BC grizzly management “as good as it gets”

As controversial as it is, the Province appears to be managing the grizzly bear harvest in BC well.

A scientific review of the hunt by three biologists from outside the province called BC’s system “about as good as it gets”

Professor of Biology at the University of Alberta Andrew Derocher co-authored the review.

“It appears that the harvest is being managed scientifically and BC does a lot of work to try to ensure that the harvest is sustainable.” he said noting that grizzlies are only being taken from areas that have a surplus.

“If you look at many areas in BC, the populations are robust and doing just fine… now of course if you get into the southern interior parts of the province – there are problems that come up.”

He says those challenges stem from different groups of grizzlies being broken up by land development.

“When you look at the long term trajectory for a species like grizzly bears, more or less we are not really as concerned about the effects of hunting as we are about the effects of habitat loss.”

The review did suggest greater transparency and public outreach. Derocher said it would be quite difficult for the average person to provide input, or educate themselves about the hunt.

There are an estimated 15,000 grizzly bears in BC.