April offers plenty of opportunities for gratitude with National Wildlife Week, Volunteer Week and Earth Day all falling within the month. Along with the usual excuses to celebrate nature, we’ve looked to these days of recognition for inspiration to address the ongoing push and pull of short-term solutions versus long-term stewardship for apex predators across Western Canada. The choices being made today are shaping the future of wildlife in real and lasting ways, which is why your support makes such a difference.
In this issue, you’ll find opportunities to take action, updates on the work we’re doing alongside partners and communities, and stories from around the world that remind us change is possible. Whether it’s local events, policy advocacy, or global wins for wildlife, there are so many ways to stay engaged, and your voice is a vital part of that.
As always, thank you for being here and staying present. Your time, energy and commitment matter more and more to these incredible animals and the ecosystems on which we all depend.
Alberta’s grizzly bears are well and truly in the crosshairs right now, and they need our support. In partnership with the Grizzly Bear Foundation, we are launching a campaign to gather signatures, urging the Province to maintain the closure, deliver on Alberta’s own grizzly bear recovery plan and prioritize non-lethal strategies in support of coexistence and wildlife stewardship. We know it’s a logical, reasonable ask, but it’s also a big one, and your voice counts.
The campaign officially launches on April 22nd, Earth Day, when we’ll be sending a letter to the government cosigned by the Grizzly Bear Foundation, along with the release of an official statement.
Three letters will be released over the coming months asking for your signature and support, so please mark your calendars and be ready to sign, share and show your support.
May 15th: Release of Letter 1 - Formal Request to Implement Provincial Grizzly Bear Recovery Plan & Maintain Closure of Alberta’s Grizzly Bear Hunt
June 5th: Release of Letter 2 - Formal Request to Cease Prioritizing Lethal Wildlife Management Practices & Maintain Closure of Alberta’s Grizzly Bear Hunt
July 28th: Release of Letter 3 - Formal Request to Recognize the Sustained and Significant Economic Value of Living Grizzly Bears & Maintain Closure of Alberta’s Grizzly Bear Hunt
EWC has officially joined the Fur Free Alliance, an international coalition of more than 45 animal protection organizations, based in more than 30 countries around the world, working collaboratively to bring about the end of fur farming and fur trapping. We’re proud to stand alongside these organizations, bringing about important, meaningful change.
On May 2nd, EWC will be at the annual Bragg Creek Wild Fair. Visit us between 10 am and 4 pm to meet Sam, our communications director, find out more about upcoming projects, and win some wild prizes. We’ll have some kid-friendly activities too, so bring the little ones along.
We’re in good company with former Banff National Park superintendent and award-winning author Kevin Van Tighem as keynote speaker. Along with some amazing environmental organizations, there will be a series of workshops, a marketplace and great coffee.
Join us for this free family-friendly day at Bragg Creek Community Centre. Make sure to register your space for workshops and get tickets to the keynote presentation. Tickets for the presentation are $10 and free for Bragg Creek Wild members.
The challenges of sharing the landscape with carnivores are very real, and we recognize the frustration of communities who have repeatedly called for coexistence support from the province, only to see funding for proven stewardship measures fall short.
In response, the Rural Municipalities of Alberta have renewed their call for coexistence funding, and this time included a recommendation to reopen the grizzly bear hunt. While this reflects the urgency communities are facing, research continues to show that non-lethal, preventative strategies remain the most effective path forward.
EWC has released an official statement and press release calling for meaningful investment in coexistence solutions that protect both people and wildlife. Our calls to the government accompany a letter of support to the RMA for their requests for stable funding to implement ongoing coexistence programs to protect both people and wildlife.
In November 2025, in partnership with Alberta Wilderness Association, EWC called for an investigation into Minister Todd Loewen. Despite providing evidence that Minister Loewen was in violation of Alberta’s Conflicts of Interest Act, we received no response and followed up on the investigation in February 2026. Disappointingly, Alberta’s Ethics Commissioner, Shawn McLeod, is refusing to reveal whether an investigation was ever opened into the minister. Read the press release for more details and why this matters for Albertans.
This editorial by Trina Moyles was originally published in 2025, but we believe it’s well worth revisiting as calls to reinstate the Alberta grizzly bear hunt circulate and facts are being lost to fiction in the noise. One of Moyles' notable traits as a journalist and writer is her ability to slow things down, so please, take some time to enjoy this well-researched read and reacquaint yourself with some critical background information on Alberta’s approach to ‘problem’ grizzly bears.
When the world feels heavy and the big wins don’t feel quite big enough, I come back to this book to bolster my spirit and remind me that nature holds all the answers, I just have to slow down, go outside, and say thank you.
In this short read by Indigenous Scientist and award winning author, Robin Wall Kimmerer challenges us to consider something almost unthinkable to so many. What if our economic systems could function more like a thriving forest than a competitive marketplace? What if we left behind the foundations of modern capitalism based on scarcity and accumulation for gift economies based on abundance, gratitude, and reciprocity?
We’ve been writing more and more about the economic value of living wildlife and with every article outline, I’m reminded of this Richard Powers quote from the book: "there is symbiosis at every single level of living things, and you cannot compete in a zero-sum game with creatures upon whom your existence depends."
P.S. We can’t encourage this enough; shop local and support your community!
