By Sebastian Kanally, Times Chronicle
Preventing wildlife from getting into curbside garbage will be one of the ongoing focuses of the WildsafeBC program in the area.
Shelley Fiorito, Regional District of the Okangan-Similkameen (RDOS) community coordinator for the RDOS WildsafeBC program presented her annual summary highlighting how the last year went for the program and what is on the horizon for 2024.
The WildsafeBC program, formerly called the Bear Aware program, works toward wildlife education and human-wildlife conflict reduction across the province.
The program engages in various ways of educating the public such as youth education in classrooms and outdoors and attending community events. Along with education the program conducts garbage audits, and provides training on bear spray deployment while collaborating with partner organizations.
Fiorito explained that their main focus continues to be on black bears as they are commonly found across the entire region. She explained that last year they trained 150 people on how to deploy bear spray.
The program is looking at ways to deter bears from getting into people’s garbage. One way they are doing this is looking at finding a manufacturer of affordable bear resistant garbage cans. Fiorito explained that they have been searching, but are struggling to do this affordably, as shipping is creating a problem.
A young bear wanders through Casitas del Sol in Osoyoos checking out the neighbourhood. File photo (Bruce Bidinoff).
Along with bear resistant garbage cans, they are continuing to work with collection schedules to reduce opportunities for wildlife to access attractants. Fiorito explained that despite there being rules around putting garbage bins out before 7 a.m. on pick up days, bears are still taking advantage of the time gap between then and when the garbage is being picked up.
Fiorito also detailed some successes the program has had over the past year, such as having updated programming for elementary classroom presentations, outdoor activities and games to enhance learning.
They are also continuing to work with the En’owkin Centre, which is located in Penticton, to develop a Sylix brochure series for black bear, rattlesnake, coyote and cougars.
In 2024 the program is looking to hire a summer student to participate in community events, presentations and garbage audits, as they were unsuccessful in hiring someone last year.
Some other challenges Fiorito identified in her presentation were new residents being unaware of the wildlife activity in many of the communities in the region. She noted a broader range of species are coming into conflict with residents such as bobcat, moose, badger, and elk, all of which are becoming common in discussions with the public.
Another challenge they are encountering is getting residents to call and report conflict in high risk areas and getting this information onto the Wildlife Alert Report Program (WARP). This alert program is intended to be an interactive map where people can see updated reports of wildlife sightings but is currently unavailable.
The RDOS WildsafeBC program has a dedicated Facebook page where interested community members can find videos, tips and notifications about wildlife activity and events that occur in the region. Information can also be found on the RDOS website, under Utilities and WildsafeBC tabs.
