The designation is based on population research and habitat data, as well as a recommendation from the Alberta Endangered Species Conservation Committee, which includes ranchers, academics, wildlife managers and conservationists.

The committee recommended the Alberta Grizzly bear be listed as threatened in 2002, but the Alberta government instead set about establishing a recovery plan, which took six years to complete.

The Alberta government's Grizzly Bear Status Report released February 2010, estimates there are 691 grizzly bears in the province, compared to 841 in 2000. By contrast, the grizzly bear population in British Columbia is estimated at about 16,000 animals.

"We share this province with grizzly bears and are committed to ensuring grizzly bears remain part of Alberta's landscape," states Mel Knight, Minister of Sustainable Resource Development.

Grizzly bears are currently not listed under Canada's Species at Risk Act (SARA), however the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) lists the Northwestern Grizzly Bears under the designation of Special Concern.