Living in Bear Country: increasing municipal compliance with the Bear Smart Program in British Columbia

Many communities in British Columbia are grappling with the presence of bears in their communities. The Ministry of Environment (MOE) created the Bear Smart Program in 2002 to assist these communities to prevent human-bear conflict. However, at the end of 2010 only two communities have completed the program. This study draws upon informant interviews and local documentation to develop a better understanding of why communities are participating but not completing the Bear Smart Program. This study puts forth a set of recommendations that the MOE can use to increase the completion rates of the Bear Smart Program. It recommends that in the short-term the MOE should focus on building a social consensus around human-bear conflict and in the medium- to long-term that it utilizes a responsive framework to build compliance with the Bear Smart Program and maintain Bear Smart standards in communities.