Squamish ranks fourth among the top five communities in BC for bear activity in 2019, according to a wildlife update that will be presented to the council tomorrow.
According to the report, 10 bears were destroyed by the Conservation Officer Service last year in Squamish. Eight of those ten bears were destroyed due to residential garbage and human habituation.
Access to residential garbage is the primary cause of bear destruction in the community, followed by other attractants such as kitchen organics and domestic fruit trees.
Meanwhile, Conservation Officer Service also transferred seven black bear cubs to Critter Care last year.
According to the wildlife update, several grizzly bears were also active in the Paradise Valley and lower Squamish Valley. A female grizzly and yearling were seen around Paradise Valley spawning channels in October 2019.
Roosevelt elk were also seen alongside the Cheekye River northwest and crossing Highway 99 by the Cheekye Bridge, according to the update.
In April, an elk was hit on highway 99 adjacent to the Squamish Adventure Centre and had to be euthanized. It was the seventh elk killed on this stretch of highway since 2012, the report states.
Conflicts with coyotes also continue to be a concern in Squamish. There were, however, minimal cougar reports in 2019. One cougar was destroyed in the January of 2018.
The report also talks about the challenge of dealing with bears gaining access to garbage and organic totes. There are challenges with the totes itself, with some of the new stainless steel totes failing when tested, the report notes.
According to the report, locals are not locking or only partially locking totes, not securing the locks, and not calling GFL to get damaged totes even though there is no fee for them.
The wildlife update report calls for a third-party review of the district’s waste collection system.