Threats facing grizzlies
Human encroachment, habitat fragmentation, climate change and hunting in other areas is threatening this already at-risk species: unless we take serious action now, we may face a future without the iconic grizzly bear. Action is easy - become a Grizzly Guardian!
We’re active in communities, in schools, and in the field, creating safer spaces for both people and bears and finding solutions to protect grizzly bear habitat and food sources. The Guardian program furthers this work.
During our Board of Inquiry process, our research and submissions indicated that there are three primary categories under which threats to grizzly bears' health and welfare fall.
Habitat Issues
There are numerous complicated challenges involved in ensuring that grizzlies have access to the large territories that permit them to thrive. There are many competing land use priorities that threaten the long term survival of our grizzly bears.
Habitat issues include fragmentation, human infringement on grizzly bear landscapes, lack of secure territory and access corridors, and challenges around food sourcing, including those relating to climate change impacts.
Human-Grizzly Interaction
Human caused death is the greatest source of mortality for grizzlies, and is one of the chief factors limiting grizzly bear populations. Today grizzly bears inhabit only half of their historical range, and are being increasingly displaced by human settlement. With threats including increased urbanization associated with human population expansion, surging backcountry recreational pursuits, resource development, and hunting in some areas, it is obvious that there is much work to be done to ensure the long term wellbeing of this iconic species.
We believe that coexistence with grizzly bears is possible, and as an organization we work with communities, governments, and industry to achieve this.
Government Management Issues
Provincial/territorial, state, and First Nation governments are tasked with the responsibility for putting into place the necessary regulatory and management framework for the protection of grizzly bear populations. Grizzly bears do not recognize land borders like we do, making cross-jurisdictional wildlife management challenging - what one government does to protect the species can be easily undone should a grizzly walk into new territory.
The North American approach to managing wildlife prioritizes economic opportunity over environmental responsibility. This is concerning: we view healthy, thriving ecosystems as the fundament of a sustainable economy, and grizzly bears are keystone species in those ecosystems.
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