Corridors for coexistence

American Black Bear on the Sunshine Coast: Threats, Guidelines and

Management in Urban Areas

This project was guided by a shared belief in the importance of coexisting with the black bears that reside on the Sunshine Coast and preserving the habitat that is vital to their well-being.
Black bears on the Sunshine Coast face a range of interconnected pressures, from habitat loss to increasing human-wildlife interactions. Reacting after habitat is lost is no longer sustainable—critical areas take too long to regenerate on their own. Fortunately, these challenges become more manageable through thoughtful, forward-looking planning.
Corridors for Coexistence offers practical tool such as; Develop with Care guidelines, habitat mapping, and local policy recommendations to help support development that considers the needs of black bears and other wildlife. By aligning land use decisions with conservation priorities, we can build ecological resilience and help ensure that black bears remain part of our shared landscape on the Sunshine Coast.

The Sunshine Coast Bear Alliance Society would like to express our utmost gratitude to our generous funding partners, contributors and collaborators.

To our collaborators

We extend our sincere appreciation to Bailey Environmental Consulting Inc. for the care and expertise they brought to this project, and to Baden Cross of Applied Conservation GIS for creating a vivid and meaningful mapping atlas that brings the landscape of bears and their challenges to life. We are very grateful to Wayne McCrory of McCrory Wildlife Services Ltd. for his expert insights into black bear denning habitat. We also appreciate the generous support of the Sunshine Coast Community Forest for sharing mapping data and the Sechelt Conservation Officer Service for sharing black bear data.To everyone who shared their time, knowledge, and support — thank you. Your contributions made this work possible.

Read Corridors for Coexistence HERE or click on the bears below.