Alberta’s predator compensation program offsets costs of conserving wildlife habitat on private lands in the province.
Alberta’s predator compensation program offsets costs of conserving wildlife habitat on private lands in the province.
“Our research shows that private ranchlands provide important habitats for carnivorous wildlife, including wolves, cougars, bears and eagles,” explained Mark Boyce, professor in the Department of Biological Sciences and the Alberta Conservation Association Chair in Fisheries and Wildlife at the University of Alberta.
In Alberta, where there is no system that incentivizes ranchers to maintain wildlife habitat, the compensation program plays an important role in offsetting costs for ranchers.
For the study, researchers reviewed nearly 4,500 claims from 2000 to 2016. Results showed that the distribution of ungulate hunters on private lands is highly correlated with predator compensation claims, indicating depredation occurs on private lands that contain important habitat for wildlife.
Read more at University of Alberta
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