The Foothills Model Forest Grizzly Bear Research Program was initiated in 1998 with the first year of fieldwork beginning in the spring of 1999. The impetus for undertaking this program resulted from concerns expressed by both the Federal and Provincial governments for grizzly bear conservation issues at the EUB hearings into the proposed Cheviot Coal Mine.
This final report for the first phase of our research program (1999-2003) is divided into chapters that provide the technical detail of our findings in specific key program elements. Principle investigators have prepared these chapters, as they are the recognized experts in each subject area. The reader is reminded that a full listing of all scientific journal publications from the first phase of this project is provided in Appendix 1, if more detail is needed. This final report does provide a wealth of new information and knowledge to assist with grizzly bear management and conservation, but most importantly the research team has developed new products (models and tools) to allow land and resource managers to begin incorporating the needs of grizzly bears into their planning processes.