Challenge
Known as the Polar Bear Capital of the World, the town of Churchill in Manitoba,
Canada, sits on the northwest shore of the Hudson Bay. Every year, nearly 10,000
tourists pour into this small town of 1,000 to view the polar bears as climate change
forces them to hunt closer to populated areas. City managers and conservationists
alike were looking for a way to use technology to safely manage the situation.
Solution
Milestone teamed up with partners NMS Security and SpotterRF to help Polar
Bears International and Utah’s Hogle Zoo deploy a unique camera/radar solution
to help the city of Churchill keep citizens and polar bears at a safe distance from
each other.
Advantages
Regardless of available human resources, weather conditions or time of day, when
a bear is detected, the XProtect-managed camera/radar system automatically
sends out alerts and provides officials with real-time location information and
video for visual confirmation
A World-Class Challenge
Located on the edge of the Arctic, Churchill offers the feel of a frontier town
but has the amenities expected of an international tourist destination. Set
amid rugged wilderness, Churchill’s residents meld tradition and innovation.
This remote, yet accessible, northern community stays connected to the
world with cell phone coverage and high-speed wireless internet, making the
town the perfect setting to address a centuries-old problem by employing
modern technology.
Home to the largest and most accessible polar bear population on the planet,
Churchill grabs the spotlight every fall when nearly 10,000 tourists pour
into town to view polar bears as they gather on the shores of Hudson Bay
awaiting for the sea ice to return so they can hunt seals. But polar bears are
not the only attraction bringing in tourists. Churchill offers a wide range of
other activities, including elevated Tundra Buggy safaris, dog-sled rides, and
excursions to see the northern lights.
To help humans and polar bears maintain a safe distance from each other,
Churchill has a Polar Bear Alert program staffed with wildlife officers. When a
community member spots a bear, they call a hotline and wildlife officers are
dispatched to scare the bear out of town or safely immobilize it and transfer it
to a holding facility until the bear can be released back to the wild.
Over the last several years, with the impact of modern climate change, the ice-
free period on Hudson Bay has lengthened by roughly one month compared
with the 1980s, forcing polar bears to fast for longer periods of time and
causing some to wander into town to find food. With more than 300 polar bear
response calls made in 2016, the number continues to rise. The seasonal need
for wildlife officer patrols and intervention is becoming increasingly expensive
for the town, creating the need for a new option to be explored.
The Video/Radar Solution
Polar Bears International (PBI) is the only conservation group with a sole
focus on polar bears. Through media, science, and advocacy this non-profit
organization works diligently to address the issues that threaten polar bears
and their sea ice habitat. PBI has been working with the town of Churchill for
many years, observing, monitoring, tracking and performing valuable field
research with this unique polar bear population.
“At Polar Bears International, part of our mission is to be involved with
helping prevent conflicts between polar bears and humans,” said BJ
Kirschhoffer, Director of Field Operations, Polar Bears International. “When
we looked at what Churchill was dealing with, we thought it might be a good
match for a camera and radar solution that we observed a few years ago on
the other side of the continent.”
In 2014, Anchorage, Alaska-based Milestone Partner NMS Security was
working with a major energy company to help deal with a similar polar
bear issue. An oil pipeline operation needed to better protect its workers
rom polar bears, and vice-versa. NMS Security worked with its technology
partner, SpotterRF, to deploy and fine-tune the use of a small, ground-based
intrusion detection radar system as a solution.
Just-in-Time Warning Alerts
The system is designed to spot polar bears while they are still at a safe
distance and position a camera on the bears so operation managers can
view the situation and decide what actions to take. A single SpotterRF
compact radar unit can fit in a backpack, weighs less than four pounds, and
can cover an area of up to 380 acres.
“The system does a great job of tracking polar bear movement and giving
workers enough of a warning to pack up and get out,” said Ed Knoch,
Director of Security Technology Solutions, NMS Security. “We’ve been doing
this in Alaska for a few years now, and we’ve gotten really good at it.”
NMS Security worked with SpotterRF and Milestone Systems to develop
an integrated plug-in for the XProtect video management software (VMS),
allowing the radar system to be controlled seamlessly, directly through the
Milestone interface. NMS Security won the 2017 Milestone Integration of the
Year award for the SpotterRF plug-in.
Polar Bears International was performing field research in Alaska and
happened to be at the pipeline camp when NMS and SpotterRF were
installing and setting up the solution.
“The radar and camera setup seemed like a great idea, and it’s been on our
minds since we saw it,” said Kirschhoffer. “So, we explained the solution and
proposed it to Churchill wildlife managers, and they agreed that it would be
a good fit for their situation.”
A Plan of Action
In early 2017, Churchill managers met with PBI and NMS Security and
developed a plan to install a camera and two radar units on the town’s
busiest public building. This building houses the school, hospital and
community center, and is located on the Hudson Bay shore, adjacent to an
active polar bear migration corridor. From this vantage point, they would be
able to detect incoming and departing bears near the complex and along
the north-facing shoreline.
“Churchill is an ideal place to test this technology. It’s a community that has
lived with polar bears for centuries, and in recent years, the government
has developed strategies to help protect the community and manage polar
bears to the best of their abilities,” said Liz Larsen, Director of Conservation
for Utah’s Hogle Zoo, located in Salt Lake City, a PBI partner and sponsor of
the program. “The previous strategy relies on people actually spotting polar
bears — which is difficult being a white animal in all-white surroundings —
and is expensive, requiring 24-hour patrols in peak season.”
A Canon VB-R10VE vandal-resistant, outdoor PTZ dome camera and two
SpotterRF radar units were installed by NMS Security partner Johnson Controls
out of Calgary, on their behalf. A Dell server runs the Milestone VMS platform
with the Spotter XProtect plug-in interface installed. When a bear is detected,
the system can be programmed to automatically send out email alerts and
sound a bear warning.
“This is not an after-the-fact solution, said Knoch. “We’re able to track bears in
real time, and we can see its speed and heading, its distance from the radar
unit and its total distance traveled.”
The radar units provide warnings at about 400 meters out from the shoreline.
“Another beauty of this system is that we can have volunteers or paid
technicians virtually anywhere there’s internet, and they can monitor the
system and use the tools to visually verify a bear’s presence,” said Kirschhoffer.
“Eventually, we want to add some more radar units, as well as test the system’s
ability to automate bear-deterrent devices, perhaps triggering a strobe light to
frighten away bears when they reach certain areas.”
Replicating the Success
Knoch explained that the system, which is in the pilot phase, has the potential
to provide a new level of safety in Churchill, complementing the community’s
successful Polar Bear Alert program.
“We’re very happy with all the elements of the project. The radar units, the
camera, the Milestone video management software, everything is working
well,” said Kirschhoffer. “NMS Security did a fantastic job of getting us set up.
All the pieces are pretty complex, and it’s important to have a partner like that
when doing these projects.”
With the camera/radar system up and running and yielding positive results, there
is no doubt among the team that there is great potential for Churchill and for
replicating this system into more polar bear impacted communities, as well as within
environments around the world where humans and wildlife come in conflict. Wild
elephants, hippos and other non-predator species, for example, often raid and
destroy crops, threatening humans and provoking a lethal response.
“There are many habitats around the world where humans and wildlife are
sharing the same space and competing for water and food. As conservationists,
we need to look at different strategies to help people and wildlife coexist,” said
Larsen. “There’s good potential here that this technology could contribute to
wildlife conservation in a wide variety of ways. We see this project as being a
promising tool to help ensure long-term population sustainability, particularly in
communities that are going to be left vulnerable in the face of climate change.