B.C.s new, Indigenous-led grizzly bear stewardship framework inches towards finish line [Video]

British Columbia is nearing the finish line on a new strategy to manage the province’s population of grizzly bears.

An in a step away from how the province has traditionally managed its wildlife populations, the new Grizzly Bear Stewardship Framework and Commercial Bear Viewing Strategy will be Indigenous-led.

“As an Indigenous person, we are born conservationists, because our lessons come from the land, all of our words come from the land, our relationship is to the land, and our respect is to the land,” said Michelle Edwards, Tmicw Coordinator for the St’at’imc Chiefs Council.

“We actually can teach government how to use our framework to do the job out there, and I think it has been a long time coming.”

Grizzly bears are listed as a “species of special concern” in Canada, and while there are an estimated 15,000 of the animals in B.C., in some areas they are verging on endangered.

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