Video: Bear season update: first bear of the season killed in Revelstoke

By Revelstoke Bear Aware

There are currently several bears foraging for food in different areas of Revelstoke. With all of the positive changes the City of Revelstoke has implemented Maggie Spizzirri of Revelstoke Bear Aware is hopeful that this year will be far more positive for bears and residents and the City alike will continue to make more of an initiative to secure their attractants such as garbage and clean up windfall from fruit trees.

The new Garbage and Wildlife Attractant Bylaw is one step closer to Revelstoke becoming a Bear Smart community and a positive step towards making positive change in Revelstoke. It was noted that there were some concerns about the bylaw initially, however, the bylaw is in place to encourage positive change. Warnings from the City will be sent out far before any fines are issued. This is also a great baseline for new residents and tourists to understand how serious Revelstoke is about keeping wildlife wild and our community safe.

See our interview with Revelstoke Bear Aware Coordinator Maggie Spizzirri here:

Revelstoke Bear Aware stresses the importance of reporting human-bear conflicts to the Conservation Officer Service RAPP line (1 877 952 7277). “I’d like people to understand that the COs won’t necessarily turn up to shoot a bear if it is reported. In most cases they simply track the movements and habits of bears through the reported sightings, and only if they think there is a significant threat to human safety will they act to remove the bear,” said Maggie.

“Many people believe they can’t call the COs now because they think that the bear will be killed, so they call no one” said Maggie “but this is not the case, calling the RAPP line allows us to canvas and provide education and resources about reducing conflict with bears and provide resources to manage attractants to high traffic areas. Revelstoke Bear Aware is not equipped to manage the bears if conflict does arise. It is really important to call the COS so that the information about the whereabouts of bears gets to the right people, including being sent to Bear Aware to be entered into our web based bear-sightings map, posted on social media and signs placed in the area” said Maggie.

This bear was spotted in a tree near Arrow Heights Elementary School on May 24. Photo: Crystal Leonard/Revelstoke Bear Aware

The 24-hour RAPP line gets you through to a call center that will direct your call to the nearest Conservation Officer. The Conservation Officers from Golden are also working with Revelstoke based Natural Resource Officers who can help out with some of the duties of Conservation Officers. Be ready to tell the operator your address, the nature of the sighting, and if there is any food source that may have attracted the bear to the area. The number to call is 1 877 952 RAPP (7277).

This solution has proven to work in the past. Before Revelstoke Bear Aware started its education program upwards of 50 bears were killed per year and without social media these numbers were not highly publicized. Now with the Bear Aware education program in place on average 7 bears are killed per year. In 2015 only 3 black bears were killed. With the high bear activity last year and 27 bears being killed it is even more important for the program to get it’s message out. This is a great step in the right direction for Revelstoke’s wildlife.

Maggie will be at farmers markets, community events and doing presentations to community and school groups. If anyone has any questions please do not hesitate to stop by and see her or give her a call at Revelstoke Bear Aware: 250-837-8624.

Resources to help reduce your attractants:

• The Gleaning Program: Revelstoke Bear Aware and the Revelstoke Local Food Initiative have partnered to run the program again this year to provide a free service to pick fruit when home owners are unable to do so themselves. All excess food goes to the local Food Bank.
• Compost management and fruit tree pruning: Revelstoke Bear Aware has some great resources on their website to manage these attractants yourself: http://revelstokebearaware.org/resources/
• Do you see an insecure attractant? Report it to the City through their See Click Fix App: http://revelstoke.ca/332/See-Click-Fix
• Bear Necessities Workshops: New this year, Revelstoke Bear Aware will be hosting or partnering with community groups to provide informational workshops such as a pruning workshop, electric fence workshop, bear talks, hikes and campfire talks to provide hands up attractant management and information. Keep an eye on their Facebook page for up to date information: facebook.com/revelstokebearaware

Please visit www.revelstokebearaware.org for more information on managing bear attractants or contact Bear Aware on 250-837-8624. To get the latest information about bears in Revelstoke, like us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/revelstokebearaware).

Thank you to our sponsors who make the Revelstoke Bear Aware project possible: The Columbia Basin Trust, LUSH Cosmetics, Bresco Industries, FortisBC, Revelstoke Community Foundation, Revelstoke Credit Union, Williamson’s Lake Campground and our wonderful members.

To report bear sightings or conflicts with bears please call the 24-hour hotline at 1-877-952 RAPP (7277).