Alberta must act if the grizzly is to remain on the landscape

News Release courtesy of Sierra Club of Canada
Oct 14, 2008 – After four years of research, Alberta’s grizzly bear DNA census has only counted 230 grizzlies on provincial lands. Although not all areas of the province have been counted, based on these findings, experts suggest there are less than 500 grizzlies remaining in Alberta, including National Parks. This number is so low it would justify listing the grizzly as Endangered. It certainly justifies the 2002 recommendation by the Endangered Species Conservation Committee to list the grizzly as threatened. The provincial government however has failed to act. Now we must! They have yet to list the bear as either threatened or endangered, they disbanded the recovery team, there is no dedicated budget for recovery, and there have been no substantial on the ground conservation efforts.
Write to Premier Ed Stelmach, Minister Ted Morton, or your local MLA. Explain to them that Albertans and Canadians won’t stand for inaction at such a critical time for Alberta’s grizzlies. Remind them of the urgency to implement these fundamentals to start the recovery process:
1) List the bear as threatened or endangered Alberta Wildlife Act
2) Provide a dedicated budget for recovery
3) Reinstatement of the science-based recovery team,
4) Legislated habitat protection through more land in parks and reduced density of roads, seismic lines and other linear disturbances
5) Commit appropriate funding and staffing to BearSmart and other similar programs to reduce human caused bear mortalities
The Hon. Ed Stelmach, Premier
Fax: (780) 427-1349
Mail:
307 Legislature Building
10800 – 97 Avenue
Edmonton, AB
T5K 2B7
The Hon. Ted Morton, Minister of Sustainable Resource Development
Fax: (780) 415-4818
Mail:
420 Legislature Building
10800 97 Avenue
Edmonton, AB
Canada T5K 2B6
Or to contact your local MLA please visit:
http://www.assembly.ab.ca/net/index.aspx?p=mla_home