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

Posted on October 13, 2024 by Peggy

People in the Whiteshell region are working with the province on a long-term solution to the problem 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, that due to increased bear activity, it is temporarily removing dumpster-style metal garbage bins from waste depots at South Shore Road, which runs through Whiteshell Provincial Park, as well as the Falcon Lake townsite and another 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 now … the 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.

A black bear can be seen propping the lid to a garbage bin open outside. — A resident took this photo of a black bear eating garbage from a bin between West Hawk Lake and Star Lake in Whiteshell Provincial Park in early July. (Submitted by Ainsley Houndle)

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” structures where residents could drop off their garbage, which helped 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 structures a few years ago, replacing them with the metal dumpster bins, which have 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 eight depots.

The province says the metal bins that have been removed from three of those sites will be returned by Dec. 1, and in the meantime, residents can 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 in townsite parking lots. Those bins haven’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 with lockable lids.

‘A lot 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 has lived 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 to make a 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.

A brown metal garbage bin is overflowing with trash. The lid of the bin is open and damaged. — The aftermath of black bears rummaging through a garbage bin near the south shore of Falcon Lake in Whiteshell Provincial Park in September. (Submitted by Mike Wilson)

“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 of bear-resistant containers have been in place since the 1980s, including hydraulic containers that can be picked up by garbage trucks, a Parks Canada spokesperson said in a statement.

The bear-resistant bins “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.