Bear Aware

News Release:
Bear Aware Arrives in the Thompson Nicola Regional District

Kamloops. BC (22 July 2010) – Bear Aware is here! The Thompson-Nicola Regional District (TNRD) is excited to announce a new partnership with the British Columbia Conservation Foundation (BCCF). The popular Bear Aware program will be available to residents of TNRD Member Municipalities and Electoral Areas throughout the summer and into the fall.

Bear Aware is an education program that works with communities to manage bear attractants. Attractants are things that bears eat in our communities such as garbage, tree fruit, bird feeders, pet foods, compost, beehives, barbeques, and almost anything else that is edible. Over 900 habituated bears are killed in BC each year. An habituated bear is a bear that is comfortable around humans. A food-conditioned bear relies on finding food near people. When bears become habituated and/or food-conditioned they may become a safety risk to people. .

Bear Aware is a program of the BCCF. Bear Aware strives to reduce the number of habituated bears and potential bear-human conflicts. The program has been effective in many B.C. communities. TNRD Bear Aware Community Coordinator Katelyn Leitch, plans on running an equally effective program in the TNRD. Katelyn will also be addressing the importance of responsible disposal of household waste as well as the negative environmental impacts of illegal dumping. These duties are unique to the TNRD Bear Aware program and complement some of the recent changes to the Regional District’s Solid Waste Management Plan.

Bear Aware works with communities in many different ways. Presentations, door to door campaigns, and garbage tagging are just a few examples. Bear Aware relies heavily on volunteer participation. If you would like to get involved in any of the above activities, you can contact Katelyn Leitch, TNRD Bear Aware Community Coordinator.

BC is bear country, so we will always be living with bears. We need to manage our attractants to keep bears out of our communities. Bear Aware and the TNRD thanks those residents that have kept their properties free of animal attractants.

To report damage caused by bears or human safety issues as well as illegal dumping, call the RAPP line at: 1-877-952-7277.

Be Bear Aware!
www.bearaware.bc.ca

For more information on how to manage attractants - contact bearaware@tnrd.bc.ca
and Katelyn Leitch at 250-319-6265