Whitefish bear rule expanded citywide
Not even Goldilocks had this many problems with hungry bears. Following a rash of calls to police this fall concerning black bears in town, Whitefish is taking steps to make sure garbage cans are secured and out of reach of roaming bears.
City Council on Monday unanimously passed an emergency ordinance that expands the bear ordinance citywide. All city residents will now be required to keep their garbage cans in a secure location until 4 a.m. on the day of trash pickup, and then return containers by 7 p.m. the same day.
“We have three bears wandering through town and Goldilocks said we should probably get this taken care of,” Police Chief Bill Dial said, referencing the children’s story of “Goldilocks and the Three Bears.”
During a one-week span earlier this month there were nine calls to police concerning bears. Some were found eating from bird feeders in yards and one got stuck on a porch. Late in September, one black bear strolled down Central Avenue.
Previously, only residents located north of Denver Street and Bay Point Drive and food businesses north of the BNSF Railway tracks were required to have bear-resistant containers and follow the roll-out rule.
The emergency ordinance will be in effect for no more than 90 days. The focus of the ordinance will be the hour restrictions.
Councilor Richard Hildner pointed to the number of calls about bears as reason to expand the ordinance area.
“We clearly have an issue and it’s important to do something,” he said.
The city is asking those who don’t have bear-resistant containers to place the garbage can inside a garage or fence, or secure the lid with a bungee cord. Police officers will continue to patrol to make sure residents are in compliance with the ordinance.
Dial said the bears are using the Whitefish River corridor to move through town and have become habituated, expecting to feed from garbage cans.
“We don’t have a bear problem, we have a people problem,” he said. “By next spring will have a better handle on this to protect the bears and the public.”
City Public Works Department was unable to locate a sufficient number of suitable animal-resistant containers for the additional residents now covered under the ordinance. During the coming months, public works will attempt to secure those containers and will renegotiate the terms of the city’s garbage service contract with North Valley Refuse to present long-term options. Purchasing the animal-resistant containers could cost between $500,000 and $750,000.
Whitefish’s first restrictions on garbage containers came in 2001 following a number of conflicts with bears that prompted council to pass the ordinance requiring morning roll-out for residents and business north of the railroad tracks. Shortly after the ordinance was passed, council directed city staff not to enforce it on the belief that a number of people did not have animal-proof enclosures to store garbage.
The ordinance was stiffened in 2005 to require bear-resistant containers for all businesses north of the railroad tracts and residents north of Denver Street and Bay Point Drive.
Bear sightings are no longer limited to certain geographical areas of the city. Erik Wenum, a bear specialist with the Montana, Fish, Wildlife and Parks, told the city in May 2013 that the problem was citywide and getting worse.