Overview
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habitat securityAnother component to effective grizzly bear management is providing adequate habitat security in areas of high quality grizzly bear habitat. This is usually done in 2 ways, roadless areas (Protected Areas) and access management in the working forest lands. In the Kootenay region of BC, we already have a plentiful and rich protected park system. The number of backcountry roads we all use are increasing annually. In some areas, these road densities exceed thresholds that female bears need to successfully reproduce and survive. We are beginning to understand the local situation and look for workable solutions. We are using radio telemetry data to develop habitat maps that can inform us where access management might be optimized within high quality grizzly bear habitat with other backcountry uses including the timber industry, hunters, and recreationists (Proctor et al. 2008b S Purcell S Selkirk habitat security report). |