As bears in Alberta's Rocky Mountains wake up from their long winter naps, officials in the town of Canmore are already moving ahead with plans to prevent any potentially dangerous wildlife encounters.
Caitlin Van Gaal, Canmore's supervisor of environment and sustainability, says all residents of the mountain community need to be "bear aware."
That includes watching for signs of bears and carrying bear spray whenever residents are out on hikes.
Van Gaal says the town is also re-establishing its fruit tree strategy for the new season.
"The program's been in operation for several years now, in different iterations," she told CTV Morning Live Calgary in an interview Thursday.
"This year, in order to build interest and attract people back to the program we've revamped it."
Under the new plan, the town will cover the complete cost of removing fruit trees, up to $500 per property within Canmore.
The new incentive is making an impact, Van Gaal said.
"We're noticing this year, within the first three weeks of launching the program, a significant increase (in participation)."
Over the years, Van Gaal says the town has mapped out exactly where all of its fruit-bearing vegetation is located. That information is also kept up to date with the help of residents.
"As residents apply and remove their trees we can track that on the progress that we're making," she said.
Reducing bear-human conflicts has always been a big priority in Canmore, Van Gaal says, because of the community's location in a wildlife corridor.
All residential garbage is collected in bear-proof bins and similar rules are in place for commercial waste. Van Gaal says more recently, the community implemented a bylaw to ensure businesses throw out waste cooking oils into the same receptacles.
There are also special rules for bird feeders in Canmore.
"You can't put your bird feeder out between April 1 and the end of October," Van Gaal said. "That's to remove attractants to deter bears from coming into town."
The town hasn't had any bear activity so far, but will work with Alberta Fish and Wildlife officers if and wildlife encounters are reported.
