With warmer spring weather it’s predictable to expect wildlife, especially bears, out and about looking for food again.
Matthew Henry is the BC Conservation Officer (CO) based out of Clearwater who is reminding residents and visitors about some important “Bear Smart” tips heading into spring,
“It’s an important time to do an attractant audit of your property. The main attractant to bears and other wildlife is always garbage. Ask yourself ‘What do I have that could attract bears?’ Once a bear is rewarded, just even that one time, by getting into some garbage the animal will return. We really want to prevent bears from getting a taste for garbage.”
Henry says garbage shouldn’t be put out until the morning of pick up. For odorous garbage, the CO suggests freezing it into a solid until the morning of pick-up or he says consider making a trip to the dump if you don’t have a secure place to store your waste.
When storing garbage Henry advises that garbage be kept in a bear-proof area but adds, “not in your vehicle” as bears will try to break into the vehicle and have been known to cause serious damage trying to get into a car or truck to find food.
“A good solid garage space, Sea-Can or airtight bear-proof garbage containers are best and being proactive by communicating with your neighbours nearby is a good idea also.
If you have any berry patches or fruit trees in your yard, installing motion sensor lights and cutting back brush are all great. Also, make a negative impression with noise if you do see a bear heading into your property. A fast solution is to set off your car alarm or use pots and pans to make noise to discourage the bear from thinking they are welcome.”
When out hiking in the woods or on trails Henry suggests walking in a group which will naturally be more noisy with conversation and always carry bear spray, a whistle or a bear banger.
“If you encounter a bear, make lots of noise, make yourself look big by stretching your arms out above you to make sure the bear knows you are there and back off to give it space so it has a clear escape route.”
Henry is also reminding people to renew their fishing licences now.
“Fishing licences are renewable on April 1 and run until March 31. We’ve been doing lots of patrols on the North Thompson. The general regulation for the region is that all streams and rivers are closed for a spring closure but the North Thompson is exempt from that so it’s open right now.”
He explains he is seeing a few issues with licensing problems and people not purchasing their licenses before they go out which can now be done online. He also reminds those fishing the rivers that barbed hooks are prohibited because of protection of “the native stocks and due to size restrictions” so if below the size allowed they must be released.
Bear hunting season begins on April 1 and Henry says, “We will be checking in with bear hunters once bear hunting starts.”
Henry says he’s enjoying the work that is ever-changing and has settled into his first year in the North Thompson by making friends, and getting involved in community activities and there is “never a dull moment with the duties of the job changing with the season.”