Evolution of Bear Management in the Mountain National Parks

• 1885-1936
• 1938-1970
• 1971-1996
• 1997-2003
• References

1997
The Banff National Park Management Plan is approved. It contains a strategic goal “To maintain viable populations of wary species such as grizzly bear, wolf, wolverine, and cougar by reducing the impact of human use, and working with surrounding jurisdictions.”, and an objective “to reduce the number of grizzly bears killed as a result of human activity to less than 1% of the population annually.” (estimated population: ^~60 bears)

The inter-agency Rocky Mountain Grizzly Bear Planning Committee is formed to address issues related to trans-boundary management of grizzly bear populations.

1998
The Panel of the Ecological Integrity of Canada’s National Parks (the Panel) is asked to review Parks Canada’s management for ecological integrity in the national parks and provide recommendations.

1999
The Foothills Model Forest Grizzly Bear Research Program is created to provide knowledge and planning tools to land and resource managers to ensure the long-term conservation of grizzly bears in Alberta.

2000
The Panel finds that the ecological integrity of virtually all of Canada’s 39 national parks is threatened and provides a series of recommendations to the Minister of Canadian Heritage.

The new Canada National Parks Act (Bill C-27) moves ecological integrity to the top of the parks’ management agenda and provides for greater protection for wildlife and flora.

The Yoho, Jasper, Kootenay and Waterton Lakes National Park Management Plans are approved by the Minister of Canadian Heritage. The plans reflect the key themes and principles of the Banff National Park Management Plan.

2001
To help reduce the loss of wary bear behaviour resulting from exposure to high numbers of people, an electric fence is built around the Lake Louise ski hill parking lot and base of a summer gondola operation.

From 1996-2001, Alberta’s human population rose 10.3%. The Calgary-Edmonton corridor is one of four major urban centres in Canada. It borders the eastern edge of the grizzly bear’s current range.

Close to three million people now visit Banff National Park annually.

2002
COSEWIC designates Canada’s northwest population of grizzly bears as “Special Concern” (may become threatened or endangered because of a combination of biological characteristics and identified threats), while the prairie population is designated “Extirpated” (locally extinct).

2003
An electric fence is built around the tenting area of the Lake Louise Campground.

A Grizzly Bear Conservation Strategy is approved as an amendment to the 1997 Banff National Park Management Plan upon its five-year review.

Canada’s Species at Risk Act is proclaimed into law.

The Parks Canada Agency is moved from the federal Department of Canadian Heritage back to Environment Canada.

References

Attendu, Diane.1983. Direction for bear management: a summary. Parks Canada. Western Region. Resource Management Planning, Calgary, AB. 245 pp.

Banci, V. 1991. The status of the grizzly bear in Canada in 1990. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC). Ottawa, ON. 171 pp.

Banff National Park. 1997. Banff National Park Management Plan. Canadian Heritage. Parks Canada. 85 pp.

Banff-Bow Valley Study. 1996. Banff Bow Valley: At the Crossroads. Summary report of the Banff Bow Valley Task Force. Prepared for the Honourable Sheila Copps Minister of Canadian Heritage, Ottawa, ON. 76 pp.

Benn, B. 1998. Grizzly bear mortality in the Central Rockies Ecosystem, Canada. M.E.D. thesis. University of Calgary, Calgary, AB. 151 pp.

British Columbia Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks. 1995. Conservation of Grizzly Bears in British Columbia, Background Report. 70 pp.

Burns, Robert J. 1994. Guardians of the Wild: a history of the warden service in Canada’s national parks. University of Calgary Press, Calgary, AB.

Cochrane, G.A. 1972. Bear control program in Yoho National Park.

COSEWIC, 2003. Species at risk in Canada.

Gibeau, M.L., S. Herrero, J.L. Kansas, and B. Benn. 1996. Grizzly bear population and habitat status in Banff National Park: a report to the Banff Bow Valley Task Force, Banff, AB. 62 pp.

Kansas, J. 2002. Status of the Grizzly Bear (Ursos arctos) in Alberta. Alberta Sustainable Resource Development, Fish and Wildlife Division, and Alberta Conservation Association, Wildlife Status Report No. 37, Edmonton, AB. 43 pp.

Lothian, W.F. 1987. A brief history of Canada’s national parks. Environment Canada. Parks Canada. 156 pp.

Noble, L.B. 1972. Man and grizzly bear in Banff National Park, Alberta. M.A. thesis, University of Calgary, AB. 119 pp.

Parks Canada Guiding Principles and Operational Policies. 1994. Minister of Supply and Services Canada. 125 pp.

Raine, R.M. and R.N. Riddell. 1991. Grizzly bear research in Yoho and Kootenay National Parks, British Columbia. Proc. Grizzly Bear Management Workshop. Revelstoke, B.C. pp 31-39.

Retfalvi, Laszlo. 1972. Bear use of waste disposal sites and related problems in the management of some national parks. Canadian Wildlife Service. 62 pp.

Statistics Canada. 2001. Canada Census.

Taylor, J.S. 1984. Bear management plans in Canadian national parks: fifteen essential elements. M.E.D thesis. University of Calgary, AB. 347 pp.

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