- Project Update - Alberta Grizzly Hunt Documentary
- First Year of the Conservancy
- UN World Wildlife Day
- Protecting Canada’s Lions
Thanks to you, our goal of raising $15,000 toward the production of a documentary exposing the potential reintroduction of the trophy grizzly bear hunt in Alberta has been met! We are well underway now with filming and production on the documentary, so you can expect to start seeing some teasers and trailers in the next few weeks. And because the response to our campaign has been so incredible, we are pleased to announce that the special rewards we have been offering will continue until March 15th for all donations to the grizzly bear campaign. Any additional money raised will continue to go directly to protecting grizzlies in Alberta and beyond!
Canada’s most famous grizzly bear, ‘The Boss’, is tucked away in a den high in the Alberta Rocky Mountains hibernating right now. Later this month, he’ll awake and venture into the protected environs of Banff National Park, but grizzly bears elsewhere in Alberta may face an entirely different reality this spring.
For the first time in fifteen years, grizzly bears in Alberta could once again be in the crosshairs of trophy hunters. While grizzly hunting has been banned in the province since 2006 and grizzlies were classified as Threatened in 2010, research from Dr. Gordon Stenhouse and the Forest Research Institute (FRI) set to be released this winter is expected to reveal an increase in Alberta’s grizzly bear population. EXPOSED is concerned that the Environment Minister has said the province intends to use this new data to manage grizzlies based on “science, not emotion.” And while we strongly agree that wildlife management should be based on a combination of science and social license, we are extremely concerned the current government will use any increase in bear populations to justify a re-introduction of the trophy grizzly hunt, rather than using it to determine the best management strategies going forward.
It’s no coincidence that the first Anniversary of the Exposed Wildlife Conservancy falls on United Nations World Wildlife Day. While we primarily focus on wildlife issues and conservation in Western Canada, it’s important to remember that groups all around the world are working together to protect our wildlife and our planet. Please consider donating your time, ideas, and of course, funding, to any of the diverse group of organizations that recognize and educate on the tremendous importance of protecting our wildlife and biodiversity.
We can’t believe it’s been a full year since we launched the Exposed Wildlife Conservancy and we have you to thank for that! Without your generous financial and emotional support, we would not still be standing during these tumultuous times. The past year has made us realize just how important it is that we continue to be a voice for our wildlife, particularly our apex predators. And while we’re still just a small group of volunteers and staff right now, we have a slate of big ideas in front of us and we’re determined to help make change happen.
While our main focus of late has been the potential reintroduction of grizzly bear trophy hunting in Alberta, we continue to work on many other fronts including our Big Cats project which aims to protect Canada’s mountain lions, lynx and bobcats.
As part of this project, co-founder John E. Marriott spent every single day from dawn to dusk in January in the field searching for cougars to gather footage and stills for our conservation work. We are happy to report that he had some great success and found much more than he was looking for! If you haven’t seen John’s posts about his adventures, check them out on his Instagram account and Facebook page! For the next few months, we’ll be ramping up this Big Cats project in preparation for our first cougar/cat documentary, so if you’d like to contribute, please visit our Big Cats project page.
Former Banff superintendent Kevin van Tighem’s excellent take on why Canmore, Alberta’s latest development proposal needs to be rejected for the sake of wildlife corridors and predator connectivity.
READ NOW
A brilliant new paper in the peer-reviewed journal, Conservation Biology, which examines how the public are increasingly revoking the ‘social license to hunt’ large carnivores.
READ NOW
Stay tuned later this month for a major announcement of a new partnership that we’re excited to share with you. We believe it’s going to greatly enhance the reach and capacity of our grizzly bear campaign by working and collaborating with other like-minded people and organizations, so watch our social media in the next few weeks for details!
“This is a real-life legal thriller. Imagine constitutions and laws acknowledging that rivers and ecosystems have rights and cannot be owned by humans. Envision judges recognizing that sentient animals are ‘legal persons’ and should no longer be regarded as property. Leading environmental lawyer David Boyd takes us on a trip around the world to look at these stunning shifts in humanity's relationship with nature. A pioneering work.”
— David Suzuki
Award-winning scientist, environmentalist, and broadcaster
FIND IT HERE
David R. Boyd is an environmental lawyer, professor, and advocate for recognition of the right to live in a healthy environment. Boyd is the award-winning author of eight books, including The Optimistic Environmentalist, and co-chaired Vancouver’s Greenest City initiative with Mayor Gregor Robertson. He lives on Pender Island, B.C.
Get into your own EXPOSED apparel like a hoodie or a t-shirt, and wear your support of the conservancy! We’ve added EXPOSED hats and toques to the shop for those cooler days out exploring our wild places, so visit the shop now and get fantastic, comfy clothing AND support the Conservancy with much-needed funding for upcoming conservation projects.
P.S. Remember that our EXPOSED Insiders get a 10% discount on all store purchases!
