The City of West Kelowna has plans to be smarter than the average bear.
It is moving ahead with a goal of becoming a Bear Smart Community — a designation aimed at reducing the growing number of bear encounters in the area.
Council has approved up to $20,000 in the 2026 budget to hire an environmental consultant to develop a Human-Bear Conflict Management Plan, one of the final steps in the six-part program.
At council’s June 24 meeting, council heard these conflicts have been increasing in recent years, driven by wildfires, urban development in bear habitats, and the lure of residential garbage. The Bear Smart Program helps communities address these risks through education, policy changes, and infrastructure upgrades.
Some work is already complete. The city finished a Bear Hazard Assessment, identifying high-risk areas and reviewing current practices. But the conflict management plan is a key piece required before implementing bear-specific bylaws.
Councillor Rick de Jong welcomed the progress.
“We’ve been working on this for a while,” he said. “It’s time we really step forward—we are taking some steps forward—but I would like to see us move forward with a bear smart bylaw.”
Once the management plan is complete, staff will begin drafting bylaws related to garbage storage, attractant management, and bear-proofing infrastructure. The city says it will continue replacing open-top garbage bins in parks with bear-resistant ones. That could take up to 10 years under current resources.
In September 2024, three bears were shot by Conservation Officers in Rose Valley. It sparked community calls for new bylaws and bear-proof garbage bins.
The number of black bears killed in B.C. by the Conservation Officer Service (COS) in 2024 was the lowest in more than a decade.
A total of 303 black bears were dispatched last year, a 49.7 per cent drop from the 603 black bears killed in 2023.
