Kyle Artelle is a Raincoast Conservation Foundation Biologist and an adjunct assistant professor in the University of Victoria Geography Department. His work is at the interface of science and policy, including ecology and conservation of black and grizzly bears in the territories of the Heiltsuk, Kitasoo/Xai’xais, Nuxalk, and Wuikinuxv First Nations, wildlife management in BC and beyond, and questions regarding the role of science and values in environmental interactions.
Last month, in Penticton, BC a group of five black bears – three males and two younger females – had been spotted feasting on residents’ garbage. Conservation authorities were called in, and the five bears were shot dead. This came just a week after six bears were shot in over a three day period near…
For years, British Columbia’s wildlife management practices, especially its wolf cull and grizzly bear hunt, have been controversial. In 2015, then-Premier Christy Clark defended the province’s wildlife policies, stating they were grounded in sound science. That, at least, was the claim. And not one unique to British Columbia. In fact, hunting in Canada and the…
A new study, “Hallmarks of science missing from North American wildlife management”, released today in the AAAS Open Access journal Science Advances, identified four key hallmarks expected of science-based management: clear objectives, use of evidence, transparency and external review. Combined, these hallmarks provide the checks and balances that give rigour to science-based approaches…
Almost three weeks later, the sunken tug is still there, still intermittently leaking diesel, and clean-up efforts have barely begun…
As a Raincoast biologist privileged to call Waglisla (Bella Bella) in Heiltsuk Territory home, this is a story I wish I wasn’t writing…
We’re nearing the end of our spring research season for the Heiltsuk node of the Coastal Bear Working Group, and what a year it’s been…
At 4 am on July 12 a fire swept through one of the most important buildings in Bella Bella, housing the band store, the post office, liquor store, and Qqs Projects Society…
This year we had the fortune of reuniting with some dear old friends! We were visiting an estuary where the Raincoast team had watched a momma grizzly and three cubs…
Here are a few more of my favourite pictures and moments from this past field season…
Often the best gifts are those received when you least expect them. I have been known to be comically talented at not seeing wildlife– when I explicitly set out to view carnivores and other wildlife I am remarkably good at JUST missing them. As such, being lucky enough to be blessed with wildlife encounters when…
After an almost 24-hour trip from Victoria to Bella Bella and a 3-day stint of preparation and decompression, today was the first day back in the field for the BSI (Bear Scene Investigation) crew. Today’s doses of sun followed yesterday’s 50+ mm of rain quite nicely, and made for a great reintroduction to our coastal…
Race day is fast approaching. I’m inching closer and closer to running 21k (not a full marathon, but a half-marathon’s still not bad for someone who smoked a pack a day for 9 of his 27 years on earth). I’m feeling more and more like a “runner” by the day. Evidence to support this includes…