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Grizzly Bear
Management
Until
the coming of Europeans, grizzly bears were distributed over most of North
America. However, as the wave
of settlers moved west, entire populations were eradicated until, in the
continental United States, grizzlies occurred only in a few isolated
pockets. Today, 90% of the
American grizzly population is found in Alaska.
In Canada, where grizzlies used to roam as far east as the Red
River valley and central Ontario, they are now found only in the Rocky
Mountains of Alberta and British Columbia, and in the Swan Hills of
Alberta. They also occur
throughout the Yukon and much of the mainland NWT.
 In
the Mackenzie Mountains, grizzly bear hunting by non-residents has not
been permitted since 1981, while residents are allowed one bear per
lifetime. Hunting by
Aboriginal people for subsistence is also permitted. On the barren grounds, small grizzly bear quotas have been
established in some Aboriginal communities.
Hunting
is not the sole way humans can affect grizzly bear populations.
As more people invade bear habitat, the frequency of man/bear encounters
is growing. In recent times, one
grizzly-caused death has occurred in the Northwest Territories and several
maulings have been reported. The result is an increase in nuisance bear killings.
Bears
also suffer from infringements upon their habitat.
When disturbed by roads, camps, low-level aircraft activity, or
industrial operations, bears may be forced into lower quality habitat where
survival is difficult. Breeding
success may be reduced and dens abandoned.
Today
the status of grizzly bears in the NWT is still unclear but as
industrial development proceeds, the need for comprehensive studies is being
recognized. The real problem
however is often people, not bears. What
most people in bear country fail to realize is that they are in an area where
man is not supreme. Bears are more
powerful than people, operate by a code that does not recognize private
property, and are impelled by an appetite less discriminating than ours.
People in bear country must therefore be prepared to make concessions to
their ursine neighbours, and remember to show them the respect they deserve.
For
information on how to avoid encounters with bears, see
Safety
in Grizzly and Black Bear Country.
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