Bear Smart Certification

We are one of only ten BC communities that has achieved Bear Smart status and have committed to reducing problems between residents and bears. We therefore take safety precautions seriously. Whether its keeping the garbage in our homes secure or maintaining our properties under Lions Bay bylaws; human behaviour dictates bear behaviour.

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Earning our Bear Smart Designation

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Between 1999 and 2001 Lions Bay experienced a rash of human bear conflicts that resulted in a number of bears being destroyed.  Concerned residents and councillors combined efforts to reduce bear/human conflicts, and since then, the municipality has been very proactive with bear management. In 2007, a Bear Smart Committee was formed. Bear Smart grants combined with Village contributions helped fund a Bear Hazard Assessment in 2005 and then the Human/Bear Conflict Management Plan in 2010. The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change awarded "Bear Smart Community" status to Lions Bay in 2011 and a commemorative bear statue was commissioned to celebrate this achievement.

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As part of our commitment to being Bear Smart, Lions Bay's Garbage Collection and Recycling Bylaw requires residents to place garbage, food waste/organics (garden clippings etc) and recycling beside the road for pickup during specific time slots on collection day (Friday) and from allowing wildlife access to any food sources outdoors. Our goal is to ensure that bears move naturally through the Village without alteration to their natural behaviour or eating habits, and that no negative human/bear encounters occur.