B.C.'s draft plan for grizzly bear management could bring back trophy hunt, conservationists fear

Fifty-five scientists, advocates and nature-based organizations have signed a joint letter, published by Pacific Wild on Oct. 6, opposing B.C.'s draft Grizzly Bear Stewardship Framework, which they worry will lead to the return of grizzly bear trophy hunting.

The framework is intended to provide "advice on the stewardship of grizzly bears and their habitats" for individuals, land use, and resource industries, among others, according to the province's website.

It was created in response to a 2017 report by the province's auditor general at the time, Carol Bellringer, and has five main goals, including promoting co-existence between grizzly bears and people, educating the public and decision-makers of grizzly bear stewardship, and summarizing existing data and tools to help communities achieve "locally desired outcomes" for the animals and their habitats.

But some worry it could allow for hunting groups to become part of stewardship committees assembled to manage grizzly bear populations in their respective areas — and eventually permit them to bring back trophy hunting.

"One of the major concerns [with local committees is] ... they would most likely be taken over by hunting groups, many of whom want to reopen the grizzly trophy hunt," said biologist Wayne McCrory, who has studied bears for over 40 years. 

There are between 12,000 to 17,000 grizzlies in B.C., according to McCrory, which the federal government has designated a species of "special concern'' in 2018, meaning it may become endangered due to a combination of biological characteristics and identified threats.

The province banned grizzly bear hunting at the end of 2017 following Bellringer's recommendations, with the exception of hunting by First Nations for food, social and ceremonial purposes. 

Amber Peters, a wildlife biologist with the Valhalla Wilderness Society, is concerned the draft doesn't contain a conservation mandate for grizzly bears or their habitats.

"It's really just information about grizzly bears that would be used by these local and regional advisory committees in order for them to make decisions or recommendations to the province about their local grizzly bears," she said.

"It really alludes to the fact that grizzly bear trophy hunting could be back on the table."

Disappointed by long-awaited management plan

Bellringer's 2017 report made 10 recommendations to the province, including the creation of a grizzly bear management plan, protecting bear habitats, and making reports on the animals' population status available to legislators and the public.

McCrory says conservationists have been waiting for a management plan for years since Bellringer's report but they are not pleased by the draft proposed by the province. 

He says the plan is vague on whether bear hunting can be re-introduced.

Together with other conservationists, he's calling on the province to consider opting for a province-wide — rather than regional — management plan focusing on Bellringer's other recommendations. 

"A lot of [the auditor general's] recommendations, which are very sound, have not been followed through with," he said.

Peters, meanwhile, says the province should instead work with qualified biologists to make provincial conservation and management decisions, which she hopes could reduce industrial influence around the hunting of bears or use of their habitats.

Extending public engagement

An Oct. 10 statement from the Grizzly Bear Foundation, a charity dedicated to the welfare of grizzly bears, said the province reopened public engagement for the framework following backlash from conservationists, with a new deadline of Oct. 31.

The public can access a questionnaire on the province's website to share their feedback on the proposed plan, which the site states is expected to be finalized sometime in 2023. 

In a statement, the Ministry of Forests said it has no plans to lift the ban on licensed grizzly bear hunting, and that the framework specifies that stewardship committees will include ministry staff, local governments, environmental organizations and other stakeholders.

"The purpose of the framework and strategy is to engage with First Nations, scientists and the public on supporting grizzly bears and their habitat, to ensure we continue to have a thriving population for years to come," read the statement from Minister Bruce Ralston.

"The focus ... is about broader grizzly bear stewardship principles, not hunting."