Grizzly Bear Value
Last updated on April 10, 2024The Interim Assessment Protocol for Grizzly Bear in British Columbia is based on a scientific understanding of grizzly bear ecology. This protocol provides an initial standard method for evaluating the current state of, and risks to grizzly bears and their habitats across the province.
Modifications to this protocol or alternate assessment methods may also be used to generate cumulative effects assessment reports for grizzly bear.
To learn more about the grizzly bear value and how it is assessed under the CEF, read the Grizzly Bear Infographic (PDF, 443KB).
Assessment Reports
Current Condition Reports and Cumulative Effects Assessment and Management Reports produced under the Cumulative Effects Framework aim to provide decision-support for the management of grizzly bear in British Columbia. Reports and supporting materials will be provided here as they become available.
Skeena Region:
Omineca Region:
Thompson-Okanagan Region:
South Coast Region:
- Howe Sound Cumulative Effects Project: Grizzly Bear Current Condition Report – November 2018 (PDF, 7.3MB)
- South Coast Baseline Objectives Tool (SBOT) – Grizzly Bear Web Map
West Coast Region:
Northeast Region:
Kootenay-Boundary Region:
- Current Condition Report for Grizzly Bear in the Kootenay-Boundary Region- 2019 Analysis (May 2023) (PDF, 11.3MB)
- Grizzly Bear Cumulative Effects Assessment Report, Elk Valley, Kootenay-Boundary Region (May 2018) (PDF, 4.1MB)
CEF Grizzly Bear Data
Access grizzly bear data used in CEF assessment reports:
Grizzly Bear Infographic
To learn more about the grizzly bear value and how it is assessed under the CEF, read the Grizzly Bear Infographic (PDF, 443KB).
Rationale for Selection as a Cumulative Effects Framework Value
​Grizzly bear is an iconic species that occurs across most of British Columbia. Historically their range covered the province, with the exception of some coastal islands, but they are now considered extirpated from much of southwest and south-central B.C. as well as the Peace Lowlands. British Columbia’s grizzly bear population is estimated to be approximately 15,000 bears, which corresponds to roughly a quarter of the North American population. The Western Grizzly Bear population, which includes B.C. bears, is listed as a species of ‘Special Concern’ under the federal Species at Risk Act (SARA).
Grizzly bears have environmental, economic, social and cultural value to the people of British Columbia. They are a symbol of ecological integrity that represents much of what British Columbians and visitors alike appreciate about B.C.’s natural beauty. Grizzly bears play an important role in First Nations culture, as well as many tourism and recreational activities. Recognizing the importance of this species, government has established objectives for grizzly bear management in land use plans, legislation and policy.
Grizzly bears are wide-ranging, opportunistic omnivores with low reproductive and dispersal rates. They depend upon multiple, well-connected and functioning habitats with properly functioning ecosystem processes. Grizzly bears are susceptible to cumulative impacts on their habitat and their populations from extensive land use activities and disturbances.