University of Victoria | Raincoast Conservation Foundation

New research: Indigenous knowledge and federal environmental assessments in Canada

Published on 2020 02 13 | by Raincoast | in Scientific Literature

Tsawout First Nation, University of Guelph, University of Victoria, and Raincoast Conservation Foundation logos on top of an aerial photo from Fort McKay.

A team of non-Indigenous and Indigenous researchers identifies surmountable and deep-rooted obstacles to improving how the federal Impact Assessment Act incorporates Indigenous Knowledge and engages with Indigenous Knowledge systems…

Raising the bar: Recovery ambition for species at risk in Canada and the US

Published on 2019 12 19 | by Raincoast | in Scientific Literature

Southern Resident kill whale, J50, swims off, with the research figures in the top right.

An estimated one million species are at risk of extinction globally. In Canada and the United states, there is legislation that is intended to protect species at risk. However, the majority of species are not recovering in either country.

When evidence informs advocacy

Published on 2019 12 17 | by Chris Darimont, Raincoast Director of Science | in Tracking Raincoast

Chris Darimont crouching in tall grass wearing a plaid button up.

When evidence informs advocacy, a potent approach to conservation becomes available. This philosophy underpins everything we do at Raincoast. One of the primary vehicles to support our unique delivery of what we call informed advocacy is the Raincoast Applied Conservation Science Lab at the University of Victoria. Partnered with a science-based non-profit and dedicated to […]

Problem humans and the ecology of bear-human conflict

Published on 2019 12 13 | by Kyle Artelle, PhD | in Inform

A black bear turns their head a little while sitting down comfortably.

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 […]

Tracking Raincoast, past, present, and future

Published on 2019 12 12 | by Chris Genovali, Executive Director | in Tracking Raincoast

Chris Genovali looks out over the water and land with binoculors.

As this decade closes, it’s timely to celebrate what we have collectively achieved for BC’s coast. Raincoast’s past in the Kitlope takes us back three decades to 1990, when Brian Falconer first visited at the invitation of the Haisla and Xenaksiala. The Nations were working to save the Kitlope from clearcut logging, which they ultimately […]

One night only – Patagonia’s Artifishal screening at the University of Victoria

Published on 2019 08 15 | by Raincoast | in Events

Artifishal, the movie by Patagonia, showing at Cinecenta at UVic.

Join us on Tuesday, August 27, at 7:00 pm for a film screening of Patagonia’s documentary, Artifishal, at the University of Victoria’s Cinecenta theatre located in the Student Union Building. Artifishal examines the harmful effects hatcheries…

Meet the team of applied conservation scientists at the University of Victoria

Published on 2019 01 23 | by Chris Darimont, Raincoast Director of Science | in Raincoast updates

Chris Darimont looking off into the distance on the river with the sun coming through trees in the background.

Last year the Raincoast lab at UVic marked an important new milestone with the creation of the Raincoast Chair in Applied Conservation Science at the University of Victoria. This five year Chaired Professorship allows us to expand our research, teaching and outreach programs in community-driven applied conservation science. Our long-term vision is to train next […]

Salmon species diversity predicts salmon consumption by terrestrial wildlife

Published on 2019 01 07 | by Raincoast | in Scientific Literature

A collage of images and graphs from a published peer reviewed article on salmonid species diversity and bear health: Hakai, Raincoast, University of Victoria, and Spirit Bear Foundation logos at the bottom.

Research by scientists at Spirit Bear Research Foundation, Raincoast Conservation Foundation, and the University of Victoria, led by Christina Service, shows that salmon species diversity – the number of spawning salmon species available – is far more important and positively related to salmon consumption in coastal black bears than biomass abundance…

The Salish Sea Emerging Stewards kick off

Published on 2018 10 16 | by Maureen Vo, Education and Development Coordinator | in Raincoast updates

The light of the sun streams in between the trees on UVic campus.

We’re very excited to be kicking off the Salish Sea Emerging Stewards Program this week with youth from the Indigenous Leadership program and other youth from the Cowichan School District. We’re in the first phase of our new three part Salish Sea Stewards program. This is the land-based preliminary learning phase where we’ll be introducing […]

Mismeasured mortality: correcting estimates of wolf poaching in the United States

Published on 2018 04 13 | by Raincoast | in Scientific Literature

Journal of Mammalogy cover for research published on mismeasured risks of poaching due to bias.

This research tests and rejects the long-held idea that data lost when known animals disappear were unbiased, under conditions common to most, if not all, studies using marked animals. Published government estimates are affected by the biases discovered. And so government estimates of systemically underestimating risks of poaching…

New study casts doubt on scientific basis of wildlife management in North America, offers a way forward

Published on 2018 03 07 | by Kyle Artelle, PhD | in For the coast

Wolf stands in the intertidal zone amidst the rock and seaweed, looking at the photographer, Kyle Artelle.

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…

Applied Ecology: Hallmarks of science missing from North American wildlife management

Published on | by Raincoast | in Scientific Literature

A map of North America and then in text it says, An assessment of 667 wildlife management systems across Canada and the USA found that key hallmarks of science were missing...

A new study, “Hallmarks of science missing from North American wildlife management”, published by Science Advances , challenges a widespread assumption that wildlife management in North America is science-based. Scientists from Raincoast Conservation Foundation, Simon Fraser University, University of Victoria, and the University of Wisconsin – Madison examined management documents relating to most hunted species across […]