Email from Andrea Miller re: March 19 agenda item, bear item 8.1.a
Correspondence from a resident supporting bear-proof bins and advocating for proactive wildlife attractant management.
Elena Bolster
Subject: FW: March 19 agenda item, bear item 8.1.a
From: Andrea Miller
Sent: Sunday, March 17, 2024 9:27 PM
To: Mayor And Council Email mayorandcouncil@viewroyal.ca; Sid Tobias mayortobias@viewroyal.ca
Cc: Elena Bolster EBolster@viewroyal.ca; Melanie Austin
Subject: March 19 agenda item, bear item 8.1.a
Dear Mayor Tobias and Council,
Under agenda item 8.1.a, you will see a staff report regarding our presentation last September requesting bear-proof trash bins and a wildlife attractant bylaw. Keeping bears and other wildlife out of trash is a safety issue for citizens. Seniors in our neighborhood stopped walking outside their homes last summer and autumn because of bears. The situation got so bad that a garbage-eating mother bear was killed by conservation officers because she was deemed a danger.
The staff report recommends against introducing bear-proof bins, saying they are more costly and may not stop particularly aggressive bears.
A glaring omission is the fact we proposed ways to minimize costs and impacts. We suggested a pilot project in a smaller section of town, such as our neighborhood. Bear-proof bins and a bylaw could specifically be assigned to the pilot area. We could use the pilot to assess the effectiveness, participation and success levels.
We also suggested the possible option of adding bear-proof bins only on streets where bears roam most frequently (eg. adjacent to forests and wildlife corridors). We also pointed to the availability of grants and said that Castlegar received money from gas tax funding.
When my neighbour Melanie Austin researched trash bins, she spoke with Waste Management. The company told her the bear-proof bins did not cost substantially more than the current bins. (See her letter to council for details).
The staff report suggests bear-proof bins may not be effective in deterring particularly aggressive bears. But according to government statistics, bear conflicts decreased in communities with Bear Smart measures. These communities include Coquitlam and Castlegar which are named in the staff report. Numerous government news releases state, “Communities where attractants are managed properly have seen a decline in related human-wildlife conflicts and in the number of animals that must be destroyed.” Many communities continue to employ Bear Smart measures and more communities have come on board in recent years. Seems like a big waste if such measures don’t work.
Rather than recommend bear proof bins and a bylaw, the staff report states wildlife conflicts should be reported immediately to conservation officers because the sooner the call, the better the outcome for people and wildlife. That - simply put - is not true.
When people phone conservation to report a bear, they are often told to ensure trash is secure. The officer who responded to our neighbourhood bears last summer told people the neighbourhood had an attractant problem.
Attractants are the root cause of bears lingering in a neighborhood. Simply removing the problem bear is never the solution. Garbage will always attract new bears and the problem will continue, according to Bear Smart BC. This was clearly outlined in our presentation.
Taking away food sources should be the first priority. Conservation officers agree. By the time conservation officers decide a bear is a problem, it is often too late — humans have faced a certain danger and the bear is set to be destroyed.
The report to council doesn’t provide information that we believe is necessary for council to make a decision.
What are the actual costs of the bins? Double the price - what does that mean?
What would be the cost for a pilot project on the streets facing most bear problems? What about grants?
Bylaws can be set to cover limited areas and pilot project sites. Was this considered?
Is the final price too high for increasing safety and peace of mind for residents?
What is the plan for public education.
My understanding is the education would basically consist of providing links to Bear Smart and Wildsafe BC.
Last week, I sent an email to town officials showing how North Cowichan designed a bear safety post and placed it on its Facebook page. I requested a similar Facebook post on the View Royal site.
The response from the engineering director was the town website provides information on its waste collection page. This information consists of a short statement and a link to the Bear Smart program, near the bottom of that page. The engineering director stated staff are “satisfied with this content.” In contrast, North Cowichan has a stand-alone page on its website, using its own words, addressing residents of North Cowichan and providing a contact number with the municipality. It also posts attractive ads on social media and other sites.
The View Royal actions are the bare minimum at best - no pun intended.
View Royal can do better than this.
Andrea Miller
2446 Park Ridge Place
View Royal
V9B 6J1