Bear Smart Community Documents
Bear Occurrence Reports and Mortalities for Prince George, BC, 2011-2017
This is an update of the Bear Occurrence Report results in the 2008 Hazard Assessment and 2009 Management Plan (above), which were prepared in accordance with the Provincial Bear Smart guidelines.
Human-Bear Conflict Prevention Management Plan for Prince George (Bear Smart Phase 2) - 2009
This report was prepared by Lana M. Ciarniello, PhD, RPBio. The primary objectives of this human-bear conflict management plan are to reduce the number of bears destroyed and to prevent human-bear conflicts within the City of Prince George and the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George. The Plan addresses the hazards and land-use conflicts available to bears that use the City and immediately adjacent District areas, and is intended to be used by local government Planners to aid them in incorporating Bear Smart practices into official community documents such as the Official Community Plan (OCP) and Solid Waste Management Plan (SWMP). This report fulfills the second criterion required to achieve provincial Bear Smart status.
NBA Bear Hazard Assessment for Prince George (Bear Smart Phase 1) - 2008
This report, prepared by Lana M. Ciarniello, PhD, RPBio, presents a problem analysis for the City of Prince George in which the results of the analyses were used to form the basis for a management plan aimed at reducing the number of bears destroyed and preventing bear-human conflicts. This report fulfills the first of six criteria required to achieve provincial Bear Smart status.
This is an update of the Bear Occurrence Report results in the 2008 Hazard Assessment and 2009 Management Plan (above), which were prepared in accordance with the Provincial Bear Smart guidelines.
Human-Bear Conflict Prevention Management Plan for Prince George (Bear Smart Phase 2) - 2009
This report was prepared by Lana M. Ciarniello, PhD, RPBio. The primary objectives of this human-bear conflict management plan are to reduce the number of bears destroyed and to prevent human-bear conflicts within the City of Prince George and the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George. The Plan addresses the hazards and land-use conflicts available to bears that use the City and immediately adjacent District areas, and is intended to be used by local government Planners to aid them in incorporating Bear Smart practices into official community documents such as the Official Community Plan (OCP) and Solid Waste Management Plan (SWMP). This report fulfills the second criterion required to achieve provincial Bear Smart status.
NBA Bear Hazard Assessment for Prince George (Bear Smart Phase 1) - 2008
This report, prepared by Lana M. Ciarniello, PhD, RPBio, presents a problem analysis for the City of Prince George in which the results of the analyses were used to form the basis for a management plan aimed at reducing the number of bears destroyed and preventing bear-human conflicts. This report fulfills the first of six criteria required to achieve provincial Bear Smart status.
UNBC Publications
Evaluating the use of bear-resistant garbage cans to promote human-bear coexistence in Prince George, BC - 2023
In 2019, the City of Prince George initiated a pilot project to test 285 bear-resistant residential garbage carts. The carts were removed in 2022 after City staff concluded that the carts were inefficient, due primarily to the failure of the latches on 22 of the carts. Northern Bear Awareness Society, in partnership with UNBC, worked with a student who analyzed data collected during the project, to complete this report. It was concluded that the carts were effective at reducing human-bear conflict, and that the project should expand to cover other areas of the city.
A Tale of Two Cities, With Bears: Understanding Attitudes Towards Urban Bears in British Columbia, Canada (2019)
This is a follow up to the 2015 report from Dr. Annie L. Booth and Dr, Daniel Ryan from the University of Northern British Columbia. This report compares public attitudes from the cities of Prince George BC and Coquitlam BC, and was published in the journal Urban Ecosystems.
Report on Urban Bears in Prince George - 2015
This report was prepared by Dr. Annie L. Booth and Dr. Daniel Ryan. In collaboration with the Northern Bear Awareness Society in Prince George, British Columbia, Canada, UNBC researchers undertook a survey of Prince George residents to determine their attitudes towards black bears in their community and to assess views about bear management techniques.
In 2019, the City of Prince George initiated a pilot project to test 285 bear-resistant residential garbage carts. The carts were removed in 2022 after City staff concluded that the carts were inefficient, due primarily to the failure of the latches on 22 of the carts. Northern Bear Awareness Society, in partnership with UNBC, worked with a student who analyzed data collected during the project, to complete this report. It was concluded that the carts were effective at reducing human-bear conflict, and that the project should expand to cover other areas of the city.
A Tale of Two Cities, With Bears: Understanding Attitudes Towards Urban Bears in British Columbia, Canada (2019)
This is a follow up to the 2015 report from Dr. Annie L. Booth and Dr, Daniel Ryan from the University of Northern British Columbia. This report compares public attitudes from the cities of Prince George BC and Coquitlam BC, and was published in the journal Urban Ecosystems.
Report on Urban Bears in Prince George - 2015
This report was prepared by Dr. Annie L. Booth and Dr. Daniel Ryan. In collaboration with the Northern Bear Awareness Society in Prince George, British Columbia, Canada, UNBC researchers undertook a survey of Prince George residents to determine their attitudes towards black bears in their community and to assess views about bear management techniques.
Urban Bear Smart Research Program
NBA Society Urban Bear Research Project Preliminary Data - 2012
This data was prepared by Lana M. Ciarniello, PhD, RPBio. This report contains an urban bear study completed for the NBA society as one way of increasing its public education and outreach efforts regarding the creation of 'problem' bears within the City. See below for more information on this research program. For a more detailed summary, see below.
