An Alice Lake Provincial Park initiative is being used as a test case for a possible province-wide project to curb bear-human conflicts.
Bear proof recycling bins were installed in the park May 2009, and by the end of summer, results will determine all B.C. provincial parks could benefit from their addition.
"Alice Lake was selected because of a higher incidence of bear activity relative to other parks in the Lower Mainland," said Ministry of Environment (MoE) public affairs officer Suntanu Dalal.
Alice Lake was among four provincial parks selected for a ministry and Encorp Pacific Canada project, which saw 59 bins installed at Alice Lake, Cultus Lake Provincial Park (near Chilliwack), Goldstream Provincial Park (near Victoria) and Rathtrevor Provincial Park (near Parksville).
The three other parks, Cultus Lake, Goldstream and Rathtrevor Beach, were selected because they are among the busiest and most popular in the BC Parks system.
The specially designed bins allow campers to maintain their environmentally friendly habits while still keeping bears at bay.
"While we do not have any results at this point to indicate there has been a change in bear activity linked to the availability of the bins, we do know that park visitors are putting the bins to good use, helping to keep our parks are clean and green, and being bear smart at the same time," said Dalal.
Local conservation officer Chris Doyle said any initiative that keeps even remote bear attractants in check is good.
"Any time you can contain an attractant, and recycling is an attractant, it generally will reduce the number of conflicts you have," said Doyle.
He said it's difficult to determine if the bins are making a difference as of yet because every year the number of bear conflicts is different dependant on weather.
"Our bear complaints at Alice Lake are kind of sporadic, some years we have issues there and other years we don't," said Doyle.
Doyle said the larger issue is with campers leaving uncontained attractants around their campsite, which leads to more serious problems.
"The other factor to consider is human error and negligence - there a few people out there that don't really care and will still keep their food and garbage right around their campsite," said Doyle.
"We want to remind people to do their best to keep their sites clean regardless of what infrastructure is there for them to use."
He said the other favourite camping spot, Cat Lake, is more prone to bear conflicts than Alice Lake thanks to their higher level of supervision and infrastructure.
Dalal said a thorough assessment will be done in the fall to determine the usage rates and effectiveness and that will give the MoE a better idea of the project's success. He said an expansion of the program is likely due to environmental benefits.
Encorp Pacific Canada is a product stewardship corporation with beverage container management as its core business, and their Return-It Man mascot has been visiting the four selected parks and providing recycling facts to people at the parks.
"As British Columbians, we're proud of our provincial parks, and conscientious when it comes to recycling," said Encorp Pacific Canada CEO Neil Hastie.
"Encorp's bear smart recycling partnership with the provincial government will not only help keep our parks clean and conserve resources, it will further minimize impact on wildlife."
The MoE contributed $8,000 toward the program, and Encorp Pacific Canada contributed $106,000 toward the recycling bins.
