Bow Valley Wildsmart Podcasts

Maintaining sufficient separation between people and large carnivores is an important conservation issue in the Bow Valley and Kananaskis Country. Yet some grizzly bears are regularly seen in high human-use areas in this region. Cheryl Hojnowski, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of California, Berkeley presents the results from a collaborative project between Alberta Parks and the University of California, Berkeley, aimed at improving our understanding of whether and how bears modify their behaviour to avoid people in front-country habitats in Peter Lougheed Park and the Kananaskis Valley. Speaker: Cheryl Hojnowski

Local wildlife professionals, educators, and volunteers share some stories from their work in the Bow Valley. Grizzly bears, cougars, frogs, and salamanders; this group has been up close and personal with them all and wants to share some of the insightful lessons learned along the way. Speakers: Various - Jacob Speckeen, Gian-Duri Giger, Vicki Perkins, Tyler McClure, Simon Ham, Tangle Caron, and Derek Ryder

Wildlife biologist Sarah Elmeligi and her research team present their results about how grizzly bears and people use hiking trails in our parks, and the associated human risk on the trails. This talk focuses on the research, the people who have helped make it happen, and how the research feeds directly into park management. From on-the-ground research to the managers who set the policies, we all work together to understand how people and bears share space safely for everyone. Speaker: Sarah Elmeligi Download Presentation Slides (PDF)

Dr. Chris Servheen has spent over 34 years working on Grizzly Bear Recovery in the United States. Part of the Western Black Bear Workshops held in Canmore, Alberta, this talk gives us the opportunity to learn about the challenges and successes of that experience and how it relates to the current Threatened population of grizzly bears in Alberta. Speaker: Dr. Chris Servheen - US Grizzly Bear Recovery Coordinator with US Fish and Wildlife Service

Jay Honeyman, local Human Wildlife Conflict Biologist with AESRD, and Glenn Naylor, local District Conservation Officer with Alberta Parks, walk us through the last decade of cougar-related data in the Bow Valley. This talk is a culmination of information on the types of interactions that have been reported in and around Canmore from 2001-2013, and includes an informative overview of these impressive felines.   Speakers: Jay Honeyman & Glenn Naylor

This presentation highlights the past 10 years of research undertaken by the Calgary Coyote Project (led by Dr. Shelley Alexander) in the City, the surrounding regions, and across Canada.  The talk begins with a summary of basic coyote ecology and issues surrounding conflict, and addresses questions like: What types of food do coyotes eat in urban and rural areas? How often do coyote attacks on people occur? What types of emotional responses do people have to coyotes? How often were pets being eaten by coyotes in the City of Calgary and surrounding rural area?  Are certain pets more vulnerable than others?  What kind of actions caused or mitigated attacks? And, finally, what is the media’s role in the social amplification of risk posed by coyotes?   Speaker: Dr. Shelley Alexander

A bear rubbing against a tree may have an itchy back, but there’s more going on than meets the eye. Come hear about the messages being left by bears all over the forest, what they mean, and who they are for. You’ll also learn about how this interesting behaviour has the potential to provide valuable information on everything from population inventory and trend monitoring to understanding aspects of conflict management. Speakers: Jon Jorgenson & Glenn Naylor Videos during presentation: The speakers showed a number of videos during this presentation. Most of them are available for public viewing by using the following links:   Video #1 - Colbert Report Dancing Bearshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAkWeh3Pr5o   Video #2 - Cougar on a kill in Bow Valley Provincial Park https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORPt6BcVzQs   Video #3 - Why you should stay in your car! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpUxXU6qnzk   Video #4 – Not yet available. Stay tuned to the

  This presentation will highlight some of the possible effects our beloved dogs can have on various wild species in the Bow Valley, the impacts that wildlife can have on our dogs, and what we can do to ensure their safe coexistence. We’ll discuss typical responses of wildlife to dogs so you can be more prepared for any encounters you may have on trails in the valley. We’ll also talk about the work some dogs are doing to further wildlife conservation efforts at home and abroad." Speaker: Melanie Percy

The Alberta BearSmart program seeks to reduce human-bear conflicts and increase public stewardship of black bears and grizzly bears in Alberta by providing strategic information and education materials to the public, stakeholders and government agency staff dealing with bears.  This presentation will provide an overview of the main types of human-bear conflicts that occur across the province and the initiatives that are underway to resolve them. Speaker: Nathan Webb

WildSmart Speaker Series - Grizzly Bears and the energy sector in Alberta – new knowledge from research Over the past 14 years the FRI Grizzly Bear Research Program has done extensive work helping with our understanding of grizzly bear habitat use and response to forest harvesting activities in the boreal forests of Alberta. More recently our research team has been investigating how grizzly bears respond to energy sector development and activities along the eastern slopes. This presentation will review some of these new research findings and discuss ongoing studies on a number of ecological questions aimed at supporting grizzly bear conservation and recovery in Alberta.

