Get Bear Smart at Work

Whether you’re building a subdivision in bear habitat or drilling an oil well, or you’re simply operating a business in a place where bears live, how you and your employees operate can have an impact the health of the local bear population. It only takes one food reward for a bear to learn that humans are a source of easy, high calorie meals, beginning a cycle of conflict that begins and ends with the death of the bear.

Here’s how you can make your workplace safe for people and bears.

  1. For large work sites, conduct a bear hazard assessment and develop (and implement) a human-bear conflict management plan that will keep employees and bears safe. Develop a bear-response plan that details how to respond to the presence of a bear.

  2. Hire or designate one person to be the on-site bear safety officer. This person should be well-trained to avoid and deal with human-bear conflicts, particularly the use of non-lethal deterrents.

  3. Train all employees and contractors about how to behave in bear country. Everyone working in bear habitat should understand how and why bears behave and know how to react to an encounter or attack. Everyone should be familiar with the bear-response plan and what their role is in implementing it should a bear arrive.

  4. The easiest way to keep bears out of facilities and work camps is to surround them with electric fencing. Portable electric fences are an inexpensive and easy way to keep people and bears safe.

  5. Secure all potential bear attractants. Whether you’re operating a large work camp or camping overnight in the field, all garbage and food must be stored securely. Landfills, transfer stations, garbage storage areas and food storage/preparation areas should be secured with an electric fence. Smaller garbage and food storage units should be bear-resistant.

  6. All employees working in bear habitat should carry bear spray as a first line of defence.

Explore this section to learn more about preventing human-bear conflicts where you work.

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