Boundary County Waterways Board, Kootenai Tribal Wildlife Program install animal-resistant garbage receptacles

On Wednesday, community members successfully completed the installation of four BearSaver CE Series trash receptacles at the Search and Rescue, Deep Creek, Copeland, and Porthill boat launches.

The rugged, animal-resistant metal trash receptacles (Funded by the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho) replaced the open-air plastic barrels that were the current option for trash disposal at the ramps. They provide the option for both trash and recycling, and are also ADA-compliant.

Since early 2019, the Boundary County Waterways Board, organized and coordinated with local Boundary County departments for the replacement of open-air plastic barrels with animal-resistant metal trash receptacles. In October, work crews (Genny Hoyle, Boundary County Waterways Board Member; Brandon Diller, Kina Wasmer and Jason Ashley, Kootenai Tribal Wildlife Program) prepped four locations for the trash receptacle installation by building concrete forms and pouring slabs. Funding for the concrete slab material was provided by the Boundary County Waterways Board.

Scott Soults, Kootenai Tribal Wildlife Program Manager, attended a Waterways board

meeting earlier in 2018 with the specifications to replace the open-air plastic trash cans

see BEARS, B5

BEARS

from B4

with animal-resistant BearSaver trash cans after several months working with Waterways Board members.

Soults said, “The Kootenai Tribe of Idaho and the County Waterways Board will work towards improving our county recreational areas, help keep our local community clean and safe, and avoid bear-human interactions. All too often, the saying, “a fed bear, is a dead bear,” is unfortunately true. By installing animal resistant dumpsters at public sites, like Boundary County boat ramps, we are working to keep attractants unavailable to bears, and reduce human/bear conflicts.”