nce George still contains depressed numbers of bears, while the Southern Interior and South Coast/Lower Mainland no longer has grizzly bear populations (British Columbia Ministry of Environment, Lands, and Parks ,1995). The institution charged with managing grizzly bears in British Columbia is the Wildlife Branch of the Ministry of Environment, Land, and Parks. The Wildlife Branch has an official mandate relating to its management of grizzly bears, which was published in the British Columbia Grizzly Bear Conservation Strategy in June of 1995. The mandate that is given is “....to ensure the continued existence of grizzly bears and their habitats for future generations.” (British Columbia Ministry of Environment, Lands, and Parks,1995). This is a very wide ranging mandate, and when coupled with the first of the four goals stated under the mandate, “To maintain in perpetuity the diversity and abundance of grizzly bears and the ecosystems on which they depend throughout British Columbia.” (British Columbia Ministry of Environment, Lands, and Parks,1995), it is apparent that this is a goal easier said than done. The Wildlife Branch of MELP participates in both the direct management of bear populations (ie. hunting) and in indirect management processes such as land use planning that affects grizzly bear habitats. In direct management processes the Wildlife Branch has more power than in other processes that involve more user groups. Hunting pressures represent the largest direct issue that the Wildlife Branch deals with, and it is with hunting regulations that the Wildlife Branch wields the most power. In 1996, grizzly bear hunting in British Columbia moved to a limited entry basis known as LEH permits, or limited entry hunting permits. This process allows the Wildlife Branch to control how many permits are issued on an annual basis, in theory allowing the total kill to be monitored. This option is available only to res...
