Living with bears and an update on recovering from last winter

Most folks are used to seeing warnings about possible bear/homeowner interactions in the spring, when bears are emerging from their dens and are looking for the first foods of their new year. Fish and Game has issued an advisory about reported bear problems in Anchorage for this fall.

Quoting from the advisory, “The Department of Fish & Game has received multiple reports of brown bears accessing unsecured garbage in south Anchorage. ADF&G is working closely with the Alaska Wildlife Troopers and Anchorage Police Department to investigate these reports. It is important for Alaskans to keep up their ‘bear etiquette’ by ensuring food attractants around homes and neighborhoods are secure. Unsecured attractants are what draws and keeps bears in neighborhoods. Brown bears will defend food sources and can become a serious public safety threat, which is why leaving human food, animal food, or garbage in a manner that attracts bears is a violation of state law and may result in a $320 fine.”

Continuing, “As winter approaches, bears will be looking for easy food sources. While natural foods are still plentiful, human-provided attractants are particularly inviting to bears. Feeding bears, even unintentionally, is illegal and can result in fines. Remove and secure any trash that may be outside, and make sure bear deterrents, such as electric fences surrounding poultry or other small livestock, are operational and turned on.”

To prevent bear problems, biologists are suggesting the following actions: store trash inside buildings or in bear-resistant containers; keep secured until the morning of scheduled pickup. Encourage neighbors to do the same. If you use electric fences – properly constructed electric fences designed to exclude bears can keep bears out of gardens, compost, and away from buildings, chicken coops, and domestic animals. Clean barbecue grills, especially grease traps, after each use.

Feed pets indoors or clean up excess and spilled food between meals. Store pet food, livestock food, and birdseed indoors or in bear-resistant containers. Keep bird feeders down April through October, store securely and remove spilled seed. Keep freezers locked in a secure building or otherwise inaccessible to bears. And finally, plant gardens in the open, away from cover and game trails. Only compost raw vegetable matter and turn over compost frequently.

The department asks that, in addition to taking preventative measures, people should report incidents of bears frequenting neighborhoods or other populated areas, getting into trash, or showing aggression. Contact the nearest ADF&G office during regular business hours. If the situation involves an immediate public safety concern, call 911.

These same actions are applicable for the spring emergence from hibernation as well. They may be more critical in the spring because of the lack of readily available food for the bears, but once a bear is attracted to an easy meal in the fall, the same problems and potential dangers will occur.

While this announcement is specific to the Anchorage area, we have lots of bears living in the Valley as well. Residents in my neighborhood have occasionally reported seeing black bears passing through their yards. With the population of bears being high, a little diligence and adhering to the biologist’s recommendations mentioned earlier will help keep both you and the bear safe and happy.

On to a couple of other topics. I’ve heard that a couple of my friends have had success with harvesting moose so far this season. One friend’s two nephews each harvested a small bull, and another friend used her antlerless moose permit to take the winter’s meat supply on opening day. I’m still hoping to get out in the next few days, but that brings us to my next topic.

I just got word today that the trusses for my new storage building are ready and are scheduled to be delivered this Friday, Sept. 8th. My contractor hopes to have the building covered and enclosed by the end of the weekend. It would be nice to finally have something repaired/replaced and finished which was damaged by the snowfall and building collapse from last winter.

So far, I haven’t heard anything on the progress of my riverboat repairs. I’m assuming the boat is sitting at the paint shop waiting to be cycled into their work schedule. I have also heard nothing about the status of the motorhome repairs, although I did mention in a previous column that I was told the unit wouldn’t be done until “the snows fly,” so I don’t really expect to hear much on that front for a while.

My goose hunting shotgun is still at the gunsmith’s too!