Conservation Northwest protects and connects old-growth forests and other wild areas from the Washington Coast to the British Columbia Rockies, vital to a healthy future for us, our children, and wildlife. Since 1989, Conservation Northwest has worke
Issue link: http://conservationnw.uberflip.com/i/122778
Predators and prey Across the border for wildlife Erin Moore Publications coordinator, erin@conservationnw.org Center stage for BC's grizzly bears Our North Cascades grizzly bears are closely tied to populations in southwestern British Columbia, and our concern for grizzly bear conservation has long extended across the border. Canadian ecologist Sue Senger, originally from Vancouver, now lives and works out of Lillooet, not far from the Stein Valley Nlaka'pamux Heritage Park and grizzly bears in the Stein and Nlaka'pamux valleys. With grizzly bears practically in her backyard, Dr. Senger has worked with Conservation Northwest on grizzly bears as a scientific consultant for two years. Her work focuses on the distribution and habitat needs of grizzly bears and how best to recover bears. She also teaches adult education and environmental science at the Nicola Valley Institute of Technology and the St'át'imc Education Institute. Hearing Sue speak publicly about bears, you see her talent for bridging passion and science. We interviewed her for the newsletter. From entomologist to organic seed grower... How did you end up focused on grizzly bears? My first "encounter" with a grizzly bear was in Jasper, Alberta, when I Genie, shown with one of her two cubs (the was a child. We other is outside the photo), in the Chilcotin. were staying at Photo Sue Senger a motel in town, when a young grizzly bear came around and was getting into the motel dumpster. I watched from the balcony as tourists formed a half-ring around the bear, and even as a kid I knew this was way too close. Some grownups even had their little kids standing in front of them to get a better look. A conservation officer arrived and dispersed the people then fired a "bear banger" to drive the bear off. I was so inspired that I immediately wanted to join the public service. As I got older I realized that what I really wanted was to study animal behavior. I became focused on insects after winning a competition to be a summer student at a lab under Dr. Bernie Roitberg. He inspired me to get serious about behavior ecology and use insect systems to examine the behavioral questions I was interested in. Eventually, I went on for my PhD. So I never really dreamed I would ever work on grizzly bear issues. It evolved out of my work in land use planning where it became apparent that if we couldn't keep the grizzly bears out there, we would lose many other species as well. The further Keeping the Northwest wild down this road I walked, the more the bears took over my agenda. Bears have a way of taking center stage. I am particularly interested in human-bear relations. The St'át'imc elders here will tell you that, "Grizzly bear taught the people to eat." This derives from their teachings and beliefs about grizzly bears and the role of animals in the world. In fact, when you compare the diet of the grizzly bear and the traditional diet of the St'át'imc, they are very similar. Traditionally, there is a lot of respect for the bear, and its needs for survival, and I believe if we restore and rebuild that respect, then we will succeed in keeping bears around for future generations to see and experience. This involves understanding the bears' cultural significance as well as their ecological significance to this landscape. Grizzly bear dig in the Clearwater Range, BC. Photo Sue Senger How has it been to work with Conservation Northwest? Conservation Northwest is science-based, and that's a powerful base to work from. The only way we are going to ensure that grizzly bears survive in southwestern BC and into the US is to work together to deal with the mortality risks and habitat issues. The network has got to work, and Joe Scott [international conservation director], who I work most closely with, and Conservation Northwest are there to help build that broader community of people working together on recovery. A recent highlight of my work was hiking with Joe into the Skwaha Lake Ecological Reserve in the Clear Range in fall of last year where we found fresh grizzly bear digs! That's an encouraging sign that they are not yet gone from this important habitat area not far from the North Cascades. What needs to be done to recover grizzly bears in southwestern BC? Researchers have recently confirmed the extreme conservation jeopardy of grizzly bears in the Stein and Nlaka'pamux valleys and eastern portion of the South Chilcotin. We need immediate action to protect the bears we have now. To recover their populations we need to reduce human-caused bear deaths and conserve connected habitat and food sources. Continued next page Spring/Summer 2011 15