By Cathy Ellis - Banff

Oct 24 2007

The provincial government is hinting it may eventually limit public access in some areas considered important to Alberta’s struggling grizzly bears, but is still refusing to list the species as threatened or endangered.

More than three years after a government-struck grizzly bear task force delivered its recovery plan to the province, Alberta Sustainable Resource Development announced last Thursday (Oct. 18) it has completed its review.

For the first time, the government has indicated a willingness to begin looking at limiting motorized access in some areas of core grizzly habitat, but has failed to take any immediate action to help paint a better picture for the future of grizzly bears.

The government is also refusing to list the bear as threatened or endangered at this time, despite mounting evidence that grizzly bears are in serious danger in this province and that numbers may have dwindled to fewer than 400.

The grizzly bear recovery team has expressed some disappointment at the province’s reaction to the plan, while conservationists say the government’s response falls far short of what is needed for Alberta’s struggling grizzly bears.

Robert Barclay, a member of the grizzly bear recovery team, said he is pleased there is at least some talk again on the plan and work can begin on those recommendations accepted by the government.

That said, more discussions still need to happen on defining where and how large the areas would need to be in which to provide more secure core habitat for bears by limiting unregulated public access.

“The hunting moratorium and education of people are all part of the plan to maintain grizzlies on the landscape, but if we don’t have secure, quality habitat, then we won’t have grizzly bears,” said Barclay, a scientist at the University of Calgary.

“Albertans, in general, have a sense the wilderness is theirs to use if there is access there. It will take a significant shift in position among a certain segment of the population to change this attitude.”

In an Oct. 18 letter to the grizzly bear recovery team, Sustainable Resource Minister Ted Morton said he has asked his staff to begin examining opportunities for limiting unregulated motorized public access in core grizzly bear habitat areas.

The first step will be to define those core grizzly bear habitat areas.

Morton said he also plans to continue a three-year moratorium on sport hunting, which began in 2006, while more data on Alberta’s grizzly bear population is acquired through 2008.

“After that time, a review of the Endangered Species Conservation Committee’s recommendation for listing the grizzly bear as a ‘threatened’ species will be undertaken,” he said.

The minister said he did not agree with all aspects of the recovery plan and refused to endorse the population model’s findings that natural mortality of independent bears could be as high as six per cent per year or more. The province believes the rate is much lower.

“Data from Alberta and elsewhere suggests that this could be too high. However, this does not present an obstacle to implementing conservation actions recommended by the recovery plan,” said Morton. “As we learn more about grizzly bear population dynamics in Alberta, the appropriate numbers will become more clear.”

The recovery plan also calls for significantly increased funding and staffing to support its recommendations.

The minister, who holds one of this wealthy province’s top portfolios, has made no promises, though.

“I support the overall intent of these recommendations, but must point out that acceptance of the recovery plan does not automatically translate into enhanced budgets,” he said. “Budget decisions for the department will be made in the usual manner, recognizing all of the priorities we must address.”

Jim Pissot, executive director of Defenders of Wildlife Canada, said Minister Morton has failed to announce real on-the-ground implementation and habitat protection measures for grizzlies now.

“This plan has been on the minister’s desk for three years and there are still no real changes for grizzlies on the ground, there’s still nothing that makes life better for grizzlies,” he said.

“The thing we fear most is, while these deliberations go on - and they went on for 10 years for mountain caribou - that options will be lost in area after area along the eastern slopes,” Pissot added.

“Aggressive leasing continues, aggressive road building continues, aggressive access continues, and the very things the committee said bears need most will be lost while the government dithers another three, another five years.”

Parks Canada has been urging the province to accept the plan and all of its recommendations, arguing that new census data indicates even more troubling trends than first anticipated.

“While national parks are a nucleus of habitat for bears in the Rockies, it should not be assumed we can met all their requirements, and therefore, we need to work together to provide enough habitat for bears in the ecosystem,” said Mike Gibeau, a carnivore specialist for the mountain national parks.

“Continued erosion of the grizzly bear population on provincial lands will have a profound impact on the national park’s ability to contribute to a viable population.”

Meanwhile, staff at Sustainable Resource Development will meet with members of the grizzly bear recovery team to make final changes. The fine-tuning edits on the recovery plan should be completed before the end of this year.