Wildlife corridor use for recreational purposes on the rise

Alberta'sBow Valley is a world class recreational area, but it is also a prime area for human andbear confrontations.

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About 100 wildlife specialists from around North America came to Canmore for theWestern Black Bear Workshopto learnhow to solve problems that arise when bears and people meet.

One major problem highlighted during a tour of theareais the increased use of wildlife corridorsbyhumans.

Corridors were created to allow wild animals to pass through the valley, and not forrecreation like cycling and walking dogs.

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"There's alot of concern right now, that with the high levels of human use, that the wildlife use of these corridors is going tostart to drop off," said JonJorgenson, asenior biologist with the Alberta government.

Hearing about the successes and failures of the Bow Valley'swildlife corridors brought Daryl Ratajczak to Albertafrom Tennessee.

"We have expanding bear populations and obviously we have tremendously high human populations,and so conflict management is a growing area that we really need to learn more about,"said the chief of wildlife for the State of Tennessee.

'I think it's been difficult for all of us'

Wildlife biologist Jay Honeymansays they have anaversion program where theytry to teach bears how to use the wildlife corridors.

"When the landscape is changing on an annual basis, I think it's been difficult for all of usanimals includedto try and make sense of it all," he said.

Wildlife specialists saythe Bow Valleyprovides a unique learning environment as the town creates a bottle neck in the valley for animal movement.

"Canmore is trying to maintain this mountain motif, this mountain type of appeal, and all of these urban green spaces we're driving through right now are security and food for bears," Honeyman told workshop participants during the tour.

Organizers of workshops, like the one in Canmore, are hoping to helpbuild a professional community dedicated to minimizing therisk for wildlife in the area.