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LU press release ... 

First Nations Input Key to Polar Bear Survival Strategies in Canada

November 4, 2008 – Thunder Bay, ON)

Polar bears, the symbol of the arctic wilderness, live on all the arctic seas and coasts, including areas from the Yukon to Labrador, north to Ellesmere Island, and south to James Bay. There are approximately fourteen populations, totalling 15,000 bears in Canada, and over 1,000 of these are found in Northern Ontario alone. However, recent concerns over the health of the polar bear in general have put them on Manitoba's threatened species list, and have given them "threatened" status on the United States Endangered Species List.

Photo of a male polar bear taken by Tommy Miles.

Lakehead University researcher Dr. Harvey Lemelin argues that engagement with the Cree people of Northern Ontario is a key to successful polar bear management, and that currently the Cree remain largely peripheral to such discussions.

"The marginalisation of the Cree highlights the reluctance of current management strategies to acknowledge and properly engage all Aboriginal peoples in polar bear management dialogues and decisions," Lemelin says.

Dr. Lemelin and Dr. Martha Dowsley have been working with the Keewaytinook Okimakanak Research Institute (KORI) in Thunder Bay, and the Fort Severn First Nation on a project examining polar bear migration and habitat in Northern Ontario. This $75,000 project, sponsored by the Aboriginal Critical Habitat Protection Fund and Aboriginal Capacity Building Fund through Environment Canada, examines current polar bear migration patterns, as well as the use of the landscape by polar bears. The research involves assisting the community in developing adaptive wildlife management strategies that pertain to polar bears.

Community-driven, the project also incorporates modern technology (video conferencing, on-line forum), and traditional knowledge, by involving local elders, guides, trappers, and local youth in discussions. Lemelin says, "Engaging communities who live and interact with polar bears in Ontario and elsewhere in Northern Canada is an essential component of adaptive, co-management wildlife strategies."

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Media: Dr. Harvey Lemelin and Dr. Martha Dowsley are available for media interview. For more information or to arrange interview times, please contact Dr. Harvey Lemelin at 343-8745 or Harvey.lemelin @ lakeheadu.ca (no spaces) or Dr. Martha Dowsley at 343-8430 or mdowsley @ lakeheadu.ca (no spaces)

About Lakehead

Lakehead is a comprehensive university with a reputation for innovative programs and cutting-edge research. With a main campus located in Thunder Bay, Ontario and a campus in Orillia, Ontario, Lakehead has over 7,700 students and 2,250 faculty and staff, and is home to the west campus of the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. In 2006, Research Infosource Inc. named Lakehead University Canada's Research University of the Year in the undergraduate category. For more information on Lakehead University, visit www.lakeheadu.ca