A meeting entitled “Bears, Wolves and People - Living Together” drew a motley assortment of local ranchers and landowners, wildlife experts, conservationists and members of the general public to the Twin Butte Community Hall in the evening of Wednesday, Aug. 27.
The meeting, which was hosted by the Drywood / Yarrow Conservation Partnership, sought to educate the public on issues pertaining to bears and other large carnivores in the region and their impact on the lives and livelihoods of ranchers and other inhabitants as well as to serve as a public forum on the subject of animal-human relations.
The meeting drew a full-house crowd, and the animated discussions lasted well into the night.
The Drywood / Yarrow Conservation Partnership, which was founded in 2000 as the Drywood Creek Watershed Conservation Partnership, has for the past eight years sought to promote sound ecological practices in the region between Waterton National Park and Pincher Creek and balance conservation needs with the needs of the region’s 50-plus landowners and economic players such as Shell and Choice Resources. In this particular meeting, the issue in question was coexisting with bears and other large carnivores, an issue of profound importance to local ranchers. Bears have long been a major concern to ranchers, not only due to their propensity for killing livestock, but also as a result of the growing problem of grain theft by these opportunistic omnivores. Additionally, wolf predation is a growing concern in the region, as wolf populations are on the rise in the Crown of the Continent ecosystem following decades of decline.
Following an introductory speech from Drywood / Yarrow Conservation Partnership representative Dick Hardy, Greg Hale and Perry Abramenko spoke on behalf of Alberta Fish and Wildlife on bear management plans for southern Alberta. According to Hale, some 30 to 50 grizzly bears live in the region between the Crowsnest Pass and Glacier National Park.
The presence of such carnivore populations in prime ranching territory, he asserts, requires coordinated strategies along the lines of the recently implemented Southwestern Alberta Grizzly Strategy (SWAGS). Included in this strategy are tactics such as range riding, electrical fencing, ranch economic impact assessments, grazing system adjustments, livestock kill compensation and others, with a focus on non-lethal prevention methods.
Abramenko added that the risk of bear encounters is likely to be particularly high this summer, as berry harvests have been poor as a result of this year’s cold spring, meaning that bears are likely to have to go further afield to forage ahead of hibernation, further increasing the need for bear management policies. Next, senior Waterton Lakes N.P. warden Rob Watt spoke on the subject of bear management in Waterton, which he contends is more a matter of managing people than bears. According to Watt, increased understanding of bear habits and movements has reduced the number of ‘bear actions’ in Waterton to nearly zero, as opposed to a decade ago when a dozen or so bears would need to be destroyed or relocated in any given year. Watt also highlighted the vast amount of territory that bears typically cover, as well as the fact that Waterton accounts for only 11 to 12 percent of the Crown of the Continent bear habitat, which necessitate collaboration across national, provincial and municipal boundaries in dealing with bear issues.
Next, Shell Canada representative Roger Creasey discussed an ongoing montane elk monitoring project, a project of profound importance to local ranchers due to the elk’s importance as a preybase for wolves. Three researchers, from the University of Alberta and Oregon State University respectively, then spoke about their research pertaining to bear and wolf collaring and monitoring, research that has been invaluable in broadening knowledge of these species and their role in the local ecosystem.
The subject of the meeting then turned to bear/wolf livestock conflicts and their ramifications for local ranchers. A number of ranchers expressed their dissatisfaction with current SRD policy concerning compensation for livestock kills. “We’d like to see 100 per cent coverage rather than the current 50 per cent,” said local rancher Dean Kennedy. “As it stands, in order to get 100 percent coverage they need confirmation that it was a grizzly bear kill, which is very hard to do. We’d like to see more responsibility from the SRD, because we can’t foot the bill for this.” Fellow rancher Blaine Marr expressed his desire to see the three-year moratorium on grizzly bear hunting in Alberta, which was instituted in 2006, repealed as soon as possible. “We used to have a hunt, where we’d take two grizzlies a year, and we’d like to see that back,” he contends. “This habitat is filled, and we’ve had a lot more bear problems since the moratorium.” Mac Main, owner of the MX Ranch bordering the Shell Waterton Complex, also voiced his frustration with current SRD policy. “We’d really like to see a greater acknowledgement of what ranchers do to contribute to the environment,” he adds.
While the ranching contingent at the meeting make clear their frustration with current SRD policy in regards to protecting livestock from bears and other predators, all present at the meeting appeared unanimous in their wish to realize a balance between humans and, bears and other species. As senior warden Watt contends, bears are “not actually that difficult to live with,” and all present appeared to agree that coexistence between humans and large carnivores such as bears and wolves is not only desirable, but also completely feasible.
Publisher: Kathy Taylor Proprietor and published by Bowes Publishers Limited at 714 Main Street, PO Box 1000, Pincher Creek, Alberta, Canada T0K 1W0
