A bears-versus-bulldozers battle is brewing in the Callaghan Valley between environmentalists and Olympic organizers.

And a senior Environment Ministry official is warning that even cross-country ski-trail construction-crew lunches must be kept "completely secure" to avoid risks of grizzly-bear attacks.

Joe Foy, of the Western Canada Wilderness Committee, said yesterday that if Vancouver 2010 organizers start building 25 kilometres of cross-country legacy trails next month, it could lead to a showdown over the impact on grizzly bears seen in the area.

Foy said that the Ministry of the Environment has recommended further study of the bears before proceeding with the trails.

"I could scarcely believe [Vancouver 2010] wouldn't do that, but if they won't, it's worth a fight," he said.

Foy was commenting after the Olympic watchdog group released a report giving Olympic organizers a D-minus grade in meeting its social and environmental promises.

Foy, who is WCWC national campaign director, said a new study would cost about $250,000.

"We are shocked and surprised that, so far, that request is being ignored," he added. "Five hundred logging truckloads of old-growth forest is to be removed from this sensitive grizzly-bear habitat."

On April 5, Tom Bell, regional manager of environmental stewardship for the ministry, wrote to the environmental-assessment office warning of problems if more studies are not done.

He said four male and four female grizzlies have been identified in the Callaghan Valley, which is the venue for the Olympic Nordic skiing and ski-jump competitions.

Bell said the ministry supports the "potential need for seasonal trail closures to ensure human safety."

He added that "even something as simple as the lunches of trail-construction crews must be kept completely secure. The ministry recommends a zero tolerance of attractants during construction and operations."

Whistler Coun. Eckhard Zeidler said the issue may pit environmentalists against a nordic skiing community that wants the trails to be built.

"If the trails are built with insufficient research and bear-management strategy, the first moment a grizzly up there is in conflict with a user on the trails, that grizzly's going to die," predicted Zeidler. "At that time I can see a huge backlash from the environmental community and I can see those trails shutting down entirely."

An environmental-assessment report on the legacy trails is expected in four to six weeks, he said.

Donna Wilson, Vancouver 2010's vice-president of human resources and sustainability, said no decisions have been made on the proposed trail sites.

dinwood@png.canwest.com

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© The Vancouver Province 2007