Grizzlies Under Fire

Sun., Dec. 13, 1998

British Columbia

Environmental groups say policies of the British Columbia government threaten grizzly bears, and the federal government should step in to protect them.

The Western Canada Wilderness Committee, Raincoast Conservation Society and Bear Watch say provincial hunting and habitat protection policies are killing the bears and logging is destroying their habitat, said Chris Genovali, Raincoast Conservation Society spokesman.

“The province has shown it’s incapable of managing grizzly bears,” he said.

But, Cathy McGregor, British Columbia’s environment minister, said the province has a grizzly bear management strategy and its logging code protects bears.

The British Columbia government estimates there are 10,000 to 13,000 grizzly bears in the province, but independent biologists say the population is one-half to one-fifth the government’s numbers.

This month, the government will begin a series of public meetings to identify areas of prime grizzly habitat in the province, McGregor said.

Genovali said critical coastal grizzly habitat continues to be lost to clearcut logging and roadbuilding. On the central coast, 32 valleys have been clearcut or subjected to road building since 1990, he said.

Brian Horejsi, a Calgary, Alberta, biologist, said British Columbia grizzly populations have dropped 40 percent and 88 percent in recent decades.

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