Each year Prince George has one of the highest numbers of bears destroyed in the province (10-year average = 47 bears/year, Ciarniello2008.). Black and grizzly bears (Ursus americanus, U. arctos)inhabit areas surrounding Prince George, although black bears are more frequently encountered. In 1998, the Omineca Bear Human Conflict Committee (OBHCC) was formed by a group of concerned residents to address human-bear conflicts and bear destroyed within the city limits.
In 2000,the OBHCC developed the Northern Bear Awareness Society (NBA) with the goal of promoting public awareness on issues such as bear behaviour and learning. The goal of the NBA, as overseen by the OBHCC, was to focus on reducing“problem” bear behaviour, human-bear conflicts, and the number of bears destroyed within the city of Prince George. Despite considerable efforts, such as working with the City to install bear resistant garbage containers in parks,running a yearly fruit exchange program, and continuous extensive public outreach programs, between 2004 and 2009, the number of bear complaints more than doubled and >160 bears were destroyed, a rate similar to the 10-year average.
In 2006, NBA refocused its efforts towards achieving Provincial Bear Smart Status (Davis et al. 2002) and has completed a hazard assessment (Ciarniello2008.) and management plan (Ciarniello 2009). The hazard assessment identified that the planning and layout of the city appears to act to attract bears into residential neighbourhoods. As an addition to NBA’s education and outreach efforts, in 2009 we started the Prince George Urban Bear Smart Research Project. The Project proposed to identify and conserve wildlife habitats for black and grizzly bears that live within or surrounding urban landscapes (i.e., resident bears) as well as to aid transient bears that are travelling through these areas. As urban areas further expand into formally contiguous habitats, the results for wildlife are normally habitat degradation, loss, and fragmentation, thereby compromising conservation, particularly for large carnivores. Specifically, the objectives of the Urban Bear Research Project were to quantify the following factors and their influences on bear behaviour by:
The purpose was to use monitoring to develop or refine scientifically based methods and analysis that may be used to manage urban wildlife. A goal of this project was to determine how we can use landscape level planning to enhance movement between habitat patches in areas where bears are acceptable and further to restrict or largely reduce access for bears in areas where bears are not acceptable, such as within residential neighbourhoods, thereby promoting an increased environmental understanding among developers, City planners, the Conservation Officer Service and the public.
This data was prepared by Lana M. Ciarniello, PhD, RPBio. This report contains an urban bear study completed for the NBA society as one way of increasing its public education and outreach efforts regarding the creation of 'problem' bears within the City. See below for more information on this research program. For a more detailed summary, see below.
Each year Prince George has one of the highest numbers of bears destroyed in the province (10-year average = 47 bears/year, Ciarniello2008.). Black and grizzly bears (Ursus americanus, U. arctos)inhabit areas surrounding Prince George, although black bears are more frequently encountered. In 1998, the Omineca Bear Human Conflict Committee (OBHCC) was formed by a group of concerned residents to address human-bear conflicts and bear destroyed within the city limits.
In 2000,the OBHCC developed the Northern Bear Awareness Society (NBA) with the goal of promoting public awareness on issues such as bear behaviour and learning. The goal of the NBA, as overseen by the OBHCC, was to focus on reducing“problem” bear behaviour, human-bear conflicts, and the number of bears destroyed within the city of Prince George. Despite considerable efforts, such as working with the City to install bear resistant garbage containers in parks,running a yearly fruit exchange program, and continuous extensive public outreach programs, between 2004 and 2009, the number of bear complaints more than doubled and >160 bears were destroyed, a rate similar to the 10-year average.
In 2006, NBA refocused its efforts towards achieving Provincial Bear Smart Status (Davis et al. 2002) and has completed a hazard assessment (Ciarniello2008.) and management plan (Ciarniello 2009). The hazard assessment identified that the planning and layout of the city appears to act to attract bears into residential neighbourhoods. As an addition to NBA’s education and outreach efforts, in 2009 we started the Prince George Urban Bear Smart Research Project. The Project proposed to identify and conserve wildlife habitats for black and grizzly bears that live within or surrounding urban landscapes (i.e., resident bears) as well as to aid transient bears that are travelling through these areas. As urban areas further expand into formally contiguous habitats, the results for wildlife are normally habitat degradation, loss, and fragmentation, thereby compromising conservation, particularly for large carnivores. Specifically, the objectives of the Urban Bear Research Project were to quantify the following factors and their influences on bear behaviour by:
- Identifying movement and travel corridors within and around urban areas with focus on ‘critical’ linkages;
- Identifying critical habitat patches/types for bears;
- Quantifying the response of bear movement in relationship to new developments in bear habitat; and
- Examining reproductive parameters and age specific mortality in relationship to identified critical habitats.
The purpose was to use monitoring to develop or refine scientifically based methods and analysis that may be used to manage urban wildlife. A goal of this project was to determine how we can use landscape level planning to enhance movement between habitat patches in areas where bears are acceptable and further to restrict or largely reduce access for bears in areas where bears are not acceptable, such as within residential neighbourhoods, thereby promoting an increased environmental understanding among developers, City planners, the Conservation Officer Service and the public.
Contact Us[email protected]
778-281-BEAR (2327) Join Us on Facebook |
Reporting Bear ActivityTo report bear activity or improperly managed bear attractants, refer to the information on our Contact page to choose the best agency to contact.
|