The Creston Valley has a new Wildsafe BC coordinator.
Rosanna Wijenberg will be making introductions in Creston and neighborhoods and the surrounding area that are prone to wildlife activity.
“I’m going to be doing door to doors. So I’m going to be talking in Creston but also all the way up to Riondel, Kootenay bay, maybe out to Yahk. Areas that have had bears destroyed or have had a history of garbage and attractants being left outside.”
She will also be marking garbage containers with a friendly notice if they are at risk of being an attractant.
“First I’m going to be garbage tagging. Basically going around the night before garbage pickup and just putting a friendly reminder sticker. Asking people to please leave their garbage in, the night before pickup, as it attract rats and bears and all sorts of other wildlife.”
Wijenberg says there is no fine, only a reminder that Creston has abundant wildlife and a growing rat problem and that attractants should be locked up to reduce human-wildlife conflicts. She says she hopes to build strong relationships to come up with solutions such as community bear-proof garbage containers and education programs.