- November Photo Presentation!
- Will the Grizzly Hunt Return?
- Banff Wolf Research
- Alberta Caribou Recovery Update
The EXPOSED Wildlife Conservancy is excited to announce our first online presentation at 7 p.m. MST on November 25th, 2020. Our co-founder John E. Marriott will be hosting and will be speaking on a number of topics while showcasing his new images. If you’ve never heard John tell stories before, this is a MUST-attend event! He’ll chat about his new book with bear biologist Sarah Elmeligi, What Bears Teach Us, as well as his next book due out Spring 2021, The Kootenay Wolves: Five Years Following a Wild Wolf Pack. John will also be discussing some of his recent adventures searching for caribou, wolves and bears in Western Canada. And finally, he’ll be providing a full update on what EXPOSED is currently up to and why we’re eyeing both BC and Alberta carefully for a possible return of the grizzly bear hunt. This event will be exclusive to our EXPOSED Insiders, click here to learn more on how you can take part.
With murmerings within the conservation community of the grizzly bear hunt potentially returning in both British Columbia and Alberta, what can we do to make sure it’s stopped in its tracks? Stay tuned for updates on this and for news of an upcoming episode tackling this issue.
In the meantime, read up about what’s going on in BC and you’ll immediately see that the involvement of First Nations is going to make this a very tough fight.
In Alberta, read Kevin van Tighem’s take on the rumours that the hunt will be revived in the spring of 2021 in his latest Alberta View's column.
John has been keeping close tabs on the Banff wolf packs since our May 2017 episode on the Banff Town wolf family. The Town pack is currently doing well and features at least six members, including two black pups. The family is still led by the alpha female, Riley, who is the lone surviving member of the original Banff Town pack that we featured in that episode. Riley is now under considerable pressure to keep the pack afloat since her mate was killed on the Trans-Canada Highway back in May 2020, but having other adults in the pack to help with hunting and navigating the busy Bow Valley is obviously a major factor in the pack’s survival right now.
Recent research from Parks Canada wildlife ecologist Jesse Whittington and University of Montana ecology professor Mark Hebblewhite indicates that Banff wolves are actually faring no better than their counterparts outside of the protected area due to intensive hunting and trapping just outside the park boundaries. You can read a summary of their findings at this link.
So why doesn’t Alberta institute buffer zones to protect wide-ranging predators like wolves around our national parks? It’s a great question and one that we’re tackling head-on here at EXPOSED, you can read a bit more about our buffer zone campaign at this link.
Many of you may have heard that the Canadian federal government and the Alberta provincial government recently signed a Caribou Conservation Agreement. But is it enough for Alberta’s beleaguered boreal caribou? Almost certainly not, and that should concern us all, particularly while wide-scale wolf culls continue in the province this winter on taxpayer dollars. Here’s a great summary of the recent agreement and its shortcomings from conservationist Paul McCarney.
John recently spent a few days up in the winter range of the A la Peche herd that McCarney talks about and was dismayed to see new ATV trails, along with a checkerboard landscape full of clearcuts, seismic lines, roads and gas wells. If you haven’t watched our episode on the caribou and wolf cull in this area, you can catch it on our website.
However, it’s not all bad news. John also had a run-in with a gorgeous bull caribou off of Highway 40 last week and enjoyed a glorious five-minute encounter with it. He’ll show off a few of those images in his presentation on the 25th.
As we begin to grow, so does our generous group of supporters. We’d like to extend a special thanks to Jeff Kovitz, who kindly donated a spot on an OFFBEAT Photography workshop, “Portraits in High Places” with photographers Paul Zizka and Dave Brosha. Bert Reynolds had the highest bid and recently participated in the workshop in September. All of the funds from this process went directly to the Conservancy, so thank you to both Jeff and Burt for their generous support.
Please consider donating to EXPOSED to support our campaigns and projects. Our EXPOSED Insiders enjoy a wide range of benefits including exclusive invites to our events like the online presentation on November 25th, but we’re also thrilled to get one-time donations if you can help support us.
Most of you know we have EXPOSED apparel like hoodies and t-shirts for sale on our website, but we’ve now added toques just in time for the cold weather headed our way. There are eight (yes, eight!) colour combinations to choose from, so check them out and find one that suits your personal style and help support us here at Exposed!
P.S. Remember that our EXPOSED Insiders get a 10% discount on all store purchases!
