A ban on hunting grizzly bears in the spring along a specific network of highways is being suggested by the Yukon Fish and Wildlife Management Board.

The board is advancing the proposal for numbered highways in the Southern Lakes district, for the Haines Road and for a 351-kilometre stretch of the Alaska Highway.

Killing bears in highway ditches has been the subject of a passionate and divisive debate for many years.

Many argue it’s their right as a hunter while others suggest it’s unethical and an affront to those who favour opportunities to watch wildlife.

The management board’s proposal was released for public review this week, following a lengthy and emotional public discussion on the issue which involved a full community tour early this year.

In a letter forwarded to Environment Minister Currie Dixon last spring, the board recommended the specific proposal be taken out for further public review, as part of the regular process the board uses to gather input on suggested changes to the Wildlife Act and its regulations.

Dixon agreed.

Harvey Jessup, vice-chair of the management board, told the Star Thursday the board intends to collect public feedback next month through the regular public meetings it hosts on proposed regulation changes, along with written correspondence.

The intent, he said, is to finalize a formal recommendation for the minister’s consideration at the management board’s meeting in December.

Jessup said the issue of roadside hunting for bears has been a difficult one for members of the board.

They’ve listened to what they’ve heard, and at this time they felt the ban should apply to grizzly bears only, and not black bears, and should be limited to the spring, and not include the summer and fall seasons, he said.

Jessup said what the board heard through its community tour earlier this year was primarily a concern focused on grizzly bears in the spring which are attracted to the fresh vegetation that grows along highways after they emerge from their dens.

The focus, he insisted, was grizzly bears and the spring time.

“We had ideas from A to Z,” he said of the input received. “So what we did was we came up with an idea, and what we said is, ‘here is a compromise.’

“And what we are saying to the public is, ‘what do you think of this idea?’

“... We are being blunt about it. We know it is a compromise, and it is not going to make everybody happy.”

Jessup said the final recommendation to the minister may or may not differ from the proposal the board is seeking input on.

An online survey on the management board’s website was posted Thursday, and had already received 28 responses as of this morning.

The proposal would prohibit hunting grizzly bears in the spring inside a 30-metre corridor on both sides of the highway, measured from the centre line.

It would apply to the Alaska Highway from Johnson’s Crossing to the Slims River Bridge west of Haines Junction; the Atlin Road to the B.C. border; the Tagish Road from Jakes Corner to Carcross; the South Klondike Highway from the Alaska border to the Carcross Cutoff; and the Haines Road, from Haines Junction to the Alaska border.

Most recently, the issue over the right to hunting bears in highway ditches raised public retaliation after a grizzly was shot a couple of years ago along the Tagish Road.

It was said to be an annual favourite among locals who would take the drive just to see and watch the bear.

In last April’s public meeting in Whitehorse, 80 or so Yukoners attended, in what was more or less a 50-50 split between those who supported and those who opposed a roadside hunting ban for bears.

The right to hunt for food was argued, particularly for those who are not able to get into the outback.

Many emphasized the pleasure they take in viewing wildlife, and the value it creates for the tourism industry.

The Yukon Fish and Game Association and its 800 to 900 members is steadfastly opposed to any no-hunting ban, unless there is a need for conservation, and the association’s executive director emphasized that position again this morning.

Gord Zealand said if there is a need to conserve a wildlife population, the fish and game association will be the first to do whatever it can to help.

If there is no need for conservation, there should be not prohibition, he said.

“We do not support a wholesale roadside ban like this, the association would not support it.”

Zealand said if there is a specific area that needs protection, then close that particular area, but the association does not support a wholesale ban.

The proposal for a 30-metre corridor on each side of the highway from the centre line also poses an issue, because if a hunter wants to shoot a bear, they’ll just wait for the bear to be 35 or 40 metres from the centre line, he said.

“It’s not going to work.”

Atlin Road resident Ken Gabb, on the other hand, said the management board’s proposal falls far short of where it needs to be.

A bear is a bear, whether it’s a grizzly or black, and it doesn’t matter if it’s spring, summer or fall, there should no shooting bears in the ditch, period, he insisted in an interview this morning.

Gabb noted the grizzly bear shot near his home five years ago – an incident that set him on fire – was killed in the fall while it was digging for roots.

“Bears come down and dig for roots in the fall.”

Some hunters eat black bears, but most grizzly bears are shot for trophies to hang on the wall so hunters can tell their grandkids a great tale, he said.

Gabb said there is absolutely no sport involved in hunting a bear while it’s lazily feeding along the highway.

The 30-metre corridor from the centre-line is also largely ineffective, as the cleared right-of-way along many sections highway is wider than 30 metres, he said.

“I guess to start with, I have to quote (John) Diefenbaker,” Gabb said.

“This broth has as much substance as a broth made from the shadow of a starving pigeon.”