Volusia County Benefits From BearWise Funding

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Volusia County, FL - Volusia County is one of ten communities that applied for BearWise funding, receiving $50,000 to purchase bear-resistant trash cans to sell to residents at a discounted rate in the western portion of the county. The state had a total of $500,000 to distribute. The money is to be used to reduce human-bear conflict and for the purchase of bear-resistant trash cans and dumpsters. Dave Telesco, Bear Management Program Coordinator, said nothing is bearproof and that somewhere there's a bear that can break in. He also said that if a company claims their product is bearproof, there's a testing facility, the Wolf and Grizzly Discovery Center in Montana to test the product out. Telesco said that Volusia County received $50,000 because there's a high demand for the bear-resistant cans, especially in the western part of the county. He said that 13-hundred applications were received for 900 cans. Counties that have BearWise ordinances are eligible for more of the funding. Telesco said that Volusia County does not have such ordinances. Volusia County received $80,000 in 2017 and $75,000 for 2018.