The B.C. government has awarded a company $10,000 to do training for bear den assessment, according to documents posted on the provincial contract bid site.
In documents posted to BCBid, the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship said it intends to award a training and professional review contract to a researcher to give field training to First Nations, licensees, and contractors in the ministry’s west coast region on the identification and evaluation of black bear dens.
The proposed work is to be carried out by Helen Davis of Artemis Wildlife Consultants at a contract price of less than $10,000, the documents said.
Davis is a registered professional biologist whose research has concentrated on research and conservation of black bears, grizzly bears and species at risk, her website said.
She did a 1996 Simon Fraser University master of science thesis on black bear dens, research her resume notes has continued.
The website said bears and their successive generations can re-use dens over decades.
On Vancouver Island, the website said, black bear winter dens have been found in or beneath large diameter trees or logs, root boles and stumps.
However, it said, forest management activities are affecting the availability of those dens.
“Most significantly, forest harvesting has removed many large trees that form these den structures,” the site said. “Furthermore, these large structures are not replaced during forest rotations because the new crops of trees are not allowed to grow to sufficient size for replacement dens to develop.”
Education is nothing new to Davis as she has already produced a bear den identification manual.
The contract’s anticipated term is June 20, 2023 to March 31, 2024.
The documents said Davis is considered a subject area expert on coastal black bear dens, has experience in both the academic study of bear ecology and the operational nature of bear den management.
She also has experience providing training in bear den identification and evaluation to various audiences, including First Nations, resource professionals and government staff.
“The contractor is familiar with the temporal and spatial constraints of black bear denning that are relevant to providing safe field training; thus, the contractor is able to provide safe, practical, and effective opportunities for bear den training,” documents said.
