Bear Smart Community initiatives join and leverage the actions of individuals into community-wide efforts. In almost every case, it is the commitment and hard work of local residents who grow these efforts in their communities by engaging a variety of stakeholders. Many municipal, local, state, and provincial governments also have joined these efforts by supporting or setting up formalized Bear Smart Community (or similarly named) programs.

Background

British Columbia has been a pioneer in developing a program to reduce human-bear conflicts in communities across the province. Designed by the Ministry of Environment in partnership with the British Columbia Conservation Foundation and the Union of British Columbia Municipalities, B.C.'s Bear Smart Community Program provides a model with detailed criteria and advice on how to develop a Bear Smart Community initiative. The B.C. Bear Smart Community effort became a certification program that was adopted in other locales in Canada.

Since the B.C. program started years ago, practitioners and community leaders in other countries have applied the Bear Smart model in different forms. In the US, a grizzly bear agency management group developed and endorsed a BSC framework similar to the Canadian model, but only as a guide — not as a certification program. The guide, or framework, recommends establishing a committee, completing a community assessment, developing a community plan, and implementing the plan. Even prior to this endorsement, communities in Colorado, Montana, Florida, and others had been applying variations of the Bear Smart model or some aspect of community-level bear conflict prevention work. In the Northern Rockies (MT-ID-WY), the framework catalyzed a number of community initiatives, some engaging with the Bear Smart framework and others working towards community conflict prevention by focusing on one attractant, such as solid waste.

The Bear Smart Community Concept

The Bear Smart Community Program is based on a fundamental set of activities that in some locations can be accomplished sequentially and in others, more in a number of parallel processes. Since every community is different physically, demographically, culturally, and in other ways, the Bear Smart Community process has to be applied with flexibility in mind.

• Learn and build engagement. Gather information, talk with different people about their interest, and get an initial sense of what will be needed to start an initiative. Begin to form a Bear Smart Committee or working group to oversee the process, implementation, and ideally the sustainability of the community program. The process should be driven by a community that takes ownership of the program and in turn motivates community action. Forming a group can take time and often occurs while other “steps” are taken by the initial leaders.

• Complete a bear conflict/hazard assessment. This is an important early step so that community leaders can address the problems/risks.

• Prepare a human-bear conflict management plan that is designed to address the risks and conflicts identified in the assessment. This action plan includes a number of solutions or mitigations community members can apply. A plan can take years to implement.

• Implement the plan: Address attractants at large, disseminate an effective education program directed at all sectors of the community, and develop and maintain an effective bear-resistent municipal solid waste management system.

• Sustain the initiative. Continue the effort by updating plans to be consistent with changing circumstances, including the consideration of developing/enforcing bylaws prohibiting the provision of food to bears as a result of intent, neglect or irresponsible management of attractants.

Explore the different sections on this site under Community Initiatives to learn more about the various activities that can help build a Bear Smart Community and to find resources. Check out Success Stories to see what others have done.