Prince George, B.C. – The City of Prince George has three steps to complete before it can be certified as a “Bear Smart” community.

 

Bears are not uncommon sites in Prince George, in fact, last year, Conservation Officers received 1925 calls about bears in the community and attended 310.   Of that number, 86 black bears and one grizzly were destroyed, and one black bear was relocated.

 

Over the past three years, Conservation Officers have received, on average, 1190.7 complaint calls about bears each year.

 

What is surprising, is that despite an education program, the number of complaint calls has not decreased over the three years.

 

In 2008, there were 748 complaint calls, in 2009 there were  900 calls and in the past year, there were 1925 complaints. The rising number of calls comes despite the efforts of the Northern Bear Awareness Society which has  completed the Bear Hazard Assessment, the Bear-Human Conflict Management Plan, and the implementation of a continuing  education program.

 

The next phase is up to the City and requires the City to:

 

1.Revise planning and decision making documents to be consistent with the Bear-Human conflict management plan. : This will require a review of the documents used for the official community plan, development processes and regulations.

 

2.Develop and maintain a Bear proof municipal solid waste management system. For the City of Prince George, this means more focus on curbside garbage collection.  This may include such items as garburator installations or purchase of bear proof automated containers/lids. This may require capital funds from the City of Prince George.

 

3.Implement Bear Smart bylaws

The City of Prince George will work with the Conservation Officer Service and the Northern Bear Awareness Society to develop new bylaws in regards to bear/human conflict. Items to examine/review include cart set out times, storage and containerization requirements, fruit tree management, and bird feeders.