Recently, there has been a strong focus on improving and creating wildlife habitat in our backyards and green spaces. Wildscaping undoubtedly has positive ecological value, but in the Whistler area, improving wildlife habitat can also mean attracting bears.

While bears are a part of Whistler’s natural environment, enticing them close to our homes either with landscaping that provides food for bears or other food sources such as garbage or bird seed can create conflict and be detrimental not just for bears, but for the community as well.

Bears are driven by the biological need to accumulate weight before they den in the fall. Backyard fruit-bearing trees and shrubs like mountain ash are an easy source of high calories for a bear. Like us, bears learn from their experiences. Once bears learn where food is, they are likely to keep coming back. This kind of learning is called “food conditioning.” Animals that become conditioned to accessing food in residential neighborhoods are at greater risk of getting into conflict and being killed to protect people and their property. While it is unlikely that you’ll be injured by a bear in your backyard, it makes sense not to gamble with safety — yours and theirs.

There are many plant species that don’t attract bears and are a great addition to any backyard. Native plant species enhance biological diversity; provide refuge and habitat for wildlife; assist in increasing biodiversity; compensate for land lost to urban sprawl and land conversion and sequesters carbon to offset CO2 emissions. Vegetation also plays a critical role along streams where the plants can filter runoff; aid in flood control; and provide wildlife corridors.

Below are some great native plants that enhance wildlife values but do not attract bears. These are just a few examples; there are many other options.

Instead of mountain ash varieties (Sorbus ssp.) you could plant Douglas maple (Acer glabrum); instead of red-osier dogwood (Cornus stolinifera) you could plant mock orange (philadelphus lewisii); instead of Saskatoon berry (Amelanchier alnifolia) you could plant ocean spray (Holodiscus discolor); instead of devil’s club (Oplapanex horridus) you could plant Pacific ninebark (Physocarpus capitatus); instead of black huckleberry (Vaccinium membranaceum) you could plant sweet gale (Myrica gale); and so on.

Tips for reducing bear visits to your backyard:

• Remove plants that bears like to eat, especially ones located in areas where we don’t want to find bears feeding, i.e. next to building entrances, beside windows/doors, near children’s play sets, beside driveways, paths, roads and other high-use human areas. Plants located away from your house or at the edge of your property may be removed at your discretion, depending on the site’s potential for human-bear conflict for you as well as your neighbours. If you are in doubt, we would be happy to do a site visit and make recommendations.

• Use electric fencing to effectively deter bears from orchards, gardens and compost.

• Harvest gardens and fruit from trees when ripe; do not allow fruit to accumulate on the ground. (This is actually the law in Whistler: see Garbage Disposal and Wildlife Attractants Bylaw No. 1861, 2008 –—Section 20).

• Do not apply bone meal or fish fertilizer to your gardens. Synthetic fertilizers are a big no no too! They are dangerous to any animal that may ingest them, including your pets.

• Keep your grass cut and free of dandelions. Avoid seeding with clover, a favourite food for bears.

• Keep your outdoor compost clean and free of odours. Avoid placing any fish, meat, bones, egg shells or dairy products into your compost. Add lime to reduce smell and speed decomposition. Keep compost well turned and make sure to alternate between “wet” (kitchen scraps) and “dry” (straw, shredded newspaper, leaves). Consider an indoor worm bin (vermicompost) or take your compost to the compactor sites at Nesters and Function Junction.

During fall, it’s especially important to remove any mountain ash berries in high-conflict areas. They are very attractive to bears while they’re trying to fatten up for hibernation.

You can download the full guide to wildlife friendly landscaping at www.bearsmart.com/bear-smart-whistler/brochures.

Be a leader by having a wildlife-friendly backyard, and encouraging your neighbors to do the same!

Dawn Johnson is the special projects coordinator for the Get Bear Smart Society.