There is a lot of negativity out there regarding the cost of bear proofing the new totes. There are also a lot of excuses not to bear proof.
Many people tend to think that their particular garbage doesn't attract bears or just because a bear has never been into their garbage before, means one never will.
There are people who have beautiful young children and make decent wages, yet cannot justify spending $100 for the kit to protect their children. But they will spend three times that much on a new dress or pair of boots. Would these same people bypass buying car seats (they must be more than $100 after all) in order to save for a new downhill bike or climbing harness if it weren't law? After all, many people would gladly spend $100 if it meant their dogs was a bit safer and there is not even the slightest hope that they will someday support us in old age!
Well enough about that. Let's focus on the positive for a moment. There is a small neighbourhood in Brackendale that has a long history of bear issues. Bracken Heights Co-op consists of 37 houses and has many young families residing there. This particular area was a bit worrisome, as bears were accessing the garbage that was stored in open carports through back yards, often walking right beside play sets and play areas.
At least one of these bears was human habituated enough to come out during daylight hours while the neighbourhood was busy and active in a normal, summertime neighbourhood kind of way. We worked with this co-op to try and solve the bear issues they were having, and although they didn't opt for the communal bear proof dumpster, they agreed to have their totes bear proofed. Kudos to you Bracken Heights!
Late last fall the District of Squamish installed a bear proof garbage bin in the neighbourhood park, so now outdoor freezers and fruit trees are the only remaining attractants.
Of course the bears that frequented the neighbourhood in the last few years will return again, but this time they will only find that their access to an easy meal has been thwarted and head on over to Ross Road and Depot Road to try their luck. This may be the case sooner rather than later, as a large cinnamon bear has been raiding garbage in the Dryden Creek area across the highway from Depot.
Garbage patrols have resumed in most Squamish neighbourhoods. This is when we tag and record addresses that have placed their garbage curbside the night before collection day and are in violation of the Wildlife Attractant bylaw. The scores to date are: Garibaldi Highlands has dropped from 27 to 16. This is still very high especially considering this neighbourhood dropped down to less than 10 last fall. Valleycliffe on their first patrol scored a whopping 57! Brackendale scored 31, but as this patrol was done on the Thursday before a long weekend, we are hoping for a vast improvement this week. Brackendale won the greatest improvement award for last summer as counts went from 47 on the first patrol down to 9 on the last one in the fall.
