A BEAR-ABLE COEXISTENCE?

Black Fly was retained by the Town of Canmore to author the Human Wildlife Coexistence Implementation and Action Report.

This report aimed to address the ongoing conflicts between humans and wildlife that exist within the town, focusing primarily on bears and elk but also including coyotes, cougars, and wolves.

The Black Fly team took several avenues during the research phase of report development to gather information pertinent to human wildlife conflict. First, a comprehensive literature review of scientific papers was undertaken to better understand the current state of human wildlife conflict in other regions and municipalities. Second, we met with multiple stakeholders and non-government organizations such as the Biosphere Institute and Yellowstone to Yukon to hear their opinions and gather their expertise on human wildlife conflict in the Canmore area.

In collaboration with the Town of Canmore, Black Fly developed a public engagement survey to hear the community’s opinion on how the town can take steps to reduce conflict with wildlife. The survey also aimed to identify gaps in the public’s understanding on wildlife related issues to highlight areas for further public education.

After all the relevant information was collected, the report was developed and identified several adaptive management strategies in the form of Implementation and Action items for the town to undertake. Each Implementation and Action item included actionable steps, relevant GIS information, and timing considerations.

Once the report was completed, it was presented to the Town Council for feedback and is currently being finalized. This project highlights Black Fly’s high level understanding of wildlife management and our ability to work with municipal governments and collaborate extensively with stakeholders to develop a product that meets and exceeds all expectations.