Keeping bears out of trouble
Get Bear Smart partnered with the Habitat Improvement Team (HIT) to plant another 100 mountain ash trees (sorbus sitchensis) on Whistler Mountain. This brings the total number of mountain ash planted on Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains in the past two years to over 350.
Enhancing natural habitat in areas surrounding human development can be a good way to keep bears out of residential areas. Mountain ash trees produce fruit during the fall when other food sources have been depleted and conflicts in the valley bottom are high. The idea is to draw bears out of conflict areas and up on the mountains where they can feed out of conflict.
It is also important to remove trees/shrubs in areas where bears are not welcome. The plants used for this project were removed from the landscaping at The Residences at Nita Lake in Whistler. They were replaced with a non-bear-attractive species, in this case, a variety of maple. Many thanks to the strata council and residents of Nita Lake as well as the property management company (Mountain Country Property Management) for helping to organize the event. Many thanks as well to the volunteers for their hard work digging.
Thanks for your help!
By Dawn Johnson, Project Coordinator, Get Bear Smart Society — Oct 14, 2009
We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you from the Get Bear Smart Society to the many Whistler businesses and property owners that have bear proofed their garbage enclosures this year. These locations include: Whistler Vale/Vale Inn, Castle Estates, Nordic Vistas, Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Center, The Woods, Whistler Creek Court, At Natures Door, Pinnacle Ridge, Snowcrest and Snowridge. That makes 56 sheds that have been bear proofed since the inception of this Get Bear Smart initiative! We'd also like to send out a BIG thank you to those who are currently working on their sheds. Quail Run Estates and Forest Trails have made significant steps forward to address their sheds.
Whistler Blackcomb, the Residences at Nita Lake, Blueberry Estates and the Resort Municipality of Whistler have worked in partnership with the Get Bear Smart Society to remove approximately 120 mountain ash trees from their properties this year, with many volunteer hours provided by the Whistler Blackcomb's Habitat Improvement Team (HIT) and members of the Whistler Black Bear Working Group (WBBWG).
While many factors seem to be contributing to the low human-bear conflict statistics for 2009 and NO bears killed to date due to conflict, your efforts have undoubtedly contributed to this promising trend. Keep up all your hard work Whistler residents, property managers, property owners, strata councils and volunteers! We would also like to thank our many members of the WBBWG for assisting us in making this happen. Together, we ARE making a difference!
