Revelstoke is in a unique place along the highway. It truly is in the middle of the wilderness, yet does not have a Conservation Officer despite the large wild animal population.
The Provincial Government recently hired 20 new Conservation Officers, with 10 of those spots through natural attrition, however 10 new positions have been created and Revelstoke will not be seeing the benefit.
It has been since 2013 that Revelstoke has had an officer dedicated to this area and since that time we have seen a huge increase in nears being euthanized. 2016 brought a lot of heat on the City as well as the community after a bear was shot in the downtown area leaving blood in its wounded trail. This prompted picketers to storm the streets and create a stir about the situation and finally be heard about a Conservation Officer.
In 2017, nine bears were destroyed causing another stir up in our community about how we manage our garbage and back yard fruit trees.
“I honestly believe that if Revelstoke had a CO, that would have never happened last year.” MLA Doug Clovechok told the Revelstoke Current.
It is clear the screams from two years ago were dull roars. The City of Revelstoke has done their part to lead by example with the bear proof bins that are all over the community, and while some may think they are ugly, the alternative is much nastier.
According to MLA Doug Clovechok, the Minister claimed that Revelstoke does not have the numbers to warrant a Conservation Officer and last year’s bear massacre was an anomaly however, Clovechok noted that the Minister was open to sitting down and having a further discussion about the matter.
“The good news is I did get him to agree to a meeting with myself and the Mayor and anyone else who will add value to the conversation. To the credit of the Minister, he is open to those discussions. We have to present our case, because there is a case to be made here.”
