Powell River doesn’t have to reinvent the wheel to begin dealing with the increasing number of bear-human conflicts in the community.
The Bear Smart Community Program has been designed by the BC ministry of environment with the British Columbia Conservation Foundation and the Union of BC Municipalities. A voluntary, preventive conservation measure, it encourages communities, businesses and individuals to work together. The goal is to address the root causes of human-bear conflicts, thereby reducing the risks to human safety and private property, as well as the number of bears that are destroyed each year.
The Resort Municipality of Whistler provides a good example of how to become a Bear Smart community. All the information is available. Becoming a Bear Smart community will take collaboration among City of Powell River officials, provincial conservation officers, the RCMP, community and business leaders and concerned residents. Community officials need to take the first step to start a process that will lead to a solution.
