"Grizzlies energize some of the grandest landscapes in North America. And all the while, these bears expand our awareness of nature, redefine our relationship with it, encourage us to tie together fragmented ecosystems, and thereby restore wholeness to the living world. How much of this is enough? I don’t know, but 'less' doesn’t sound like the right answer."

-Doug Chadwick, biologist, author, National Geographic contributing writer.

Photo (c) Jeremy Williams. 

Photo (c) Jeremy Williams. 

Our goal is to restore the five threatened grizzly bear populations in southwest British Columbia and to connect grizzly bear habitat while encouraging environmentally responsible development. We can accomplish this by protecting grizzly bears from mounting threats and stemming their loss from our wild places, safeguarding year-round ample habitat, and ensuring connectivity between grizzly bear populations.

Who We Are

We are a local and regional coalition united by a vision of thriving human communities and healthy, connected wildlife habitat. We have organized to highlight concerns around the plight of grizzly bears in the Coast to Cascades region of British Columbia – a biologically and culturally rich area at the intersection of the Coast, Chilcotin, and Cascades mountains.

Why Bears?

Grizzly bears are barometers of wilderness and the health of ecosystems. They require large tracts of wild habitat with rich, diverse and seasonal foods like berries, roots and salmon. When grizzly bears are present, we know that these same healthy wild landscapes also provide our society clean water, robust forests and diverse wildlife. Coast to Cascades grizzly bears are an early warning system indicating how well we are stewarding natural systems for future generations. For more information watch the video, Why Bears?

Why now?

Two hundred years ago, a person could walk from central Mexico to the shores of the Arctic Ocean and regularly see signs of grizzly bears the entire way. Today, the great bear has been wiped out along the west coast as far north as southwest BC. Small numbers of grizzly bears have managed to hang on in the wilder and more isolated corners of the Coast to Cascades - literally in Vancouver's wilderness backyard. For example, in the Garibaldi-Pitt, only a few grizzly bears remain. In the Stein-Nahatlatch, there are just 24 grizzly bears, with six females dead since 2006. We must act now to protect those that remain. Click here to see how grizzly bears are managed by the Government of British Columbia.

 

What can you do?

Join us! Can we count on you when we need action for grizzly bears? Please sign up for our action list.                

If you are hiking or recreating in grizzly bear country, remember to travel safe. Grizzly bear or black bear? Learn the difference. And if you do see a grizzly bear, please report it to our reporting hotline: 1-855-GO-GRIZZ (1-855-464-7499).