G7 money going toward keeping bears out of Canmore through fruit tree removal

CBC

20 hours ago

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More than a month after the event ended, June's G7 summit continues to affect the Bow Valley.
The Town of Canmore and the Biosphere Institute of the Bow Valley are expanding its Fruit Tree Removal Incentive program, through funding from the global gathering earlier this summer.
The program, first introduced in 2019, offers a financial incentive for property owners to remove fruit-bearing trees, in an effort to keep bears from being attracted to the town.
What's new this year is additional funding for fruit-bearing trees to be replaced with new trees.
"We set aside in excess of $28,000 that is specifically earmarked to pay for replacement trees in the community here in Canmore," said Biosphere Institute executive director Gareth Thompson..
The initiative will reimburse the cost of tree removal for up to $500 per property, with this year's additional funding offering up to $500 for tree-replacement costs.
"We know from our evidence that it will go better if we can offer to replace the tree that the homeowner removes," said Thompson.
The funding will enable the town to support fruit tree removal and replacement for up to 70 homes, said Thompson.
Non-native plants like crabapple and cherry trees can be found in the backyards of some Canmore residents, potentially drawing in hungry bears.
"They're beautiful plants, but we're just coming to realize in the last decade that these represent a big hazard because they attract bears into town, often resulting in the bear's death," said Thompson.
He pointed to an incident last August in which a black bear was destroyed after eating crabapples in a Canmore backyard.
"Here in Canmore, we take our wildlife very seriously, and even the death of one bear is too many."
Thompson said by keeping bears away from Canmore, the fruit-bearing tree removal program is supporting nature.
"There's abundant food in the woods and the area surrounding the town of Canmore," he said. "So we're actually keeping more bears in the ecosystem by removing these food attractants in town."
Black bears and grizzlies are currently seeking out high-calorie food like fruits, as they prepare for hibernation.
Human-wildlife coexistence a priority for G7
Town of Canmore communications advisor Nicky Pacas said the town is really lucky to have local programs benefit with funding from the G7.
She said the funding stems from human-wildlife coexistence being a "priority concern" for the summit.
"They wanted to put some funding in place for after the summit to benefit the residents of Canmore, and to focus on sort of these priority areas that they were trying to draw attention to, also during the summit," she said.
Eligible replacement trees include trembling aspen, balsam poplar, fruitless spring snow crabapple trees, and river or paper birch.
Due to the one-time nature of the funding, the tree-replacement program is only being offered this year.
A similar initiative took place prior to the G7, when buffaloberry bushes were removed in Kananaskis Country to keep bears away from the summit.