Outdoor Pursuits

Resolution 13-26S from the Rural Municipalities of Alberta (RMA) is calling for the province to move from “grizzly bear recovery” towards “grizzly bear management.” The resolution, sponsored by Cardston County and passed at the 2026 RMA spring convention, calls for Alberta to establish a regulated grizzly bear hunt through a draw system.

For many rural Albertans, this resolution reflects a growing frustration that provincial wildlife policy hasn’t kept pace with changing realities on the ground. Since Alberta suspended the grizzly hunt in 2006 and officially listed the species as threatened in 2010, populations in several regions have increased substantially. The resolution points specifically to Bear Management Area 6 around Waterton and the southwest foothills, where annual population growth has been averaging around “four percent since 2007.”

Most rural Albertans accept the fact that grizzly bears are part of the landscape and should remain that way, but the concern is agricultural problems including livestock predation and a growing number of human-bear conflicts. There have been several high-profile conflicts over the last few years, including attacks on hunters, outdoor workers and recreationists. The Cardston area experienced a widely publicized attack on an angler in 2025 when a grizzly bear (believed to be a sow with two cubs) mauled the angler (he survived). Other incidents across Alberta have shown that grizzly bear encounters are becoming much more common.

Supporters of the resolution believe a tightly controlled hunt would be a welcomed management tool. It should be noted that the resolution doesn’t call for an unrestricted open season; instead, it advocates “to the GOA to implement a regulated grizzly bear hunt administered through the draw system, with the number of available tags determined annually based on population data, conflict trends, and the outcomes of previous seasons...”

While hunting organizations like the Alberta Wildlife Federation support science-based wildlife management and sustainable hunting opportunities in areas where populations are stable or expanding, they also understand that reopening a grizzly bear hunt would face enormous backlash. Groups such as Nature Alberta and the Alberta Wilderness Association have already signaled a strong resistance to any hunt. These groups argue that Alberta’s grizzly population remains vulnerable and fragmented and that habitat loss, road access, industrial development and accidental mortality are greater threats. Their strongest argument is that Alberta still classifies the grizzly as a threatened species and that Alberta lacks sufficient population data, suggesting that the province has not completed province-wide grizzly population studies in many years.

Public perception will also be a major hurdle. Many urban Albertans view grizzly bears as icons of the wilderness rather than a public safety or agricultural concern. And many will call out their old faithful that any grizzly bear hunt is a “trophy hunt” regardless of how regulated it is... remember British Columbia and their hunt that was shut down due to public emotion, not science.

Social media already shows how polarized the debate has become. Hunting forums and rural communities argue that bear numbers and problems are increasing and that controlled hunting is a needed tool. Meanwhile, opponents portray the proposal as anti-science and barbaric.

So, how will this end?

In my view, the government will have to move cautiously. The province has already taken smaller steps in the direction of a controlled hunt by allowing wildlife responders to deal with problem bears. This program has received a tremendous amount of backlash but still exists for any hunter that might wish to apply.

Expanded population monitoring would almost certainly occur before any hunt is implemented. The province would need strong scientific proof to withstand legal and political challenges from opponents and the provincial NDP party.

If a public hunt eventually happens, it would most likely be extremely limited and restricted to specific management zones in southwest Alberta where conflict rates and bear numbers are the highest, which makes perfect sense.

From a management perspective, Resolution 13-26S shows that after nearly twenty years focused entirely on grizzly bear recovery, many now believe the conversation must move towards public safety and agricultural protection. Many argue that the great bear’s recovery success should allow wildlife managers to use all available tools, including hunting where populations can sustain it, to mitigate the above mentioned problems. If the province can demonstrate scientifically that certain grizzly populations are healthy and capable of sustaining a limited harvest, support for a carefully regulated hunt will likely continue to grow. Unfortunately, opposition from provincial and national environmental organizations and urban voters almost guarantees that any move toward reopening a grizzly bear hunt will remain politically contentious for years to come.

For the previous Outdoor Pursuits article, click here.