EDMONTON - The Alberta government has declared the province's grizzly bears to be a threatened species.
The immediate effect of the designation is that the province's suspension of its controversial licensed grizzly hunt will continue for now.
Sustainable Resource Development Minister Mel Knight made the announcement Thursday.
Twice in the last decade, Alberta's Endangered Species Conservation Committee has recommended grizzles be listed as a threatened species.
Threats to Alberta's dwindling grizzly population go beyond hunting; the bears are also challenged by human and industrial sprawl in the animals' traditional habitat.
Last week, a coalition of environmental groups released a report saying contact with humans has put Alberta's grizzly population - estimated at roughly 760 animals - in jeopardy.
New roads built to support the energy and forestry industries are invading bear habitats in remote areas of the province, shrinking the area where the animals can adequately roam and breed, said scientist and report author Jeff Gailus.
"Alberta's grizzly bear population is one of the most threatened in North America and needs immediate attention to prevent further decline," he said. "We don't have a strong legislative framework that offers them the kind of protection they are going to need."
The report was released the same week a Canadian Pacific train killed a four-year-old sow near Banff, Alta., and provincial wildlife officers were forced to put down a bear that had been shot illegally near Cardston, Alta.
The report warned the low grizzly population could make their numbers hard to sustain and could have troubling consequences for many other species, such as elk and deer.
"If grizzly bears are in trouble, it means other species are in trouble. This report shows we are doing things wrong," said Nigel Douglas, conservation specialist for the Alberta Wilderness Association.
Environmental groups have lobbied the government to declare the mammal a threatened species and make a temporary hunting ban permanent.
Biologists and conservationists say there is still time to fix the problem. South of the border, strong government legislation to protect the threatened grizzly bear population has met with success, said Louisa Willcox, senior wildlife advocate for the U.S.-based National Resource Defence Council.
The number of grizzlies in the area have tripled since 1975, when federal laws were enacted to protect the bears.
"We had scientists predicting in 1975 that Yellowstone's population was over and that extinction was imminent. That didn't happen and the political commitment can happen (in Alberta) too," she said.
Further reading on this subject:
Grizzly Manifesto: In Defence of the Great Bear, by Jeff Gailus
Those of us working on the campaign to recover grizzly bears in Alberta to a healthy population of 2000 animals (including the Y2Y organization, CPAWS Southern Alberta, Alberta Wilderness Association, WildCanada Conservation Alliance, Natural Resources Defense Council, with support from the David Suzuki Foundation and the Calgary Zoo) will continue to push for meaningful action to manage road densities and limit motorized access in grizzly bear habitat, for adequate funding for public and community education programs for avoiding conflict with bears, for continuing the ban on grizzly bear hunting throughout the province, and for other measures necessary to reduce mortality and allow populations to grow.
Wendy L. Francis, LL.M., Director of Conservation: Science and Action, Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative
