Abstract 200 – Bridging conservation technology with Indigenous land stewardship for identifying and managing important grizzly bear habitat

Melanie Clapham, Emily Doyle-Yamaguchi, Gina Thomas, Caelan McLean, Stanley
Beans, Chip Mountain, Shane Pollard, Anthony Roberts, Jordan Benner

Tasked with the huge challenge of conserving nature in a changing world, decision makers are
turning to new technologies to better understand wildlife and monitor trends. Simultaneously,
it is now understood that monitoring programs combining multiple knowledge systems
improves the management and conservation of wild species and places. Our project works
within this capacity, advancing bear conservation through the development and application of
advanced technologies, coupled with grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) research and monitoring,
informed by local and Indigenous Knowledge. We are using camera traps, machine learning,
and local knowledge to map the spatiotemporal distribution of individual grizzly bear
movements in the Great Bear Rainforest South (BC, Canada), within the territories of the
Tlowitsis, K’ómoks, Da’naxda’xw/Awaetlala, Mamalilikulla, We Wai Kai, and Wei Wai Kum First
Nations. A network of 55 cameras monitored grizzly bear activity at targeted features (wildlife
trails, forest service roads, riverbanks) in 2019-2023 across an area of ~1,000km2. Camera trap
footage was processed manually and then run through BearID individual recognition software.
Spatial data on individual bear detections were analysed using kernel density estimates (KDE),
identifying individual-specific activity areas. We assessed overlaps in KDE across individuals and
temporal scales to highlight hotspot areas of grizzly bear activity across First Nation territories.
Results from this project are intended to provide candidate areas for consideration by First
Nations’ leadership in Landscape Reserve Design for the Great Bear Rainforest South and to
understand trending habitat requirements for a population currently impacted by fluctuating
food availability (e.g. Pacific salmon, Oncorhynchus spp.). Therefore, results will directly inform
grizzly bear conservation in the largest tract of contiguous coastal temperate rainforest left on
the planet, and of global significance.