Coexisting with Bears

While I was in Idaho working with the Idaho Conservation League, I wrote a guest blog on coexisting with bears after having to cancel one of ICL's hikes due to bear activity in the area. The blog I wrote is in its original form below, and you can see its edited version on the ICL's webpage by clicking here.

Bear Bursts Bubble of Beehive Lake Hikers

Coming to Idaho for the first time, I was really hoping I could finally see a bear in the wild (one of my ‘bucket list’ goals)! But after having to cancel our most popular hike-the July 27 Beehive Lakes Scramble Hike- because a bear removed food and camping equipment from a campsite in the area, I had to come to terms with the fact that people seeing bears in the wild may not actually be a good thing.

Bears that encounter people regularly and are not harmed begin to lose their fear of humans. If bears also consistently find food and garbage to eat when people are around, they can begin to associate people with food and can even become reliant on humans for their meals. This dependency can cause bears to become more aggressive if their new food source is unexpectedly taken away. While this aggression can be dangerous for people, habituation to people is possibly more dangerous for bears. Habituated bears are more likely to be killed as “problem wildlife” and are also more vulnerable to hunters and being hit by cars.

In order to reduce the likelihood of bears becoming habituated to us and our food, the Forests Service will temporarily close an area after an unfortunate bear encounter. This ensures that the bear involved in the incident won’t find people should he return to the site of the encounter in search of more food. It prevents the bear from relying on the site as a food source, and reduces the chances that the bear will develop a people-food association or become habituated to people.

We can do our part by making sure to comply with the Forests Service’s 2011 Food Storage Order when we’re recreating in bear habitat that hasn’t been closed. The order is effective every year from April through December, and states that everything that might smell like food to a bear should be stored in a bear-resistant manner or in a certified bear-resistant container when unattended. The items may not be buried or burned in an open fire at a campsite.

In order to sore food, grease, beverages, and scented toiletries in a bear resistant manner, you should either

1.  Hang the scented items 10 feet above the ground and 4 feet away from any structure a bear might be able to climb
2. Take advantage of bear-proof food storage lockers installed in various locations or
3. Store the scented items in a vehicle, hard-sided building, or behind an electric fence.

It’s true that seeing bears up close may not always be a good thing, but if we’re smart about recreating in bear habitat we can peacefully coexist with the wildlife in the wild places we appreciate.