How do you keep bears out of trash? Whiteshell depots closed as residents, province seek long-term solutions

People in the Whiteshell region are working with the province ona long-term solution to theproblem of black bears getting into garbage but in the short term, the solution is to try to keep the trash away from the bears.

The province said in an Oct. 4 notice to residents in the Whiteshell area, in southeastern Manitoba, thatdue to increased bear activity, it is temporarily removing dumpster-style metal garbage binsfrom waste depots at South Shore Road, which runs through Whiteshell Provincial Park,as well as theFalcon Lake townsiteandanother site on Provincial Road 301.

Ken Pickering, the president of the Whiteshell Cottagers Association, says provincial parks staff consulted with him and other community members in the southeastern Manitoba region to discuss a longer-term solution that balances the need to keep bears out of the trash bins, accommodates people with strength and mobility issues, and ensures the containers can be mechanically emptied.

"We're in support of doing the right thing," Pickering said Wednesday. "Removing the bins is probably,based on the situation that Parks is at right nowthe right choice."

He hopes community members will understand the temporary solution is intended to reduce bear activity, to keep both people and the animals in the area safe.

In the past, garbage was picked up outside people's homes in and around Falcon Lake, which was costly and time consuming, Pickering said.

That approach was replaced by wooden "bear cage" structureswhere residents could drop off their garbage, whichhelped prevent wildlife from accessing garbage, he said.

But after Parks staff reported people weren't locking the latches, allowing bears to get in and eat leftover food, the province removed those dropoff structuresa few years ago, replacingthem with the metal dumpster bins, whichhave plastic lids.

Residents in Falcon Lake, Star Lake and West Hawk Lake have reported numerous bear sightings recently, including a black bear rummaging for food near a school, on a home patio and when throwing trash away at one of the eightdepots.

The province says the metalbins that have been removed from three of those sites will be returnedby Dec. 1, and in the meantime, residentscan take their garbage to the south Whiteshell transfer station, which is open Thursday to Monday until Nov. 1 and then on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays until March 31.

A few bins, intended for business use only,remain intownsite parking lots. Those binshaven't seen an increase in bear activity because they are located in high-traffic areas, Pickering said.

The province is continuing to look at solutions for the next summer season, a spokesperson said in a statement. Manitoba Parks is currently accepting bids on a tender to install wildlife resistant bins withlockable lids.

'Alot of extra planning and work': resident

Pickering said the temporary solution has a "somewhat minimal" impact on roughly 200 year-round residents in the area.

But Keely Middleton, who haslived at Falcon Lake for nearly a decade and is one of those year-round residents, said she'll have to drive 20 minutes to throw her garbage out for the next several weeks.

"It's an inconvenience to everybody that lives here," she said. "We're again doing a lot of extra planning and work just to dispose of our trash."

For now, Middleton collects trash in her garage until she's ready tomakea trip to the station, but she worries about people who have to travel longer distances or don't have a secure place to store the trash away from bears.

"I went for a walk last night with my son, and there was a big bag just left beside the beach trash bin, so people are just going to leave them anywhere," she said.

Middleton thinks the province should temporarily restore the wooden cages at the three depot sites or reduce year-round residents' permit fees to reflect travel costs to the station.

In Canada's national parks,meanwhile, a variety ofbear-resistant containers have been in place since the 1980s, including hydraulic containers that can bepicked up by garbage trucks,a Parks Canada spokesperson said in a statement.

The bear-resistantbins "have a demonstrated track record of being very effective at preventing wildlife from easily accessing food and garbage when they are well-maintained, and when humans use them properly," Parks Canada said.

The spokesperson said there was a "steep decline" in reports of attacks involving food- and garbage-conditioned black bears after bear-resistant containers were put in place.

In Manitoba, Grand Beach and Duck Mountain provincial parks are the only two out of 93 provincial parks with larger, mechanically operated bear-proof bins, the provincial spokesperson said.