March 25, 1999 Missoulian commentary: Shoot, shovel and shut-up' doesn't cut it when bears are in the yard by Steve Anderson is the game warden in Troy, MT.
Rep. Matt Brainard, a Missoula area legislator, has introduced House Bill 440 which could give county commissioners the authority to declare a "predator alert." Commissioners would notify the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks if towns in their respective counties were plagued by marauding bears or lions, for example. Restrictions on harvesting the intruders, imposed by state game regulations, would be lifted.
The bill prompts some intriguing questions, but a statement made by Rep. Brainard while advocating his bill snagged my. attention like a three-ounce treble hook. While justifying his bill to a reporter from the Missoulian, Rep. Brainard explained the impositions placed on landowners when bears and lions invade homesteads. Completing his case for the bill, Rep. Brainard stated, "Currently, we're operating under the "Three S's (shoot, shovel and shut-up)." I think that's selling us short.
Last year's infamous invasion of bears upon Troy and Libby was uncommonly stressful for all parties involved, particularly the bears. A fickle thermometer the previous April played a fatal trick on huckleberry blossoms causing the crop to fail miserably. Deprived of their primary staple, bears were forced to hunt for sugar sources among residential orchards.
A high concentration of glucose in a bear's blood is essential so its liver can convert glucose to fat. Fat reserves, of course, allow a bear to survive the biological rigors of denning which include producing milk for cubs. For us, gathering huckleberries is an annual pastime. For bears, it can be a matter of life or death.
During the peak months of August and September, wardens worked furiously trying to thwart the onslaught of bears and prevent some of the inevitable damage to trees and property. Bears were trapped, transplanted, darted, and hazed in record numbers. It was common to see brazen bruins strolling nonchalantly through the streets of Troy searching for the next plum tree; trash can, or garden.
It was a wry twist to the American dream, "a car in every garage, a chicken in every pot, and a bear in every yard," for that matter in some basements and kitchens too. To make things worse, the mountain lions decided to get into the act. A delayed response to a depleted deer herd had lions hunting for semi-tame "farm deer" near houses.
Landowners realized the huckleberry crop failed. Most of us know we live in an area that boasts the highest density of bears in the state. We know the bears are driven by survival instincts. We understand that lions need to eat, too. These are small consolations, however, when we wake up, look out the window to greet the morning, and discover the plum tree we nurtured for 10 years has been reduced to kindling or, worse yet, our family dog has been dragged off in a fit of blood and fur.
Through all the aggravation, however, the vast majority of landowners in this area demonstrated remarkable restraint and understanding. A few too-close encounters had to be resolved legitimately with a firearm, but in almost every case the homeowner was up-front and honest about his or her intentions. Yes, I had an incident or two where foul play was involved. Probably, there were other episodes I never heard about and I'm sure a few distrustful people resorted to the legally risky and incriminating "Three S's" as a solution.
But overall? I was very impressed with the patience and ingenuity exhibited by the residents of Troy and Libby. People secured their trash willingly and picked unripe fruit to save trees from further damage. They refused to pick huckleberries hoping to give the bears that much more. They set up lights and radios as deterrents and fired cracker shells by the case. Others actually bit their lower lips and sacrificed their fruit trees hoping it would help the desperate bears. Some had to endure the loss of poultry and even livestock in a rare incident. Most everybody sympathized with the bears' plight, and even the baggy-eyed, overtired wardens received some sympathy as well.
Hamilton had its black bear sitting in a ponderosa pine tree on the South side of town for several hours. This is a far cry from grizzly bears that are looking for 75,000+ calories per day to get ready for the long winter hibernation. CAG agrees the 3 S's is not the way to resolve the problem of bears being bears. But introducing grizzly bears into this area that is mostly rock and very little vegetation attractive to bears is not using the "common sense" alluded to later on in this article.
Complicated wildlife issues are dominating the headlines like never before, challenging us to come up with solutions that will benefit us and the creatures that enrich our lives. Clearly, the future of our wildlife resource depends on a team effort instead of an "us vs. them" approach. Last year, we proved that we have progressed far beyond the counterproductive, outdated "Three S's. " I'd say we're operating under the "Three C's" when it comes to close encounters with our four-legged neighbors: remain calm, use common sense, and call your local warden. You won't be sorry.