Road crews are scrambling to replace the clover flourishing along the sides of the Sea-to-Sky Highway in Whistler because the plant is attracting hordes of bears, putting both animals and drivers at risk.

The clover was included as part of a seed mix used when the highway was improved leading up to the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, but workers are now putting in native plants like hardhack, alder and juniper in the hope it will shade and kill off the bear-friendly snack.

Replanting team leader Meg Toom told CTV News the replacement plants are all “non-palatable” species.

“Basically, bears aren’t going to want to eat that,” she said.

Sylvia Dolson, director of the Get Bear Smart Society, said the clover attracts bears because it has high protein content and is tender and easy to digest.

But it’s putting the animals in grave danger.

“We’re having as many bears killed on the highway now as are being killed in conflict situations. It’s basically doubling the mortality rate,” Dolson said.

Last year, 14 bears were killed after conflicts with humans, while 13 reportedly died on the highway. Having so many bears so close to the road is also causing what conservation officers call “bear jams” when drivers stop to watch and photograph the bruins.

Dolson said her group alerted the Sea-to-Sky Highway Improvement Project about the risks of planting clover along the road before the upgrades were complete.

“It’s pretty frustrating really,” she said. “I just don’t know where it all fell apart.”

The Ministry of Transportation says the clover was included in the planting mix to stabilize roadside slopes and fix nitrogen so that other plants could take over and thrive. Ministry wildlife specialist Leonard Sielecki says things didn’t work out exactly as planned.

“This is totally unexpected. Our seed mixes are designed to establish the majority of the plants quickly,” he said.

“The combination of late, cold springs and grazing by the bears has compounded the situation.”

He added that it will take another year or two before the indigenous vegetation being planted now crowds out the clover, but didn’t have an estimate for the total cost of the replanting project.

With a report from CTV British Columbia’s Peter Grainger