An unsecured grease bin on the grounds of Silvertip golf course has prompted a call for the Town of Canmore to toughen up bylaws dealing with wildlife attractants.
Kevin Van Tighem, a biologist and former superintendent of Banff National Park, said the municipality should consider tougher provisions in the bylaws, including making it mandatory for grease bins to be in secured enclosures.
“It appears it is not illegal to have an unsecured grease bin… but this is an entry-level drug for addicting bears, and addicted bears end up dead,” said Van Tighem, author of soon to be released Bears Without Fear.
“If we want to see ourselves as a community that coexists with wildlife, then I think we have to ask ourselves whether that doesn’t require special consideration in the bylaw to keep wild animals away from attractants.”
Silvertip Golf Course lies on the edge of a wildlife corridor, where cougars, bears and other wild animals travel daily as they attempt to navigate the busy Bow Valley.
In the years following a fatal bear attack on a trail near the golf course, Silvertip implemented a wildlife response plan which is said to have reduced the number of dangerous animal encounters since its inception in 2010.
The company is a recipient of the 2012 Canadian Golf Superintendents Association (CGSA) environmental achievement award, in large part for that animal response plan.
Guy Turcotte, president and CEO of Stone Creek Resorts, said he is not aware that the bin has been an attractant to bears.
“If we do have a problem, we’re going to deal with that problem as quickly as we can,” he said. “We don’t need a bylaw to deal with something, but I am unaware there is a problem.”
Town of Canmore officials say Silvertip’s grease bin is not illegal under the municipality’s current regulations. Grease bins have a grate across them beneath the plastic lid.
Chris Montgomery, supervisor of the Town of Canmore’s Bylaw Services, said bins must be kept clean and function according to the design, noting a grate would prevent a bear getting in.
“If council wanted to notch it up one, they could make it mandatory for businesses to actually enclose grease bins in bearproof enclosures, but we haven’t reached that level of direction yet,” he said.
“We’re not enforcing unless the bin is covered in grease and it’s becoming delicious for a bear. If it’s in clean condition and being used properly in accordance with the design, we don’t consider it to be in contravention of the bylaw.”
Montgomery said if a provincial conservation officer were to tell bylaw services of a bear being attracted to the grease bin, they would speak with Silvertip or any other business in the same situation.
“If they could give me some evidence that that is happening, we would probably talk to Silvertip and ask if they could put the bin in a different, more secure, location,” he said.
“We want to work with them, rather that hit them over the head. We don’t want to see any attractants and we’re constantly working with businesses both downtown and in more remote areas to keep garbage cleaned up.”
But Van Tighem said it would be far better to deal with unsecured grease bins before they become a serious issue, noting this is the time of year bears are looking for an easy snack given limited natural foods in the valley bottoms and snow in higher elevations.
“It’s not about whether the bear gets a feed, it’s whether it gets a taste. They come back looking for more, recognizing the smell and if they find it at the edge of town, that’s where they’re going to look for it,” he said.
“The national parks spent the better part of 50 years dragging themselves out of that hole, so why would we perpetuate it elsewhere in bear country?”
