Grizzlies, wolverines at risk from snowmobiles

Lands minister among those lobbying for more access

PRINCE GEORGE - Grizzly bears and wolverines hibernating or raising young in dens in a Rocky Mountain park are at risk from snowmobiles, a consultant's report commissioned by B.C. Parks warns.

The report obtained by The Vancouver Sun after a freedom-of-information request finds that powerful and wide-ranging snowmobiles utilizing 170,890-hectare Kakwa Provincial Park and Protected Area pose a "considerable conservation concern."

The study by wildlife consultant Wayne McCrory, with mapping and global positioning system help from Baden Cross of Applied Conservation GIS, was submitted to B.C. Parks in March 2005.

The report points out there are no restrictions on snowmobiles using Kakwa in winter. B.C. Parks has observed up to 600 snowmobiles in the area during one two-week period in April.

Among the snowmobilers lobbying for greater access to Kakwa is provincial Minister of Agriculture and Lands Pat Bell, Liberal MLA for Prince George North, a member of the Prince George Snowmobile Club, and the minister responsible for species at risk.

High-elevation areas frequented by snowmobilers overlap suitable denning sites, potentially leading to disturbance or displacement of grizzlies or wolverines, McCrory writes.

The report adds that legal trapping of wolverines in Kakwa, about a two-hour drive east of Prince George near the Alberta border, only compounds the threat to the species and should be banned, given the park's conservation mandate.

The federal Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada lists grizzlies and wolverines as species of special concern in B.C.

When a draft management plan for Kakwa would have kept snowmobilers out of two key areas, 3,270-metre-high Mount Sir Alexander and 3,189-metre Mount Ida, Bell stepped into the fray last year on behalf of his club and helped convince B.C. Parks to reconsider allowing them to operate there.

Bell, through his communications director Liz Bicknell, has refused repeated requests from The Sun to respond to McCrory's report. He earlier said he wanted decisions to be based on sound science.

Wayne Giles, president of the Prince George Backcountry Recreation Society, said in an interview he met recently with Bell and urged government intervention in helping snowmobilers and non-motorized backcountry enthusiasts find common ground.

Elsewhere in B.C., research shows snowmobilers are displacing threatened mountain caribou, and allowing predators such as wolves easier access to herds along compacted snow tracks.

Lee Sexsmith, a director of the Prince George Snowmobile Club, noted his members have successfully fought the loss of any access to Kakwa for close to 40 years.

He believes B.C. Parks is biased in favour of non-motorized recreation. "Parks bureaucrats in general are closely associated with environmentalists and, as the decision-makers, have no impartiality."

Gail Ross, the provincial park planner for Kakwa, noted that McCrory's report dealt with suitable denning habitat for grizzlies and wolverines, and did not involve research to see how many of each species are actually living in that habitat. B.C. Parks has no plans to do that research.

The draft management plan observes that "potential wolverine and grizzly denning habitat" exists in both the Mount Sir Alexander and Mount Ida areas.

Work will continue through this year on a management plan that reflects wildlife concerns in Kakwa park, Ross said.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?id=d68cc99a-d3de-46a0-92e5-0d2db5cd0939&k=1710

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