The provincial government is kicking in $52,000 towards a black
bear monitoring and research program in Whistler that will examine non-lethal
aversion options.
“Those living in the Whistler area are all too fully aware of
the potential and often tragic circumstances that can occur whenever there is
interaction between humans and bears,” MLA Joan McIntyre said in announcing the
funding.
Over six-and-a-half months, three British Columbia Conservation
Corps participants will assist with the capture, collaring and monitoring of
bears to study the response to non-lethal methods of repelling nuisance bears.
Participants will also work with the provincial Bear Aware program, helping to
provide and distribute program information and resources.
The project's ultimate goal is to determine the reactions of
black bears that have been subject to non-lethal conditioning techniques. This
information will then be utilized to evaluate draft operation guidelines for
Whistler and other communities in British Columbia.
The B.C. Conservation Crops was launched in February 2005 as a student and recent graduate mentoring program, designed to nurture a new generation of conservationists. At the time, the B.C. Government announced an investment of $9 million over three years to run the program. This year, the Ministry of Environment has approved 27 new projects across the province, employing approximately 150 students in projects ranging from two to nine months in length.