Saturday, March 5, 2005 Updated at 1:53 AM EST From Saturday's Globe and Mail
When spring comes to the Alberta Foothills, a small group of hunters — some of whom have waited years for the opportunity — head into the wilderness in search of the ultimate big-game trophy: a grizzly bear. Some may lose their nerve. Some may get lost. Many will hunt in the wrong place at the wrong time. In the end, most will come back empty-handed. Last year, of the 70 hunters whose names were drawn from a field of more than 2,000 applicants, only six managed to actually kill a bear. But Bill Bonko, a Liberal MLA, thinks that's too many. This week he tried to shift the odds in favour of the bears, and against the hunters, by urging people to rush into government offices, plunk down a $3.25 entry fee, and put their names in the annual draw for a grizzly-bear permit. Advertisements "It's simple," he said of his plan to foil the hunt. "If your name gets drawn, you pay $48.50 for the hunting permit — but you just retain it, you hold it, knowing it isn't in the hands of someone who is going to use it." Mr. Bonko hatched his plan after failing repeatedly to persuade the Alberta government to end the hunt. "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em," he said. "You've got to play by the rules, but I'm changing the odds for the bears." It's too early to tell whether his plan worked. Yesterday, after the draw had closed, the Alberta Ministry of Sustainable Resource Development counted 2,678 entries, about the same as last year when 2,672 hunters put their names in. There was no way to know how many this year are from non-hunters. Mr. Bonko, who went public with his plan Monday, said he thinks it's more than a handful, judging by public interest. "We've been flooded with e-mails and phone calls. People are asking where do we do it? How do we do it?" he said Thursday, just before the draw closed. Mr. Bonko, who likes to hunt deer and moose, has nothing against the sport itself. He just doesn't think grizzly bears should be a target because the overall grizzly population appears to be at risk. "If there's plenty of them, that's a whole different story. But not when there are dwindling numbers. I want to make sure that my children are able to see a grizzly and not just behind glass in a museum or on a stamp, but alive." He noted that the exact number of grizzlies in Alberta isn't known. "We're talking, ideally, more than 1,000 bears, but [wildlife biologists] are confirming, at their weakest point, there could be less than 500 grizzly bears. Why have a hunt if we don't have firm numbers?" But Ray Makowecki, a wildlife biologist and past president of the Alberta Fish & Game Association, said Alberta's grizzly bears don't need Mr. Bonko's help. "There was a debate a few years ago as to whether there was less than 500 or more than 900 grizzly bears in Alberta," Mr. Makowecki said. "It's very difficult to count bears. The new estimates are in the 700 range." That means the population has been stable during the 15 years that the hunting-draw system has been in place, he said. And it may even be increasing. "There is some anecdotal, very important indicators of trends, and these are the people who are outdoors, the conservation officers, the biologists, outfitters and hunters. ... If you talk to someone who's spent 30 years in the bush, there's no question but that there are more grizzlies. "From that perspective, we say the hunt has no impact ... and it should continue." Mr. Makowecki, a former regional wildlife director for the province, said there's also the important matter of continued grizzly bear monitoring. As long as there is a hunt, he said, wildlife biologists will keep a close watch on the bear population to make sure a decline doesn't begin. Without the hunt, such monitoring would stop. Mr. Makowecki also said Mr. Bonko's plan could ruin the dreams of some hunters, given that less than 2 per cent of people who apply for a hunting permit obtain one each year. "There's usually a little over 2,000 applicants and less than 100 permits ... so you are going to wait a long time before your name is drawn," he said, describing obtaining a permit as a "once in a lifetime" opportunity. Grizzly bear hunting is a continuing controversy in the West. In Alberta, where the bear population is relatively modest, scientists increasingly have been warning about the decline of the species. The government has responded by reducing the number of permits offered annually from 100 to 73 (not all of those drawn actually hunt; last year three failed to claim their permits) and shortening the spring season by two weeks. This week, however, 19 North American scientists well known for their bear expertise or their conservationist leanings urged Alberta Premier Ralph Klein to declare grizzlies a threatened species under the province's Wildlife Act. Under the act, hunting of a threatened species is banned and a recovery plan is to be put in motion. The province's Endangered Species Conservation Committee, made up of biologists, industry groups and others, recommended in 2002 that the grizzly bear's status be changed from a species that "may be at risk" to one that is "threatened," which would effectively kill the hunt. Even in British Columbia, where there are an estimated 13,800 grizzly bears, a debate has been raging over the hunt. In 2001, the NDP government put in place a blanket moratorium on grizzly hunting. The current Liberal government, however, replaced that in 2003 with a patchwork of local moratoriums, allowing hunting in regions thought to have healthy bear populations. Conservationists argue that the B.C. government's bear population estimates are too high by half, and are calling for a ban on hunting, which claims the lives of about 300 grizzlies each year. While B.C.'s bear-licence draw is open to foreign hunters, who pay up to $12,000 (U.S.) to hunt a grizzly, the Alberta draw is restricted to provincial residents. With a report from Dawn Walto .