Franklin County applies for Bear Wise funding

 Franklin County is one of 8 counties in Florida that have applied for the next round of Bear Wise funds from the state.

If approved, the funding will pay for retrofit kits for residential trash containers in the Eastpoint area to help residents secure their garbage from black bears.

There is about 515 thousand dollars available statewide during this round of funding.

Sixty percent of the money must go to communities that have passed BearWise ordinances requiring residents and businesses to keep their trash secure until the morning of garbage pickup.

Franklin County does not currently have a bear ordinance in place, but we do have a problem of bears coming into neighborhoods.

The FWC plans to announce the funding awards in mid-November.

Last year, the FWC distributed over $800,000 in BearWise funding to purchase 5,100 bear-resistant trash cans and 3,800 sets of hardware to secure regular trash cans.

Franklin County and the City of Carrabelle both received funds last year.

In addition to providing BearWise funding, the FWC will continue to meet with counties, cities and homeowner’s associations to encourage efforts to enact BearWise trash ordinances.

The FWC anticipates implementation of such ordinances coupled with this year’s BearWise funding will result in a reduction in human-bear conflicts across the state.

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