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Foothills Research Institute’s
GRIZZLY BEAR PROJECT
Program
LONG-TERM GRIZZLY BEAR CONSERVATION
(1999 – CURRENT)
The objective of this research program is to provide
resource managers with the necessary knowledge and
planning tools to ensure the long-term conservation of
grizzly bears in Alberta.
Objective
Study
Location
All GRIZZLY BEAR RANGE IN ALBERTA
This program is taking place in western Alberta, Canada
and encompasses an area of 228,160 km2 along the
eastern slopes of the Canadian Rocky Mountains and up
into the Boreal Forest. A portion of the study area lies
within protected areas and allows comparisons between
landscapes with different degrees of human use and
resource extraction activities.
Habitat Maps Goal: To map all grizzly bear habitat in
Alberta.
How?: Use remote sensing techniques
to discern different habitats from satellite
imagery. Conduct field checks to
determine accuracy.
Capture and Collaring Why is this necessary?: We
need grizzly bear location data to
create and validate our models.
Where?: Areas within Alberta’s
grizzly bear range where grizzly
bear data is currently lacking.
How?: Bears are captured by
ground snaring, aerial darting or
culvert traps. GPS collars are
fitted to bears to obtain up to 24 locations a day.
Satellite Image Land Cover Map
Remote Sensing Team led by Dr. Steven
Franklin (U of Saskatchewan) and Dr. Greg
McDermid (U of Calgary)
Resource Selection Function (RSF) Maps What are they?: RSF models predict on the
landscape where bears are likely to be found at
certain times of the year.
How are they created?: Using various habitat
maps derived from satellite imagery, grizzly bear
location data, and various landscape attributes
(slope, aspect, soil, moisture etc.), we can
determine landscape features associated with
grizzly bear occurrence and predict (model)
where on the landscape grizzly bears will most
likely be at different times of the year (spring,
summer, fall).
Modeling led by Dr. Scott Nielsen (U of Alberta)
+
Model testing
and validation
RSF Map
Fall Season Habitat Maps
Grizzly Bear Locations
Landscape Attributes (slope, aspect, soil, moisture etc.) +
Percent Conifer Crown Closure
Leaf Area Index
Results: Not only have we obtained
one of the largest databases in
Alberta, we have and will continue to
improve capture, drug and darting
protocols that will reduce stress and
injury to bears during capture. In
addition, the number of illegally killed
collared bears has highlighted this as
being a leading threat to the survival
of grizzly bears on provincial lands in
Alberta.
Results: Habitat maps
for the entire grizzly bear
Capture Program and overall Program
Habitat Mapping
Schedule
range in Alberta were completed in 2007
Coordinator is led by Gordon Stenhouse (ASRD and
Foothills Research Institute)
Grizzly Bear Location Data