September 15, 1998 Missoulian article: Beware of urban bear Beware of urban bear by Michael Moore.

It's September and that means it's bear time. While not Officially autumn for we the people, black bears have read the message of September's cooler nights. And the message is this time to get the groceries,

For suburban black bears, that means frequent trips into town to lard up for the winter. Recently, bears have been seen along Reserve Street, near Cold Springs Elementary School, out and about in the University neighborhood and all over the Rattlesnake Valley.. Tuesday morning, a bear even took up temporary residence at the Highlands Golf Course. (Golf rules do not suitably address the hazard posed by bears - are they in play? - but a free drop in a bear-free area seems reasonable.)

Bill Thomas, information officer for the state Department of Fish Wildlife and Parks, said the agency is getting 15 calls per day in Missoula, and the department has moved about 50 bears in west-central Montana during the past two months.

To date, none of the Missoula- area sightings involved bears or people acting aggressively toward one another. But conflict is inevitable. It happens every year.

"We're responding when we think it's serious enough," Thomas said. "A bear at a school or a bear trying to get into a house is serious enough."

To some extent, Thomas said, bear-human conflicts can be minimized by people taking care of people things.

Of course, no amount of prevention will keep every bear away. But that's no reason not to try. Here then are some strategies for keeping the bears at bay, courtesy of Thomas:

• Keep your garbage locked away in a closed building. Put it out only on pick-up day. Don't leave pet food outdoors. If you feed your pets outside, make sure you pick up any leftovers.
• Be careful about feeding birds. FWP suggests letting birds fend for themselves, at least until the snow flies.
• Be careful what goes into your compost pile this time of year. Yard waste and grass clippings are fine, but table scraps are a siren call for bears.
• If you've got fruit trees, make it a daily chore to pick up ripe fruit that's fallen to the ground.

  "We're trying to hold our own for the bears' sakes," Thomas said. "We're trying to keep them from getting hit by cars, from getting shot, from having to be moved."

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  CAG Comments

  Does it make any sense to reintroduce grizzly bears? There is a movement a foot by the environmental interest groups that have captured the various government agencies.

  End CAG Comments

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