Bear aware makes summer outreach move

The Northern Bear Awareness Society is working as hard as ever to keep humans and bears from encountering each other.

The society has been visiting classrooms to deliver the bear-aware message to kids, but just because schools are closing for the summer doesn't mean the learning ends. Society personnel will bring the presentation to any group that wants to learn more and they will be in attendance at public events this summer.

"Our goal is to minimize human and bear interactions within the community of Prince George through education, innovation, and cooperation," said Laura Bass, co-ordinator for the society and its companion organization Bear Aware. A comprehensive website is available at www.bearaware.bc.ca full of information on preventing interactions with bears and a map feature that shows where this year's bear sightings have been.

"At my last count we had 102 sightings for black bears and three grizzlies," said Bass. "This is slightly lower than last year, for both, but very close. Conditions seem to be similar in a lot of ways to last year, and it is largely the same areas getting most of the sightings."

To take the campaign to bear-prone areas, Bass and her team are conducting garbage audits to inform homeowners about the single biggest attractant that brings bears into neighbourhoods. This puts humans at risk and often ends in conservation officers having to kill the bear for public safety.

"The audits are a tool we use to target education to certain areas. We do random surveys to find neighbourhoods where a lot of residents tend to put their garbage out the night before," Bass said. "We will follow up by going door to door offering pamphlets, advise and information on how to manage attractants. Most people seem to be receptive to the information and appreciate the tips. Most people aren't aware of the full range of alternatives out there to putting garbage out too early."

The main tips include:

- Store it in a garage, shed or basement;

- Have neighbours help (especially good for shift workers or those with mobility challenges);

- Freeze the smelly stuff first;

- Use bear-resistant storage lockers for your garbage bins.

"If the bear is unable to easily access the garbage, they don't receive a food reward so they don't linger," Bass explained. "Out on the street it is easy access for a prolonged period of time, they get that food reward, and a problem bear has been created."

Major attractants include garbage, bird feeders, uncleaned barbecues, unattended pet food, trees with overripe fruit, and unserviced compost piles.

For more information - especially to book a bear awareness session with your neighbourhood association, workplace, daycare, book club, church group, etc. - call Bass or colleague Kaela Perry at 778-281-BEAR.