Biologists with the Yukon government are set to begin their first comprehensive population survey of grizzly bears in the territory's Southern Lakes area.

Expected to take five years to complete, the survey is important because of the number of bears and people in the area, said Ramona Maraj, carnivore biologist with the Environment Department.

"We chose to work on the Southern Lakes area because it's got a lot of human-use pressures. It's got a lot of development in it, a lot of access in it," Maraj said.

"We notice that there's a high rate of bears being killed in the Southern Lakes area and so we're really concerned about what's going on."

Maraj estimates there are about 90 bears in the area to be surveyed. About 40 of them will have collars put on them and be tracked for several years as part of the government study.

Hunters are being asked to avoid shooting any collared bears they might see in the area, Maraj said.

Meanwhile, the Environment Department is planning to strip berries from some areas around Haines Junction this summer as part of a pilot program it's starting in bear safety.

Maraj said bears like to eat soapberries, which tend to flourish in certain areas close to communities.

Staff will target areas like schools and campgrounds, removing the bears' favourite food from those places.

"We want to make sure that there's still enough food out there for bears," she said.

"We want to make sure that we're pulling it in places that are really high-hazard zones or high-risk zones, and that we're still leaving it in the areas where bears can forage and not then come for garbage. So we have to develop a plan first."

As part of the pilot program, the department is also asking residents to phone in any bear sightings this summer.