 It is the responsibility of the provincial Wildlife Branch to ensure that hunted animal populations are not over-harvested. Hunting seasons are adjusted to meet hunter demand within the constraints of conservation and the allowance for non-hunting uses of the population. Because of the high and growing incidents of human-bear conflicts, liberal black bear regulations are the rule in most regions of the province (Halladay and Demarchi 1996)  How many black bears are harvested in comparison to the total black bear population in BC?Cultural Carrying Capacity A new concept of cultural carrying capacity (the number of bears that society will tolerate) has been recently introduced into the bear manager's vocabulary (Davidson 1999). The number of bears the public will tolerate depends on how well we are able to manage and reduce bear-human conflicts. Solving Some Human-Bear Conflicts BC’s Bear Awareness Program An intensive program of bear-proofing community garbage dumps in key problem areas under the provincial Grizzly Bear Conservation Strategy is aimed at reducing the need for agency control of garbage-conditioned black and grizzly bears. The provincial Bear Awareness program, which is being administered for the province by the British Columbia Conservation Foundation, has been initiated in seven communities in the Kootenay Region with great success. The program is gradually being expanded province-wide, although some communities continue to minimize their responsibilities for garbage management and experience persistent problems. There are many practical solutions to most human-bear conflicts. Garbage can be properly stored. Landfills and honeybee yards can be fenced. Land use planning can be done with bears in mind. Sensitive environmental standards can be applied to new developments. But there will always be situations where existing land uses cannot accommodate bears under any circumstances. In these situations, it is accepted that human safety and private property concerns preclude occupation by bears. |
 95% of their historic range in BC still supports black bears. |
 For detailed information on black bear management, hunting regulations, and more, visit their wildlife branch. |
 Tips on keeping your home safe from bears. Link #1 Link #2 |
