Conservation of Grizzly Bear populations and habitat in the northern Great Bear Rainforest

Abstract

There are now at least eleven “threatened” Grizzly population “units” in British Columbia and one quarter of the province is now either without Grizzlies (8%) or occupied by threatened populations (16%). B.C. Grizzly populations are moving toward extinction in more than 25% of the province, an increase in area of more than 200% since 1965. This paper evaluates the Protected Areas (PAs) proposed for the North Coast Plan in the context of published understanding of Grizzly Bear ecology, behavior and movements, population densities, and effective population size. It also investigates the relationship between commercially productive forest and the designation of PAs as well as compares conservation strategies in Alaska's Tongass National Forest (Habitat Conservation Areas, HCAs) and BC's North Coast Plan area PAs. The conservation biology analysis reveals that this North Coast plan is dangerously inadequate and recommendations are made for an additional 3 large and 19 medium-sized PAs.