CALGARY (CP) -- Armed with a report that forecasts a decrease in grizzly bears west of Calgary, conservationists demanded Friday that mountain recreation be curtailed to stabilize the bruin population.
"The message here is that grizzly bears can't stand much mortality and that we need to manage the amount of human contact in the whole system if we want to maintain grizzly bears," said Stephen Herrero, a world renowned bear expert. The report predicts a "dangerous decline" of the 450 grizzly bears in the 40,000-square-kilometre central Rockies ecosystem of Alberta and British Columbia.
It suggests the grizzly population in Kananaskis Country, a wilderness area 80 kilometres southwest of Calgary, will decrease from 20 to 40 per cent over the next 20 years if development and recreational activities continue to grow at the current rate.
The 82-page report was compiled from a four-day workshop in January 1999 which included 87 scientists, conservation and wildlife officials, land planners and oil and gas experts.
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