Keep bears out of your garbage
The Regional Waste Reduction Office is reminding the public to please do its part to keep your neighborhood safe by managing wildlife attractants around your home.
Bears have already been spotted in several neighborhoods from Peachland to West Kelowna and Kelowna, and Waste Reduction Facilitator Rae Stewart says it’s time to be extra vigilant. “With fall around the corner, this is the time bears amp up for winter, they’re hungry and on the prowl for food.The best advice if you live in an area susceptible to wildlife visitors is to reduce the risk of conflict by taking responsibility for your trash.”
Stewart reminds residents not to put their garbage, recycling or yard waste carts out for collection until the morning of their actual collection day. “Bears and other animals have a keen sense of smell, so the idea is not to attract them to your garbage unnecessarily. If they find your waste, not only can they make a real mess, but they can pose a risk to you and your family, your pets, or to themselves by attracting the totally preventable attention of conservation officers.”
Wildsafe BC has tips you can follow to keep wildlife wild and help prevent conflict:
• Only put garbage out for collection on the morning of pickup, not the night before
• Encourage neighbors to do the same, offer to help if they are not able to put garbage out at appropriate times • Secure your garbage on non- collection days • Keep your barbeque clean and covered • Pick ripe or fallen fruit, mix well into your compost bin, or put in yard waste cart • Clean up and properly store bird seed or pet food To report human bear conflicts to the BC Conservation Office call 1-877-952-7277.
The B.C. Government has declared a level 3 drought rating for the Okanagan.
It’s a been year of extremes in the Okanagan. Between June and August, Kelowna broke its record for least summer rainfall, with only 7.3 mm accumulated. Penticton and Vernon are poised to break their own records for summer dryness. Kelowna also broke records for hottest July and August.
This follows a record-breaking spring for most precipitation from March to May for Vernon (second highest ever recorded), Kelowna (fourth highest) and Penticton (ranked No. 1 for precipitation) out of 100 years of records.
This leaves relatively normal levels in mainstream lakes and upper-watershed reservoirs, but many important fish streams have low flows and warm waters that are harmful for fish. Some streams are completely dry.
Drought Level 3 calls for a voluntary 30 per cent reduction in water use for both surface and groundwater users. Most municipal systems have water conservation bylaws that differ from provincial targets because of stored water in reservoirs. Okanagan water purveyors are generally experiencing normal supply conditions, but given the ongoing hot and dry conditions, all are encouraged to conserve.
For more about water conservation, visit the Okanagan Basin Water Board’s website at www.obwb.ca.