By Alison Taylor, Pique Newsmagazine, January 25, 2007
Olympic organizers have hired a wildlife consultant to review the impacts
recreation legacy trails could have on the grizzly bears in the Callaghan
Valley.
In late November the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Games hired
Enkon Environmental and wildlife ecologist Clayton Apps to study the impacts
of the 20 to 25 kilometres of trails proposed in the Madeley Valley. A
report is expected in February.
“They’re going to be looking at the trail plans and the impacts on wildlife
habitat, particularly grizzly and black bears,” said George McKay, VANOC’s
director of environmental approvals.
“It’s an important issue for us…”It’s also an important issue for local environmental group, The Association of Whistler Area Residents for the Environment. After a government study
conclusively proved grizzlies in the area last year, AWARE asked VANOC to
delay construction of its legacy trails by one year, calling for more study.
The two groups met in Whistler last week.
“It’s clearly a step in the right direction (hiring the wildlife ecologist)
now that we know there’s a documented population of grizzly bears in the
area,” said AWARE president Brad Kasselman.
“Ultimately we’d still like to see more time be put into researching the
grizzly bear issue… but we also were informed there’s a timeline that
doesn’t appear to have a lot of flexibility on it.”
(more…)
Last Updated: Monday, January 22, 2007 | 9:48 AM PT
CBC News
Two forestry surveyors are recovering in an Alberta hospital after being attacked by a grizzly bear Saturday.
Moira McLaughlin and Daylon Johnson, both British Columbians in their 20s and working for Alberta Sustainable Resource Development, were collecting data on the mountain pine beetle in a remote area south of Grande Prairie, Alta.
“We were going down a steep slope and the bear came up behind Daylon and knocked him on top of me. He bit the back of Daylon’s leg and bit my hand when I went to cover my face,” McLaughlin told CBC News on Monday.
“I was very scared and I guess I was just surprised because he came out of nowhere and attacked [Johnson] from behind.”
Johnson said he started hitting the bear and it took off on its own.
“We were just kind of quiet and sat there and let it get a ways a way. Then we got up and went the opposite way it went.”
The surveyors radioed for help and were picked up by helicopter. They required surgery for their injuries.
The Prince George Citizen reported Monday that the pair was from Prince George, B.C.
Annette Bidniak, a spokesperson for the department, told CBC News the workers accidentally walked over the bear’s snow-covered den.
“There’s 3½ feet [just over a metre] of snow in that area, the den was built into the side of a hill and there was a fallen tree on top of it. So anyone walking over it would not have known they were walking over a bear’s den.”
Wildlife officials have closed off the area, but say no action will be taken against the bear because it was simply defending its den.
