Understanding Grizzly Bear Management in Banff National Park
Daniel Oppenheimer and Lauren Richie
We will be using the policy sciences framework to do research on the human conflicts surrounding grizzly bear management in Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. The population of grizzlies in this area is quite small (~60 bears) and because of low reproductive rates and high levels of human-caused mortality, the population may not be sustainable unless conditions improve. Grizzly bear management in this area has a long history of conflict, and in recent years a new approach was undertaken to solve these disagreements through interdisciplinary problem-solving workshops, spearheaded by Mike Gibeau. These workshops used collaborative, participatory processes involving all stakeholders to examine how to best make decisions in grizzly bear management that supported the common interest. However, despite some significant advances thanks to the workshops, after a few workshops had taken place, the process fell apart. We will be trying to figure out why that happened and how lessons could be learned that apply to other conflicts surrounding wildlife management elsewhere. We hope to publish an article and present to the FES community next fall.