Urban Bear Management Ordinance

Seminole County, in consultation with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), has developed regulations intended to reduce human-bear conflicts within Seminole County and the City of Oviedo.  

The regulations employ nationally recognized best management techniques for eliminating bear attractants and require that refuse, the most significant contributor to bear-human conflicts, be secured in a manner that precludes access by bears.

The core of these bear management regulations focuses on the elimination of bear attractants within designated Urban Bear Management Areas. Within an established Urban Bear Management Area, Residential Refuse Customers must secure their refuse until the designated collection day. This may be accomplished through storage of refuse containers within a garage, shed, or other secured structure until 5 a.m. on the day of collection. While Residential Refuse Customers may alternatively elect to secure refuse within a bear-resistant container, the new bear management regulations do not require Residential Refuse Customers to purchase bear-resistant refuse cans.