British Columbia is the birthplace of the Bear Smart program – an approach that's now influencing communities internationally. But across the province, encounters between black bears, grizzlies and people can still lead to bears being killed. We know many of these encounters are preventable. Decades of research have helped us understand why conflicts occur and what communities can do to reduce them. So why isn't this knowledge being put into practice?

Earlier this year, freedom of information requests by The Fur-Bearers revealed a provincial Bear Smart program in disarray. In September, delegates at the Union of BC Municipalities convention called for provincial funding and staffing to be restored. With a provincial election approaching, what happens next remains uncertain, while the consequences for bears continue.

Dr. Lana Ciarniello, a bear researcher whose 30-year career includes helping establish BC's Bear Smart program, joins Defender Radio to discuss the challenges bears face in British Columbia, the policy changes that could give communities and bears a better chance at coexistence, and what her recent research reveals about rehabilitating and releasing orphaned grizzly bears.

SHOW NOTES

Photo by Jillian Cooper / Getty

Dr. Lana Ciarniello at Global Bear Conservation: https://globalbearconservation.org/About/leadership_page/40

Dr. Lana Ciarniello ResearchGate profile: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Lana-Ciarniello

Study: Evidence for a metabolic trap and habituation limiting post-release survival of orphaned grizzly bears: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/411161478_Evidence_for_a_metabolic_trap_and_habituation_limiting_post-release_survival_of_orphaned_grizzly_bears

Plain language article on study: https://www.frontiersin.org/news/2026/08/03/orphaned-grizzly-cubs-released-wild-rarely-make-it-improve-chances

The Fur-Bearers article on Bear Smart: https://thefurbearers.com/blog/status-of-bear-smart-surprises-bc/

The Fur-Bearers article on UBCM response: https://thefurbearers.com/blog/clear-message-from-ubcm-reactivate-bear-smart/

Want to suggest topics for Defender Radio? Reach out to us at info@TheFurBearers.com, by visiting DefenderRadio.com or engaging host Michael Howie on social media via Instagram (www.instagram.com/howiemichael) or Facebook (www.Facebook.com/DefenderRadio).

Defender Radio is produced by The Fur-Bearers (www.TheFurBearers.com), a charitable non-partisan organization whose mandate is to advocate on behalf of fur-bearing animals in the wild and in confinement, promote coexistence solutions in communities and protect the habitats of fur-bearing animals across Canada. You can follow The Fur-Bearers on Instagram (www.instagram.com/furbearers), Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/thefurbearers.bsky.social) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/FurFree).

Fishers – Pekania pennanti – are secretive, forest-dwelling members of the weasel family found across parts of British Columbia. But the Columbian population in BC's central interior is small, isolated, and facing serious pressure from habitat loss, wildfire and trapping.

Rich Weir is a senior wildlife biologist with Artemis Wildlife Consultants who has spent much of his career studying fishers and other carnivores in British Columbia. His research has helped us better understand where fishers live, how their populations are connected, and what they need to survive.

Rich Joined Defender Radio to talk about what makes fishers unique, what new genetic research is telling us about the Columbian population, and what needs to happen to help these animals recover.

SHOW NOTES

Episode art of Fisher in Olympic National Park (reintroduced from BC in 2008-10), by Jess Hoffman, National Park Service

Learn more about Rich Weir, his publications and Artemis Wildlife Consultants: https://artemiswildlife.com/

Learn more about the BC Fisher Habitat Working Group: https://bcfisherhabitat.ca/

Want to suggest topics for Defender Radio? Reach out to us at info@TheFurBearers.com, by visiting DefenderRadio.com or engaging host Michael Howie on social media via Instagram (www.instagram.com/howiemichael) or Facebook (www.Facebook.com/DefenderRadio).

Defender Radio is produced by The Fur-Bearers (www.TheFurBearers.com), a charitable non-partisan organization whose mandate is to advocate on behalf of fur-bearing animals in the wild and in confinement, promote coexistence solutions in communities and protect the habitats of fur-bearing animals across Canada. You can follow The Fur-Bearers on Instagram (www.instagram.com/furbearers), Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/thefurbearers.bsky.social) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/FurFree).

Hamilton's urban tree canopy currently sits at about 18 per cent, and the City has set a goal of increasing that to 40 per cent by 2050.

That matters for people — but it also matters for wildlife. Trees provide food, shelter and movement corridors for many of the fur-bearing animals who share our urban neighbourhoods, from squirrels and raccoons to skunks and other species.

A new pilot project from the City of Hamilton and the Hamilton Naturalists' Club is helping grow that habitat by bringing free, professionally planted native trees into backyards in lower-canopy neighbourhoods.

To learn more about the program, I spoke with Jen Baker, General Manager at the Hamilton Naturalists' Club, and Louise Thomassin, Senior Project Manager, Forestry and Horticulture with the City of Hamilton.

SHOW NOTES

Hamilton Naturalist's Club: https://hamiltonnature.org/
City of Hamilton' Urban Forest Strategy: https://www.hamilton.ca/home-neighbourhood/environmental-stewardship/environmental-plans-strategies/urban-forest-strategy
HNC Backyard Tree Planting Pilot: https://hamiltonnature.org/backyard-tree-planting/

Want to suggest topics for Defender Radio? Reach out to us at info@TheFurBearers.com, by visiting DefenderRadio.com or engaging host Michael Howie on social media via Instagram (www.instagram.com/howiemichael) or Facebook (www.Facebook.com/DefenderRadio).

Defender Radio is produced by The Fur-Bearers (www.TheFurBearers.com), a charitable non-partisan organization whose mandate is to advocate on behalf of fur-bearing animals in the wild and in confinement, promote coexistence solutions in communities and protect the habitats of fur-bearing animals across Canada. You can follow The Fur-Bearers on Instagram (www.instagram.com/furbearers), Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/thefurbearers.bsky.social) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/FurFree).