subscribe to the

Province’s news feeds using RSS, visit the Province’s website at

www.gov.bc.ca.