Based in Jaffray in the East Kootenay, Clayton Lamb does wildlife research all over the province. For more than a decade, he has been involved with a study of grizzly bear survival, reproduction, coexistence and conflict in the Elk Valley. When he finished his Ph.D. from the University of Alberta focused on grizzly bear population dynamics across BC, he kept this project in the Elk Valley going in collaboration with Garth Mowat, Large Carnivore Specialist with the provincial government. More than a decade of research confirms that the population of grizzly bears in the Elk Valley have the highest human-bear conflict rates in the province and the survival of subadult grizzly bears is the lowest recorded in North America. His research has found that as bears die due to highways, trains, or conflicts with people, bears dispersing from the surrounding wilderness will move into the attractive valley bottom and replenish this population loss allowing the population size to remain stable through time.
Clayton’s personal interest in this project moving forward is exploring how we can use science to help find solutions for coexistence, such as cost-share programs for electric fencing and fruit tree replacement. He hopes to be able to use the science to do something meaningful.
“Although there are many reports and meetings, often we don’t take the next step and actually do something on the ground to have a positive effect. And we need the evidence to know if what we are doing is going to work. Or, if we end up doing something that doesn’t work, we ought to know that as well so we can direct our efforts elsewhere.”
Clayton appreciates the valuable role of science and understands that scientists can be an important part of strong partnership for on the ground projects.
He has also had a long interest in communicating scientific studies to a wider audience than those who read the research journals. His paper last fall received national and local news coverage. He has also made several infographics to communicate the findings of the Elk Valley bear study.
Clayton collaborates with the Ktunaxa Nation quite often, and he is on the Elk Valley Cumulative Effects Management Framework Team. He is also the Project Scientist for Reconnecting the Rockies: BC project, which is a highway connectivity collaboration between the Ministry of Transportation, BC Ministry of Water, Land, and Resource Stewardship, Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative, and Wildsight. This is a multi-year phased project to fence 27 km of Highway 3 from Sparwood to the Alberta border, and build wildlife crossings and wildlife exclusion fencing. Phase 1 has been completed, and the fence is up on both sides for a 2.5 km stretch. The project is incorporating some pre-existing structures such as bridges by retrofitting them to provide safe crossing links for wildlife. Purpose built structures are planned as well, including two underpasses and one overpass. The crossing structures are connected with fencing to keep animals off the highway and direct them towards the crossings.
He has also been working on the Radium Overpass project with the Shuswap Nation and the Province. This winter they will be collaring bighorn sheep. Being able to track the sheep will help project partners determine how the sheep are utilizing the overpass once it is built in 2024, if they are getting through the fence, or other helpful information during the period of adaptive management. This project is the result of decades of local voices speaking up about the bighorn sheep.
Another project Clayton is involved with is a habitat restoration project in the Galton Range near Grasmere with Yaq̓it ʔa·knuqⱡi ‘it (Tobacco Plains) First Nation. The aim of the project is to improve habitat for ungulates by thinning some of the trees. Clayton has been radio collaring and tracking mule deer and bighorn sheep to see how the animals are using the renewed habitat. “Often people will come to me wanting to know demographic information about wild animals, such as how well they are surviving and reproducing. You can’t really get accurate information about the cause of death without collaring and following the animals.”
Clayton grew up near Chilliwack hunting and fishing and running a trapline as a kid, and he would often be asking “What do these animals do? How can I better understand where they are or where they are going?” These are very similar questions to what he is trying to answer today as a wildlife biologist. One day he got in touch with a conservation officer to volunteer on a wolverine study and although no wolverines were captured, they did capture a lynx and this experience is what got him on the track to become a wildlife biologist.
Clayton arrived in the East Kootenay in 2013, and soon felt like he was home in a place where he hadn’t really been before. Similar to how he grew up, he liked that there are many opportunities for recreation as well as lots of wildlife.
“Somehow it just fit and it’s a place I hold quite dearly. I am very passionate about the East Kootenay and I want to try to make sure we can keep what is special about the East Kootenay special.”
Photos: Clayton doing grizzly bear and ungulate research.
