Several Alberta conservation organizations are calling for an immediate moratorium on the construction of new roads and motorized access in grizzly bear habitat.
Representatives of the
Yellowstone to Yukon (Y2Y) Conservation Initiative,
Alberta Wilderness Association (AWA),
Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS), and
Sierra Club of Canada (SCC) say
Alberta Sustainable Resource Development (SRD) is more than two years behind on putting in place motorized access guidelines outlined in the province’s Grizzly Bear Recovery Plan, which was created in 2008.
Included in the recovery plan were suggested thresholds for motorized and multi-use trail densities, suggested to be below 0.6 km/sq km in core grizzly habitat and below 1.2 km/ sq km in non-core areas.
According to two recent studies, linear access densities - roads, trails and cut lines accessible to off-highway vehicles (OHVs) - in the Castle Wilderness watershed are double to triple the recommended threshold for core grizzly habitat.
In addition, the reports identified the Ghost watershed as having a density of 5 km/sq km, four times the recommended threshold for non-core habitat.
“At these densities, an average person hiking cross-country can travel only for an hour or less before encountering a route used by some type of vehicle,” said SCC Alberta Wild Director Dianne Pachal.
“Just think of how hard it is for bears trying to avoid people and to take in enough food to survive the upcoming hibernation.”
Y2Y Program Director Wendy Francis said SRD should limit access into grizzly habitat by OHV users.
“Now that the grizzly hunt is on hold, the primary cause of bear deaths is too much contact between bears and people due to motorized access into their habitat,” said Francis.
