British Columbia's Bear Smart Community Program
The Bear Smart Community program has been designed by the
Ministry of Environment in partnership with the British
Columbia Conservation Foundation and the Union of British
Columbia Municipalities. It is a voluntary, preventative
conservation measure that encourages communities, businesses
and individuals to work together. The goal is to address
the root causes of bear/human conflicts, thereby reducing
the risks to human safety and private property, as well
as the number of bears that have to be destroyed each year.
Although this document was prepared for the province of
British Columbia, the advice and recommendations apply to
any community situated in bear country.
The Bear Smart Community program is based on a series of
criteria that communities must achieve in order to be recognized
as being "Bear Smart". The responsibility to manage
bear/human conflicts rests with everyone and will require
participation from the provincial government, municipal
governments, and local citizens to be successful.
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Criteria for Bear Smart Communities
- Prepare a bear hazard assessment of the community and surrounding area.
- Prepare a bear/human conflict management plan that is designed to address the bear hazards and land-use conflicts identified in the previous step.
- Revise planning and decision-making documents to be consistent with the bear/human conflict management plan.
- Implement a continuing education
program, directed at all sectors of the community.
- Develop and maintain a bear-proof municipal solid waste management system.
- Implement "Bear Smart" bylaws prohibiting the provision of food to bears as a result of intent, neglect or irresponsible management of attractants.
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A brochure
outlining the Bear Smart Community program, as well as a technical
background report, have been prepared. The background report
is for use by communities that are interested in pursuing this
initiative and provides detailed information on each of the criteria,
including examples of their successful application.
See the Ministry's
website for more details.
One of the first steps is to form a Bear Stewardship Committee
comprised of all the stakeholders in your community e.g. representatives
from the municpal governement, community (resident), a major business,
waste company, wildlife agency, and the local bear smart advocacy
group. Decisions on the process, delivery, and implementation
of the “Bear Smart” Community Program must come from
a community that takes ownership of the program and in turn motivates
community
action.
Without public and community support for proactive management,
human-bear conflicts will continue to increase, and bears will
continue to pay the price. Change in public attitudes and commitment
can change decades of reactive management into a co-operative
effort of which a community can be proud. For more information
on forming a committee and it's objectives, see Section 5 of the
“Bear Smart”
Community Program:Background Report.
Fundraising to support programs may be one of the most difficult
challenges of all. We've put together some suggestions to help
make the process managable. See our guide
to fundraising.
Contact:
Mike Badry - Wildlife-Human Conflicts Strategy Coordinator
Conservation Officer Service Headquarters
Ministry of Environment
Email: Mike.Badry@gov.bc.ca
Telephone: 250 387-9793 Fax: 250 356-5240 |
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Mailing Address:
PO Box 9376 Stn Prov Govt
Victoria BC V8W 9M5
Physical Address:
4th Fl 2975 Jutland Rd |
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