This happens every year where people feed bears and use easily accessible areas or popular back country recreational areas as a dumping ground. We encourage people not to feed bears or attract them to our neighborhoods and recreational areas. How about trying to find a farmer and sharing this bounty or taking unwanted fruit directly to the transfer station and disposing of it responsibly.

Owning a fruit tree in bear country is a big responsibility! Fruit needs to be picked daily as it ripens and not allowed to accumulate on the ground is important. Pruning your fruit tree will result in a better and more manageable quality of fruit.  Other options are removing the fruiting tree and replacing it with a native non fruit bearing tree.

Do you need help with your apples?  There are resources.  Contact Wildsight Fernie Branch Facebook: Fernie Apple Capture tree sharing. -Available to lend: fruit picking and tree pruning equipment, apple presses, dehydrators, sauce makers, etc.   Call: 1-250-423-3322, elkvalley@wildsight.ca, http://www.wildsight.ca/branches/elkvalley/

If you are unable to manage your fruit tree due to disability, illness, you are elderly and need assistance picking the fruit, contact:  Rachel Dortman 1-250-423-8665, Facebook: Elk Valley Homesteading.