FACT: Conservationists in the hunting community promote grizzly bears and their management Hunters and fishermen have supplied $57 million over 20 years from hunting and fishing licenses to Habitat Conservation Trust Fund for research on all species of fish and wildlife, including many endangered species. Local hunting clubs also contribute countless volunteer hours to wildlife including bear management and habitat protection, enhancement and acquisition programs. No similar effort has been made by anti-hunting groups. FACT: Hunting grizzly bears keeps them wary of humans. Research has shown that grizzly bears learn to avoid roads and heavily accessed areas. The knowledge of how to avoid danger is passed on from females to young. Many experienced people believe that grizzly bears in hunted populations are more wary and thus less dangerous to humans. A recent scientific study concluded, “Human-habituated grizzly bears are much more likely to be killed by humans than are wary bears.” FACT: Hunting grizzly bears can contribute to controlling problem bears. Hunting cannot eliminate all problem bears. But where hunting no longer occurs, taxpayer supported nuisance bear control efforts have increased substantially. In fact, researchers have determined that there are no fewer grizzly bears killed in National Park areas where hunting is not allowed. This is because as grizzly bears increase in numbers, they move into populated townsites. For example, 110 grizzly bears over 10 years were removed from the town of Revelstoke, adjacent to 2 National Parks. FACT: Hunting grizzly bears helps to ensure that the wrong bears are not needlessly killed. Banning grizzly bear hunting will result in bears of the wrong kind, females and cubs, being needlessly killed. For example, problem bear control requires National Park wardens to kill as many bears as if there were a hunting season due to the need for nuisance bear control. But unlike hunters who select mainly for large males, problem bear control does not distinguish between males and females, resulting in higher death rates of females and cubs. FACT: Hunting grizzly bears ensures tax dollars go to research and management, not nuisance control. Bear complaints are increasing each year and at least $5 million including 1/3 of Conservation Officer time, is expended responding to bear complaints. In Montana, where grizzly hunting was stopped in 1991, in addition to regular Conservation Officers, three special staff have been assigned full time to control problem bears. There are similar needs for grizzly bear control programs in other Canadian and US National Parks where hunting is not allowed.	FACT: The debate about grizzly bear hunting is causing a staff and resource crisis in the Wildlife Branch. The Wildlife Branch of the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks spends more time on managing information and requests about grizzly bears while many other seriously neglected wildlife species go un-researched and unmanaged. This has reached a crisis point for managers trying to juggle staff and resources over this imbalance. FACT: Banning grizzly bear hunting will lead to other hunting closures and possibly no hunting at all. Anti-hunting groups in B.C. with assistance from foreign animal rights groups first suggested a ban on hunting of black and grizzly bears. When they couldn’t win that fight, they returned with a new campaign to ban grizzly bear hunting. In Ontario anti-hunting groups have been successful in banning spring black bear hunting. These same groups oppose the hunting of any large carnivore or the killing of any animal, wild or domestic. One of the most vocal groups said that catch and release fishing is next on their list for opposition. FACT: The debate about grizzly bear hunting is causing a fracture in the conservation community. Those concerned about conservation of wildlife and wild lands should be more concerned about forging alliances with groups rather than driving a wedge in the conservation community. It is impossible to protect wildlife and wild land without strong coalitions between hunting, guide-outfitting and environmental groups. FACT: Hunting promotes the need for extensive wildlands where people and grizzly bears can co-exist. Contrary to anti-hunters’ belief that hunters harm grizzly bear populations, hunters and guides have been and continue to be instrumental in the establishment of large Protected Areas where grizzly bears can flourish including the Muskwa-Kechika Wildlife Management Area, Height-of-the-Rockies, Mount Assiniboine, Purcell Wilderness Conservancy and Spatsizi Provincial Park. FACT: “Shoot, shovel, and shut up” could become the order of the day. The loss of legitimate legal hunting could cause people who are impacted by grizzly bears to take matters into their own hands and kill bears illegally and with impunity.