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Media Release

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For immediate release
May 27, 2005

Grizzly conservation on the agenda for Banff Centre Mountain Areas conference in June

Public keynote: Jay Ingram – Getting the Point Across
Saturday, June 4, 7:30 p.m. Max Bell Auditorium, The Banff Centre
Tickets: $8 at the door, Free for Mountain Culture members

The conflict between large carnivores and mountain towns is one of the more compelling conservation issues in the western states and provinces. Governments, town councils, scientists, parks managers, and conservationists are faced with it every spring when the grizzlies and black bears emerge from their dens, and the conflict is compounded by a lack of public understanding of both sides of the issue.

Starting June 4, this and many other issues will be on the table as part of the Governance and Decision Making in Mountain Areas conference, hosted by Mountain Culture at The Banff Centre. The four-day conference will try to close the gap between science, people, and politics. It will bring together stakeholders from both sides of the conservation / development issue to explore the ways in which governance practices can support sustainable development and management, preservation of ecology and aesthetics, respect for tradition and heritage, and the necessity for meeting economic and social needs for people living, working, and visiting mountain areas all over the world.

Jay Ingram, host of the Discovery Channel’s Daily Planet, will open the conference June 4 with some ideas on getting complex scientific concepts out to a wider audience. Other speakers include Tim Duane, associate professor of environmental planning and policy at the University of California Berkeley, wildlife biologist and large carnivore specialist David Mattson of the US Geological Service, and representatives from mountain towns including Banff, Jasper, Whistler, and Aspen.

Conference topics will include a comparison between town governments in different National Parks – Banff, Jasper, and Scotland’s Loch Lomond/Trossachs, and a presentation by Canmore-based historian and naturalist Robert Sandford on “community, economy, and ecology in western mountain towns”.

Governance and Decision-Making in Mountain Areas runs June 4 through June 7. The conference is hosted by Mountain Culture at The Banff Centre and is sponsored by Parks Canada.

For detailed in formation and schedules for the Governance and Decision-Making in Mountain Areas conference, please visit: http://www.banffcentre.ca/mountainculture/mtnconferences/gadmma/