Despite its status as one of BC’s 10 BearSmart communities, Castlegar has already seen four black bear deaths this year as a result of 24 complaints.
“To me that’s not acceptable,” Sgt. Ben Beetlestone of the BC Conservation Officer Service told city council during a presentation this week.
Beetlestone said on the whole, the City of Castlegar is doing a “very solid job” of minimizing conflict human-bear conflicts within its boundaries, but more can and needs to be done.
By comparison in 2022, conservation officers received 227 calls of human-black bear conflicts within Castlegar city limits, resulting in nine bears being killed. Last year in Trail, 43 complaints resulted in one bear death.
Beetlestone said the killing of bears, which occurs when a habituated animal is deemed a public safety risk, has a “significant impact” on the mental health of conservation officers.
“Understandably, it’s very emotional to the public when a bear is euthanized, but often that emotion is directed negatively toward the conservation officer on scene or later on through social media, hate mail, different threats,” he said. “We all have had to deal with that.”
Beetlestone, who has been a conservation officer for 23 years, said no one chooses the career because they want to destroy wildlife.
Nelson saw 17 bears killed last year, which he said took a toll on officers. However, he added controlling attractants like garbage and fruit trees isn’t part of their job description.
He said community members need to feel “empowered” to hold others accountable to ensure attractants are managed and conflicts minimized.
In the spring, garbage accounts for about 70 per cent of conflicts, which falls to 45 per cent in fall when fruit and nut trees also become a problem. Responsibility for preventing conflicts falls to the community and its leaders, Beetlestone said.
“I should not get a phone call because someone’s reporting a bear in their garbage three nights in a row. That’s a management attractant issue that needs to come from the community.”
However, he is hopeful Castlegar’s forthcoming curbside organics program will help, as smelly stuff is picked up weekly rather than bi-weekly. But he added it will still be residents’ responsibility to ensure carts are properly stored and cleaned.
Beetlestone said conservation officers don’t relocate habituated black bears, as they soon find their way back. He said residents should ask what is attracting the bear in the first place and address those issues.
Responding to a question from council, Beetlestone said the city’s BearSmart committee identifies and replaces commercial dumpsters that aren’t bear-proof, but the city could enact further bylaws for businesses with food waste or grease barrels. However, he said most complaints are the result of residential attractants.
He also suggested the city might give communal dumpsters another try, allowing people to dispose of attractants whenever needed. The city tried a pilot project but stopped it prematurely in 2021 because it was being abused. Beetlestone said it might be worth revisiting with limited hours and greater supervision.
(CORRECTION: A previous version of this story said 12 bears were killed in Nelson last year.)
