Alternate policy

“Bear Aware” was a article written by Marion county in FL. They explain how bad the bear problem is, about 32 percent of the 518 calls to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC)in 2014 were about bear interactions in Marion County were associated with bears getting into residents' garbage. They end up having to euthanize the animals because of this problem. This problem is similar to ours because both of the counties are having to kill bears because of them being attracted to our trash. The way that Marion County dealt with this problem was offering inexpensive bear proof containers. The residents of Marion County can obtain: a 96-gallon, bear-proof trash can for only $64.24,and a 64-gallon, bear-proof trash can for only $42.80.

The pros of this policy are that the residents are able to acquire the trash cans at a discounted rate. Normal prices of 96 gallon bear proof containers are upwards of 300$. This is possible because of the county receiving a grant from the (FWC). Cons of the policy might be that there is no repercussion to not owning a bear proof container. They are just offered at a more affordable price. Some people might not even care enough to pay the 42$, but if it was required everyone would do it.

Dylan Fenske

http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/wildlife_pdf/bearplan2014.pdf

http://www.marioncountyfl.org/departments-agencies/departments-o-z/parks-and-recreation/bear-aware