Yukon draft plan lays out long-term goals for protecting grizzly bears

A "25-year vision" for the conservation of grizzly bears in Yukon was releasedin the form of a draft planin Whitehorse on Wednesday.

The plan came out of a sometimes emotional debate four years ago, when the Yukon Fish and Wildlife Management Board asked the public about banning roadside hunting in the territory.

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Officials were given a "shotgun blast" of ideas, concerns, frustrations and passion, said Graham Van Tighem, the executive director of the management board.

That led to a joint management board and Yukon government draft plan with seven goals and 33 actions. Those actions include addressing the issue of roadside grizzly bear hunting, but the final results could differ from region to region, Van Tighem said.

"I would anticipate sometime in the future there may be specific regulation changes that come up from some of the communities such as roadside bear hunting," he said.

The seven goals are meant to be "at a high level," said Tom Jung, a senior wildlife biologistwith the Yukon government, and not specific laws or regulations. The goals are:

• To foster a cultural connection to, and increased respect for, grizzly bears.
• To take care of the land that grizzly bears require.
• To minimize human-grizzly bear conflicts.
• To ensure the grizzly bear harvest is sustainable and respectful.
• To foster respectful grizzly bear viewing.
• To improve future decision-making by acquiring better knowledge about grizzly bears.
• To better understand human dimensions of grizzly bear conservation.

Jung said the world is changing, with technology becominga bigger part of everyday life. Yukoners should, however, maintaintheir connections to the land, he added.

"Bears are powerful animals to people not just physically, but spiritually and culturally and they resonate with peoplein terms of that, so I think what we heard from a lot of people when we talk to people in the Yukon is that they do have this deep cultural connection," said Jung.

A survey conducted as part of the preparation of the draft plan indicated there are divisions among Yukoners.

Close to 1,400 people responded to a question on whether they support grizzly bear hunting in the territory, with 46 per cent opposing the idea and 36 per cent supporting it. A much higher percentage opposed grizzly hunting by non-residents.

Officials saidthe survey was not meant to be representative of Yukoners' opinions.

On other issues, there was much more consensus. More than 90 per cent of survey respondents support having municipalities provide bear-proof garbage containers to residents.

The draft plan will go out for a 60-day public comment period in September.