The students of Mme. Provencher´s grade 7 class at l´École Lawrence Grassi Middle School created this song in conjunction with a movie they created. Join them to learn how to keep yourself and wildlife safe both around your home and out on the trail.  This Biosphere Institute of the Bow Valley movie was made in partnership with the Bow Valley WildSmart Community Program under the financial support of the Kananaskis Legacy Fund Program of the Alberta Ecotrust Foundation.

Kim Titchener met with Rob Murray at Mountain FM on Canadian Multiculturalism Day to celebrate our Nature for Newcomers program, which is a program to provide New Canadians, Newcomers and English as a second language residents and visitors with information on wildlife safety in their language through online materials, print resources as well as outreach programs.   Learn more at http://www.wildsmart.ca/newcomers/

WildSmart Speaker Series: Grizzly Bears Part 1: Roads, access and Grizzly Bears in Alberta Part 2: What do we really know about grizzly bear reproduction - new research needs This presentation will be in two parts. The first section will be a review of what has taken place in Alberta as a result of research findings on grizzly bear mortality and survival rates. How grizzly bear conservation areas are now in place and the management approaches that are being pursued within these areas. Strategies to address current challenges will be reviewed and discussed along with new research efforts aimed to improve grizzly bear survival rates. The second presentation will review and discuss the challenges of understanding and monitoring grizzly bear reproduction as part of a comprehensive recovery strategy. The presentation will explore new approaches and goals of new research efforts within the Foothill Research Institute Grizzly Bear Program. Thank you to the Rotary Club of Canmore for your contribution to the WildSm

Taking you from Crowsnest Pass to Fort McMurray, this presentation will describe the status of wolves in Alberta, highlight recent research projects that have been conducted across the province, and discuss ongoing challenges in managing this charismatic and controversial carnivore. Nathan Webb is a carnivore specialist with the Fish and Wildlife Division of Alberta Sustainable Resource Development. His work focuses on the conservation and management of bears, cougars, and wolves across Alberta. Nate completed his PhD on wolf population dynamics and predation rates at the University of Alberta. Thank you to the Rotary Club of Canmore for sponsoring this program. 

In this episode of the Wildsmart Speaker Series, John Paczkowski gives his presentation, Where the Wildlife Roam: Wildlife Movement and Corridor Use in the Bow Valley. In 2001, Canada hosted the G8 Summit in Kananaskis. One of the outcomes of the summit was the creation of the Kananaskis Summit Environmental Legacy, to improve habitat connectivity and wildlife corridors, and to reduce wildlife mortality in the Bow River valley near Canmore, Alberta. Join John as he takes us through the reasons behind the G8 legacy mitigations, learn what underpasses are, how they are used and by who, and recent research on wildlife corridor connectivity and corridor movement in the Bow Valley.

Rob Murray with Mountain FM interviews Kim Titchener, Program Director at Bow Valley WildSmart about bear safety on location at the Quarry Lake Off Leash Park in Canmore, Alberta.

For hundreds of years, coyotes have been a prairie enigma and subject of mass killing campaigns. Now recognized as one of the most important ecological species in North America, coyotes continue to have an uneasy, often tragic relationship with humans. Learn the truth about this misunderstood species and how communities are changing policies to better align with common sense and coyote biology so we can live more peacefully with this supremely adaptable species. Wildlife biologist and founder of the Alberta Institute for WIldlife Conservation Dianne Wittner presented to Bow Valley WildSmart. Find out more about Bow Vally Wildsmart: http://www.wildsmart.ca/

Rob Murray with Mountain FM interviews Kim Titchener, Program Director at Bow Valley WildSmart about the WildSmart 1st Grizzly of the Year Contest.

Listen as former Science Manager in Banff National Park Cliff White talks about the relationship between Bison, Beavers, Caribou, and Aspen for a presentation for Bow Valley WildSmart. White, currently the Research Director for the Canadian Rockies Bison Inititative talks about taking a holistic perspective on the restoration of the Canadian Rockies Ecosystems. To find out more about Bow Valley WildSmart visit: http://www.wildsmart.ca/

Understanding the relationship between grizzly bear health and their habitat. From the Wildsmart Speaker Series, here's Gordon Stenhouse from the Foothills Research Institute Grizzly Bear Research Project.