Our campaign to get bear-resistant trash cans into the community has been a resounding success. A team of volunteers last week distributed 139 cans to residents looking to keep bears out of their refuse.
A mighty thanks to Defenders of Wildlife for providing the cans and shipment to Seattle, a $53,000 value, at zero cost to residents. Thanks also to the Haines Borough and the Haines-based Alaska Chilkoot Bear Foundation for footing the $8,000 shipping bill from Seattle to Haines.
Thanks to volunteers Peter Dwyer, Debbie Gravel, Russ White, Joe Parnell, Dan Egolf and Sue Rakes for helping assemble and distribute cans.
This partnership between the Haines Borough and two nonprofit organizations represents the kind of relationships we must build and nurture in order to make our community a functional and enjoyable place to live. As mayor, I will strive to continue to bring efforts like this to our valley.
A note of advice to folks who received cans: Your can will be more effective if you secure it, upright, to an unmovable object.
Let’s continue to work together this summer to keep our neighborhoods safe by securing bear attractants. Residents interested in protecting other attractants like gardens, chicken coops, and compost piles are encouraged to reach Defenders of Wildlife about its electric fence reimbursement program.
Tom Morphet