Since I started reporting on Fernie City Council in October, bears seem to be an issue that has dominated many conversations. And it’s easy to understand why, as they are quickly becoming more and more comfortable venturing into city limits on their hunt for food.
Last fall, 20 bears were destroyed within the area, and when you hear that, it’s easy to get enraged. But it’s more complex than that. There are many factors that contribute to that statistic, including a hot summer leading to a lack of food and active logging in surrounding areas that threatens natural bear habitat.
However, these factors, along with this issue, are not exclusive to Fernie. Many other cities and towns experience the same threat when it comes to human and bear conflicts. And another factor that contributes to the problem are bear attractants within city limits, the most abundant of which is garbage.
After covering City Council meetings and learning about their ways of approaching the issue, as an editorial team, we wondered what other municipalities within bear country do to address the same issue. So we began asking and reaching out to a variety of communities. Over the past month, Bryn Catton and I have spoke to representatives from Whistler, Jasper, Canmore, Golden and Castlegar to understand their bear bylaws and policies – what, if anything, do they do differently and what works in their communities.
It was interesting to investigate and ask other municipalities what they do, and we hope to present our research over a series of article in the coming weeks. However, I want to make it clear that we are not blaming City Hall for the deaths of the bears, nor do we want to tell them what policy changes are needed.
As mentioned, it’s a complex issue with many factors at play. Some of the factors can be controlled with the help of Council, while others, such as logging and dry weather patterns, are completely out of anyone’s control. And what works in Whistler might not work in Fernie, for a variety of reasons.
What we hope to do when embarking on the series is to gather information on what other communities do on three different topics: education and outreach, bear management and attractant management. Our role as journalists and reporters is not to make changes to bylaws or suggestions to council. It is merely to collect information and ask questions. And we hope to share our insights with you in the coming weeks.
