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Weekly Mayor's Report This summer, throughout BC and These types of stories are nothing new. Wild animals are an everyday occurrence and just a normal part of rural communities. We live in close proximity with each other, or in some cases, share the same open spaces. In Chetwynd, we have the same type of stories as everywhere else. I have watched deer chase dogs down my street and have heard the stories of beavers chasing dogs and hikers along the pathways near Centurian Creek. What has been missing, so far this year, are the bear stories. But, it is now approaching that time of year when bears start showing up in town. Although there have been some bear sightings in town already, as far as I am aware, they have not become a nuisance, at least not yet. But, we all know that can change, as all it takes for a bear to become a problem bear is for it to find food in town. In years gone by, we were criticized on how the District handled our garbage, and mostly relating to how garbage was left in bins that were easily accessible by bears. For our part, that has changed. We replaced all of our old bins with new ones with steel lids that, when left closed, are not easily accessible by maundering bruins. The problem we now have is that some who rent these bins don’t close the lids. When this happens, and anything edible is left within the bins and a hungry bruin just happens to be wandering by, they will smell the food and climb in for a meal. Once that happens, they learn that dumpsters mean food and they will come back for more. And, when they come back and the food is not there, they will start checking out the rest of the neighbourhood looking for more, and if that means inside your house, they can arrange that too. This year, with the lack of rainfall, may be a year that we see more bears than normal come wandering into town. We know from previous experience that when the berry crops fail in drought years, bears wander great distances looking for food, and when they find it, they stay to eat. Over the next few weeks, the District will be placing a number of advertisements asking our residents to become more “bear aware”, as we are the main reason that bears stay in town. If you have any comments or questions on this, or any other topic, please let me know. I can be reached at the District Office at 250-401-4102 or via email at esaugstad@gochetwynd.com. Evan Saugstad, Mayor
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