Mismanaged refuse and fruit trees led to five bears being destroyed by conservation officers this season – four in Rossland and one in Trail.
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That’s one more black bear destroyed in the alpine city compared to 2018, though the number is status quo for Trail.
“Garbage and fruit trees remain the top high conflict animal attractants in Rossland and Trail and black bears remain the most frequently reported wildlife,” says coordinator Katie Swinwood.
“Visit our website at WildSafeBC.com to learn how to manage wildlife attractants to prevent human-wildlife conflicts in your neighbourhood.”
With bears almost all denned up for the winter, the WildSafeBC Rossland/Trail program is also going into hibernation until spring.
“Once again, WildSafeBC had an active year assisting the community with several wildlife conflicts throughout Rossland and Trail,” Swinwood summarized.
“The program included door-to-door canvassing, garbage tagging, attendance at public events, and delivery of the WildSafe Ranger elementary school program.”
She encourages locals to visit the WildSafeBC website later this month to review her year-end report.
“And see what the Rossland/Trail WildSafeBC Community Coordinator was able to accomplish this year.”
During the winter months, Swinwood advises that wildlife conflicts be reported to the provincial RAPP line at 1-877-952-7277. Urgent questions can be directed to WildSafeBC via email at bc@wildsafebc.com.
“Until our program resumes in the spring, please visit wildsafebc.com,” she added. “And follow our Facebook page for updates, tips, and other information to assist you in keeping wildlife wild and communities safe.”
WildSafeBC is the provincial leader in preventing conflict with wildlife through collaboration, education, and community solutions. It is owned and delivered by the British Columbia Conservation Foundation (BCCF) and has evolved out of the highly successful Bear Aware program.
While the Bear Aware program dealt with the immediate concerns communities and the province had with bears, the BCCF realized early on that conflicts with other wildlife were also increasing.
As an answer to these other concerns, the WildSafeBC program was developed in 2013.
While the organization still provides information necessary to reduce human-bear conflicts, it also provides information on dealing with a wide variety of other species such as deer, cougars, coyotes and even rattlesnakes.
Founded in 1969 by the B.C. Wildlife Federation, the BCCF is a registered society and charity.
Established to achieve ‘on-the-ground’ conservation success, the society has been involved in over 5,000 research, restoration, mapping and education projects and has helped to deliver programs in more than 30 B.C. communities.
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