Wildlife

Movement is a fundamental part of life in the Elk Valley. Whether it’s a bike ride after work, a trail run, or simply travelling between communities, we’re always moving. Those destinations or the movement itself are one of the reasons many of us choose to live here. Wildlife isn’t much different...

I’ve written about this before, but it bears repeating (pun fully intended). The seasons roll round as they inevitably do, flipping like advertising cards for local businesses in those old restaurant clocks that used to hang in the wood-paneled eateries we ate in as kids, when we traveled across...

Elk Valley, BC, May 29, 2025 – In a continued effort to enhance community safety and reduce bear attractants, residents in the Elk Valley can access up to $2,000 to help make their properties safer and less appealing to bears. “Our goal is to create a landscape that works for both people and...

Elk Valley, B.C. – The Elk Valley Bighorn Sheep Committee (EVBHSC) and VAST Resource Solutions are pleased to share continued progress on a major conservation initiative to protect critical habitat for the Elk Valley's west bighorn sheep population. This collaborative project has gained significant...

We are entering a fraught time in our community when, newly awake, our bear neighbours go looking for food. Neighbours is unfair as they were here long before we were, their forested byways irrevocably dissected by our streets, highway, bridges, paths, and trails. Ever inventive, we put additional...

Most animals have three choices to survive winter: migrate, hibernate, or cope with freezing temperatures. Many birds (and some humans) choose to migrate south to warmer places. Bears fatten up and sleep through winter in their dens. But aquatic animals have an extra challenge: freezing water. Few animals can withstand being frozen because the forming ice destroys cell membranes, so aquatic animals have “cool” adaptations.

We all want to get where we’re going, safely. Animal strikes are a major road safety issue, and an expensive one. No one wants to experience an elk suddenly crashing through their windshield. Yet, each year at least 200 collisions with large mammals occur on Highway 3 between Hosmer, BC and the Alberta border, costing society $2.8 million annually in injuries and property damage. Further east near Rock Creek in Alberta, 38 collisions a year are reported. More go unreported.

A proposal to rezone property for subdivision in Electoral Area A adjacent to Fernie Alpine Resort has been referred back to staff. Bylaws 3102 and 3103 would amend the Official Community Plan and zoning designation of multiple properties, known as the Galloway Lands, to permit future subdivision....

As we start to collectively sway back into equilibrium, we should take a moment to note the things that we lost, and the things that we learned. How do we prevent our ecosystems from getting out of balance in the future? What are our keystone species? What have we done with our wolves?

Jesse joins Emma Van Tussenbroek, a wildlife technician for the South Rockies Grizzly Bear Project (SRGBP), in learning about bears.