Northern Bear Awareness

To reduce conflict in neighbourhoods between people and bears through education, innovation and cooperation.

Provincial Bear smart

The Provincial Bear Smart Community program is based on a series of criteria that communities must achieve in order to be designated "Bear Smart". The responsibility of managing these conflicts rests with everyone and requires participation from the provincial and municipal governments, and local citizens to be successful.

Do you already know where the bear activity is in your community? Do you have bear- proof garbage containers? Is there fencing around the local landfill? Is there some kind of bear education program in place? These are just a few of the ways that British Columbia communities are working towards achieving the Bear Smart criteria. The following is an outline of the six steps and where we are in the process:

 

1. Prepare a bear hazard assessment of the community and surrounding area..

            

             October 2008—The Bear Hazard Assessment for Prince George British Columbia is complete

              and available for download. Adobe Reader is required to read this file.

2.          Prepare a bear/human conflict management plan that is designed to address the bear hazards              and land-use conflicts identified in the previous step.

            

             October 2009—

             Human-Bear Conflict Prevention Management Plan for Prince George, British Columbia

             is complete and available for download. Adobe Reader is required to read this file.

3.          Revise planning and decision-making documents to be consistent with the bear/human              conflict management plan.

4.          Implement a continuing education program, directed at all sectors of the community.

            

             Ongoing since 2000. Northern Bear Awareness presentations are free and can be booked during bear              season by calling our office or sending us an email.

5.          Develop and maintain a bear-proof municipal solid waste management system.

6.          Implement "Bear Smart" bylaws prohibiting the provision of food to bears as a result of intent,

             neglect or irresponsible management of attractants.

 

Please check out the Bear Smart website. It has lots of useful information, especially the background report, which describes the program in detail.

Where is Prince George in all of this?

 

Our community has already met a number of the Bear Smart Criteria. We have completed a bear hazard assessment of Prince George and surrounding area (check out our conflict map). We have also completed most aspects of criteria numbers 2 and 3. Prince George implemented a continuing education program in 2000, called Northern Bear Awareness. This program has been incredibly successful at reaching all sectors of the community. Every year, the Northern Bear Awareness Society speaks to thousands of people about bear attractants, bear-human conflicts, and bear safety. This includes elementary school kids, secondary school students, and lots and lots of interested adults. We have also been officially endorsed by the Mayor and Council of Prince George when a resolution for a Bear Smart bylaw was passed on June 29, 2009. While Prince George isn’t Bear Smart yet, it is something we are working on! Congratulations to Kamloops, who became the first community in British Columbia to achieve Bear Smart status.

 Keep your eyes on our local newspapers and this website for any updates regarding our Bear Smart status!

Contact us:

 

 

1384 River Road

Prince George, BC

V2L 5S8.

Phone: 250-301-7575

Fax: 250-563-5438