Coalescence Curriculum on Carnivore Coexistence

Solution Pitch 

The Problem

Within the last ten years, Montana livestock owners have reported depredation events at four times the rate of occurrence than in 2013. An influx of new residents to the state has resulted in increased conflicts due to failure to secure attractants such as garbage, hobby farm livestock, and produce gardening.

The Solution

The Coalescence Curriculum on Carnivore Coexistence solution seeks to reduce human-carnivore conflicts through further development and transformation of the physical version of the Coalescence Curriculum into a virtual format that can engage the next generation of land users and decision makers. The objective is to build an interactive online platform where learners of all ages can access a resource woven from Indigenous and Western sciences that can better inform their carnivore-conflict mitigation approach.

This interactive and multimedia virtual curriculum will be freely available and highly accessible for all learning levels. By teaching residents of Northwest Montana why coexistence with carnivores is important and providing them with the education and tools to prevent conflicts the solution stands to greatly influence the perceptions residents have about grizzly bears and other large carnivores. Through shifting perceptions it hopes to facilitate a reality where both humans and carnivores can thrive.

Stats

Currently, the  solution is in the prototype phase meaning that no individuals are being directly served as of yet. Once the physical curriculum is completed, reviewed, and approved by Tribal partners it will be a resource for the six Confederated Salish and Kootenai’s Tribal Natural Resource Program Wildlife Biologists.

Market Opportunity

The market segment includes all residents, 32,000+, of the Flathead Indian Reservation. Every resident participates in at least one of the following activities: ranching, industrial farming, hobby farming, 4-H/Future Farmers of America programs, bee-keeping, composting, gardening, use of outdoor trash bins. All of these activities cause human-carnivore conflict without education.

Organization Highlights

Currently, curriculum development partners include individuals from:

• University of Montana
• Salish Kootenai College
• Confederated Salish
• Kootenai Tribal Natural Resource Program Wildlife Biologists
• United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services Non-Lethal Conflict Specialists

Partnership Goals

Coalescence Curriculum on Carnivore Coexistence seeks:

• Advice, assistance, and training developing innovative approaches for the online component of the project. This includes progressive ways to reach our audiences, brainstorming sessions with technology and creative experts, and possible creative assistance.
• Expertise in coding and web designing to develop a meaningful and impactful product for the Tribal partners.
• Capacity building/training for technological platforms used to design our virtual educational materials and outreach programs. This could be in the form of personal sessions, tutorials, or workshops.
• Training and support in identifying how to embed site visitation codes into our online platform so that we can collect quantitative data on impact.