Two government-appointed committees say grizzly bears in Alberta should be put on the list of threatened species, which could lead to limiting or ending the spring bear hunt.

Environmentalists in the past have failed to stop the annual spring grizzly bear hunt because the provincial government has maintained there are plenty of bears to justify it.

But this time the recommendation to designate the grizzly as threatened comes from two committees appointed by the government. No one from either committee would speak publicly until Sustainable Resources Minister Mike Cardinal studies the report.

The government's scientific subcommittee on endangered species isn't specifically recommending an end to the grizzly bear hunt.

But the subcommittee has concluded that human conflict, and habitat degradation and fragmentation, are threatening the future of the approximately 800 to 1,000 grizzlies in Alberta. It is recommending that the species be declared threatened.

The scientific report was forwarded and accepted by the Alberta Endangered Species Conservation Committee headed by West Yellowhead MLA Ivan Strang. The 19 members on the committee represent government, forestry, energy, agriculture and recreation industry interests.

Now the ball is in Cardinal's court just as the spring bear hunt is about to get under way.

Fish and Wildlife spokesperson John Lear said the minister has not yet received the report.

Once Cardinal does however, he has to make a quick decision about whether to declare the grizzly threatened. The minister will be under pressure to accept the recommendations of the government's own committees. If he does, a team would have to be created to produce a plan to bring the species back to healthy numbers.

A hunting ban would almost certainly be on the table.

About 160 licences for the hunting of grizzlies are distributed each year. On average, 15 hunters are successful in killing a grizzly.

Committee members say that while those numbers aren't likely to have a big impact on the overall bear population, they say allowing the spring hunt to continue could result in a public relations nightmare, and anger industry and recreational organizations that might be called upon to restrict their activities.

"The optics would be very bad if we allowed hunting to continue but told industry and other groups that they would have to change the way they do things," said one committee member.

"The reality is we don't know how many grizzly bears there are out there, and how big of an impact hunting has on the population. The cost of doing the science necessary to get the answers would be very, very expensive. So a ban or restriction on hunting would be erring on the side of caution."

There has been considerable debate about the status of grizzlies in Alberta. North of Banff, the population is generally viewed as being relatively stable, and possibly growing. That, however, could change in the future because industrial activity in the back country of north central and northern Alberta has heated up.

Studies conducted by the Eastern Slopes Grizzly Bear Project, on the other hand, suggest the grizzly is in trouble in the Banff/Kananaskis area and around southern Alberta.

Human access is the big issue, according to members of both government committees. Most grizzly bears deaths occur as a result of poaching, highway traffic, confrontations with humans, or hunting.

In the Bow Valley of Banff, only about three percent of grizzlies die of disease or natural causes.

ABOUT THE GRIZZLY BEAR