Grizzly Bear Monitoring Project
Non-invasive population monitoring in Bear Management Areas 3 and 4.
Previous population inventories conducted by the Grizzly Bear Program and other groups have given encouraging population signs in some Bear Management Areas. This project will build on 23 years of data from the Grizzly Bear Program to support forest management and provincial recovery efforts for this species.
Topics
- Monitor survival, productivity and health of grizzly bear populations using targeted non-invasive genetic sampling and existing predictive habitat models
- Monitor habitat occupancy with changing landscape conditions and climate
- Monitor possible range expansion (eastern edges of BMAs) and determine landscape connectivity patterns that are supporting this
- Investigate new inventory techniques
Staff hired and trained; fieldwork protocol developed.
The crew begin setting up hair snag sites and collecting habitat data in BMA 3.
Nearly 300 grizzly bear hair samples and over 50,000 trail camera photos and videos collected.
Grizzly bear hair sorted and selected for DNA analysis.
31 grizzly bears identified from hair samples
6 field technicians arrive in Hinton to start training for the upcoming season
Nearly 1100 grizzly bear hair samples collected from the eastern edge, BMA 3, and BMA 4 sent to the lab for DNA analysis.
