WildSmart Speaker Series - Grizzly Bears and the energy sector in Alberta – new knowledge from research

Over the past 14 years the FRI Grizzly Bear Research Program has done extensive work helping with our understanding of grizzly bear habitat use and response to forest harvesting activities in the boreal forests of Alberta. More recently our research team has been investigating how grizzly bears respond to energy sector development and activities along the eastern slopes. This presentation will review some of these new research findings and discuss ongoing studies on a number of ecological questions aimed at supporting grizzly bear conservation and recovery in Alberta.

The students of Mme. Provencher´s grade 7 class at l´École Lawrence Grassi Middle School created this song in conjunction with a movie they created. Join them to learn how to keep yourself and wildlife safe both around your home and out on the trail. 

This Biosphere Institute of the Bow Valley movie was made in partnership with the Bow Valley WildSmart Community Program under the financial support of the Kananaskis Legacy Fund Program of the Alberta Ecotrust Foundation.

Kim Titchener met with Rob Murray at Mountain FM on Canadian Multiculturalism Day to celebrate our Nature for Newcomers program, which is a program to provide New Canadians, Newcomers and English as a second language residents and visitors with information on wildlife safety in their language through online materials, print resources as well as outreach programs.  

Learn more at http://www.wildsmart.ca/newcomers/

WildSmart Speaker Series: Grizzly Bears

Part 1: Roads, access and Grizzly Bears in Alberta
Part 2: What do we really know about grizzly bear reproduction - new research needs

This presentation will be in two parts. The first section will be a review of what has taken place in Alberta as a result of research findings on grizzly bear mortality and survival rates. How grizzly bear conservation areas are now in place and the management approaches that are being pursued within these areas. Strategies to address current challenges will be reviewed and discussed along with new research efforts aimed to improve grizzly bear survival rates.

The second presentation will review and discuss the challenges of understanding and monitoring grizzly bear reproduction as part of a comprehensive recovery strategy. The presentation will explore new approaches and goals of new research efforts within the Foothill Research Institute Grizzly Bear Program.

Thank you to the Rotary Club of Canmore for your contribution to the WildSmart Speaker Series in 2012.

Taking you from Crowsnest Pass to Fort McMurray, this presentation will describe the status of wolves in Alberta, highlight recent research projects that have been conducted across the province, and discuss ongoing challenges in managing this charismatic and controversial carnivore.

Nathan Webb is a carnivore specialist with the Fish and Wildlife Division of Alberta Sustainable Resource Development. His work focuses on the conservation and management of bears, cougars, and wolves across Alberta. Nate completed his PhD on wolf population dynamics and predation rates at the University of Alberta.

Thank you to the Rotary Club of Canmore for sponsoring this program. 

In this episode of the Wildsmart Speaker Series, John Paczkowski gives his presentation, Where the Wildlife Roam: Wildlife Movement and Corridor Use in the Bow Valley.

In 2001, Canada hosted the G8 Summit in Kananaskis. One of the outcomes of the summit was the creation of the Kananaskis Summit Environmental Legacy, to improve habitat connectivity and wildlife corridors, and to reduce wildlife mortality in the Bow River valley near Canmore, Alberta.

Join John as he takes us through the reasons behind the G8 legacy mitigations, learn what underpasses are, how they are used and by who, and recent research on wildlife corridor connectivity and corridor movement in the Bow Valley.

Rob Murray with Mountain FM interviews Kim Titchener, Program Director at Bow Valley WildSmart about bear safety on location at the Quarry Lake Off Leash Park in Canmore, Alberta.

For hundreds of years, coyotes have been a prairie enigma and subject of mass killing campaigns. Now recognized as one of the most important ecological species in North America, coyotes continue to have an uneasy, often tragic relationship with humans. Learn the truth about this misunderstood species and how communities are changing policies to better align with common sense and coyote biology so we can live more peacefully with this supremely adaptable species.

Wildlife biologist and founder of the Alberta Institute for WIldlife Conservation Dianne Wittner presented to Bow Valley WildSmart. Find out more about Bow Vally Wildsmart: http://www.wildsmart.ca/

Rob Murray with Mountain FM interviews Kim Titchener, Program Director at Bow Valley WildSmart about the WildSmart 1st Grizzly of the Year Contest.

Listen as former Science Manager in Banff National Park Cliff White talks about the relationship between Bison, Beavers, Caribou, and Aspen for a presentation for Bow Valley WildSmart. White, currently the Research Director for the Canadian Rockies Bison Inititative talks about taking a holistic perspective on the restoration of the Canadian Rockies Ecosystems.

To find out more about Bow Valley WildSmart visit: http://www.wildsmart.ca/