Bella Coola Valley Tourism supports a Bear Smart approach to Valley living!

The BC Ministry of Environment (MOE) reports that every year hundreds, and in some years well over a thousand, bears are destroyed as a result of conflicts between people and bears. In rare instances, people are also injured or even killed as a result of these conflicts. Most of these problems begin when people allow bears to access non-natural food sources such as garbage or unattended fruit trees. Unfortunately this has become the case in our wilderness valley time and time again.
Bella Coola Valley Tourism has pledged to support Bear Smart activities to reduce human/bear conflicts and preserve this wilderness treasure we are so fortunate to have in our 'back yard'. BCVT will encourage members and stakeholders in adopting a Bear Smart Community approach to ensure the magnificent lure of wild bears in our region remains an attraction for locals and tourists alike, to cherish.
The Bear Smart Community program has been designed by MOE in partnership with the British Columbia Conservation Foundation and the Union of British Columbia Municipalities. It is a voluntary, preventative conservation measure that encourages communities, businesses and individuals to work together. The goal is to address the root causes of bear/human conflicts, thereby reducing the risks to human safety and private property, as well as the number of bears that have to be destroyed each year.
This program is based on a series of criteria that communities must achieve in order to be recognized as being "Bear Smart". The responsibility to manage bear/human conflicts rests with everyone; Bear Smart will require participation from the provincial government, municipal governments, and local citizens to be successful. BCVT will support any organizations wishing to lead in the formation of a Bear Smart program for our valley.
For more information on this topic please visit the BC Bear Smart Web Page at listed below http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/wld/bearsmart/bearsmintro.html . Or contact Fraser Koroluk, of BCVT's Infrastructure and Development Portfolio (fkoroluk.bcvt@yahoo.ca ).