Grizzly Bear Management in the Kananaskis Valley: Forty Years of Figuring It Out

Don Carruthers Den Hoed, Michelle N. Murphy, Elizabeth A. Halpenny and Debbie Mucha
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Don Carruthers Den Hoed: Institute for Environmental Sustainability, Mount Royal University, Calgary, AB T3E6K6, Canada
Michelle N. Murphy: Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport and Recreation, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G2H9, Canada
Elizabeth A. Halpenny: Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport and Recreation, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G2H9, Canada
Debbie Mucha: Alberta Environment and Parks, Canmore, AB T1W1P1, Canada

Land, 2020, vol. 9, issue 12, 1-18

Abstract: Case studies offer rich insight into the way knowledge is gathered, understood, and applied (or not) in parks and conservation contexts. This study aims to understand how knowledge and information have been used to inform decision-making about human-wildlife co-existence—specifically what knowledge has informed decisions related to grizzly bear management in the Kananaskis Valley. Focus groups of decision-makers involved in the valley’s bear program painted a rich account of decision-making since the late 1970s that was coded thematically. Our findings suggest there are typical impacts on knowledge mobilization, such as management support (or lack thereof), other agencies, capacity, and social and political pressures. In addition, the special context of the Kananaskis Valley and the forty-year timespan explored in focus group conversations provide unique lenses through which to understand knowledge mobilization. This case study reflects the barriers identified in the literature. However, the findings also include unique aspects of decision-making, such as the evolution of decision-making over a period of time in a multi-use landscape, the successful creation of networks to mediate knowledge and practice, and the creation of knowledge by practitioners.

Keywords: knowledge mobilization; protected areas; evidence; wildlife; management effectiveness; grizzly bears (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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