WildSafe BC has made a pitch to the Regional District of North Okanagan for funding to expand its program within the City of Vernon to the surrounding region.
Frank Ritcey, provincial coordinator with WildSafe BC in Kamloops, has requested a commitment of $4,100 from the RDNO board to provide 140 hours of contract time to the Vernon program coordinator, employed from May until November.
Ritcey said the need for the WildSafe service is evident by the rising conflict between local residents and wildlife such as bears, coyotes, deer and cougars.
“Unfortunately, wildlife don’t understand municipal boundaries, so if wildlife is getting into conflict situations within Vernon, it may result from a situation occurring outside that border that needs to be addressed,” Ritcey said.
Those situations, he said, include wildlife attraction elements such as garbage, livestock, pets, bird feeders, compost, fruit orchards, beehives and barbecues.
Recent: Bears looking for food
Ritcey said WildSafe was created in 1999 as a bear aware initiative and has since expanded to other wildlife, funded by the BC Conservation Foundation dedicated to enhancing fish and wildlife habitat.
He said from 2014 to 2017, there have been 1,200 calls within the regional district related to conflict between people and wildlife.
During that period, black bear complaints hit a high mark in 2014, dropped off in subsequent years and spiked upwards again last year.
“Cougars have been up and down but what we’ve seen across the province is about 700 calls regarding aggressive deer. We’re not talking about deer getting into someone’s garden, we’re talking about deer posing a threat to people,” he said.
“Deer have the potential to be an increasing safety issues for people.”
He said public education about how to properly deal with garbage, use compost and address issues with fruit and bird seed—all potential food sources for wildlife— can help minimize the escalating conflict complaints.
Recent: Bobcats spotted in Coldstream
The WildSafe coordinator’s tasks to enhance public education include visits to areas where conflict complaints are recorded, speaking at schools, media press releases, manning demonstration booths at public events and garbage bin tagging to reinforce bylaw garbage pickup regulations.
The regional district directors took Ritcey’s presentation under consideration and will address the funding request at the March 7 board meeting.
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