Communities can play an active role in reducing human-bear conflict through:
- Reviewing community waste management practices
- Implementing proactive measures to reduce the likelihood of bears being attracted into the community.
- Delivering pro-active education and awareness programs
Communities are encouraged to work with local MNR offices to draft Community Bear Hazard Assessments and develop appropriate Bear Wise Community Action Plans.
Education and Awareness
Communities can play a vital role in educating all sectors of the community about becoming "Bear Wise." MNR has produced a variety of communications materials which are available for communities to download from the internet. Some ways that communities can actively participate include:
- Distributing Bear Wise communications materials through community newsletters.
- Inserting materials in tax notices or other community mailouts.
- Hosting public information meetings and workshops.
- Providing Bear Wise information and safety tips at municipal offices, chambers of commerce and local tourist information centres.
- Providing a link to MNR's Bear Wise information on Community and Municipal web sites.
- Ensuring residents are aware of any community bylaws or best practices on waste management (e.g. keeping garbage secured until morning of pick-up, implementation of extended operating hours at landfills etc.)
Managing Greenspaces and Wildlife Corridors
Communities should consider how managing greenspaces and wildlife corridors can help to reduce the potential for bears to be attracted into the community. Community planners can consider:
- Locating and maintaining greenspaces and trails so they do not provide a continuous wildlife corridor between forested land and residential areas.
- Clearing brush away from school yards and children's play areas.
- Planning new housing developments so that greenspaces are not contiguous, while allowing for wildlife travel corridors around the community.
- Not planting fruit-bearing trees such as Crab Apples or Mountain Ash which could attract bears.
Best Practices for Waste Management
Communities can play a vital role in reducing the number of human-bear conflicts by not allowing bears to become conditioned to humans and their food. Communities play an important role in ensuring their waste management practices do not contribute to the problem.
There are a variety of available options to reduce the likelihood of bears being attracted by household garbage and other domestic waste. These strategies have been adopted by various North American communities, either on a voluntary or mandatory basis.
Best Practices for Waste Management can include:
- Restricting curb-side placement of garbage and recycling to the morning of pick-up.
- Modifying garbage collection schedules to allow residents to put their garbage out the morning of pick-up (e.g. begin pick-up no earlier than 8:00 a.m.).
- Modifying or extending operating hours at landfill sites to make it more convenient for residents to dispose of their garbage on a regular basis.
- Considering the use of community bear-resistant dumpsters instead of curb-side garbage collection in areas which are prone to bear problems.
- Promoting the use of bear resistant waste containers by residents in areas prone to bear problems.
- Promoting or requiring the use of bear resistant dumpsters by commercial businesses which produce food waste.
- Ensuring community composting programs are designed so they will not result in increased bear problems; placing compost in a bear-resistant enclosure using electric or chain-link fencing.
- Developing community guidelines for appropriate waste management procedures at special community events, particularly outdoor events where food is being served.
Best Practices for Community Landfills
Black bears are naturally attracted to domestic landfill sites. There are mixed views on whether bears should be discouraged from landfills. On one hand, some communities welcome bears as a tourist attraction, and fear that excluding them from landfills may actually result in an increase in problems in near-by residential areas as bears look for alternate food sources. On the other hand, allowing bears to access landfill sites conditions the animals to seek human sources of food, and may also increase the possibility of the same bears wandering into neighbouring residential areas. Some communities have identified that bears frequenting landfill sites may pose a safety concern for their employees or for the public.
Communities may wish to discourage bears from their landfill site using one of the following methods:
- Cover domestic garbage daily to limit the possibility of attracting bears
- Install permanent electric fencing to prohibit access by black bears to landfills (See Guidelines for the Installation of Electric Fence for Excluding Black Bears).
- Install temporary or portable electric fencing around the area of active operation to separate bears from people.
- Place bear-resistant dumpsters at landfill sites for the public to drop off their waste. These can be emptied regularly and will serve to keep the public away from the active operating area of the landfill, helping to address safety concerns. Locate the dumpsters so that the public can access them when the landfill site is locked, to allow residents to dispose of their garbage regularly.
Note: Any measures to exclude bears from landfill sites must be accompanied by a proactive education and awareness program to ensure non-natural food attractants will not attract bears into residential areas.
Other Considerations for Reducing Human-Bear Conflicts
Individual residents also have a responsibility to reduce attractants. One resident leaving garbage or pet food outside can cause bear problems for the entire neighbourhood. Municipalities may wish to consider encouraging their residents to be Bear Wise, or even drafting appropriate by-laws to reduce human-bear conflict.
- Consider by-laws to support actions identified under Best Practices for Waste Management.
- Encourage the installation of electric fencing or other appropriate considerations around apiaries, orchards, gardens etc.
- Consider existing or new property standard bylaws to regulate the removal of attractants (storing garbage outside).
- Discourage the intentional feeding of wildlife (e.g. birdfeeders) which may also attract bears.
TO REPORT BEAR PROBLEMS: contact the Bear Reporting Line at:
1-866-514-2327 (TTY) 705 945-7641
In a life-threatening emergency, call your local police or 911.
