The city’s advisory committee on bear awareness brought eight recommendations to council to try to reduce the number of black bear/human conflicts in the city.
Council members expressed concerns about the cost of implementing all eight recommendations and referred the proposal to the city administration to determine how much each of those recommendations would cost the city.
The committee has recommended that the city hire a dedicated employee focused on sustainable waste management to try and minimize human-bear conflicts.
As was so obviously demonstrated a year ago when bear sightings were nightly occurrences in many city neighbourhoods after extended drought dried up the berry crop in the forests that surround the city, bears are attracted to fruit trees and garbage bins in residential areas as food sources.
By proactively addressing those conflicts, which in 2023 led to 79 black bears euthanized by conservation officers, the committee suggested Prince George would be more likely to achieve provincial Bear Smart status.
The committee also proposed a two-year pilot project utilizing automated bear-resistant solid waste bins in areas that experience high bear activity. If it proves successful that could lead to city-wide implementation, further reducing the risk of bear encounters and promoting safer communities.
“Waste management is the No. 1 bear conflict issue,” said Lisa Cran, a board member for the Northern Bear Awareness Society.
BC Conservation officer Alicia Buchanan told council there have so far been 474 reports to the conservation office on black bear sightings within the city limits in 2024, as compared to 3,725 in the 12 months of 2023. Eight bears have been destroyed by conservation officers, compared to last year’s total of 79.
