Expert advises on how to minimize problems with bears

As apples, plums and pears ripen on trees all over Lincoln County and bears move into hyperphagia — a period of heightened metabolism before hibernation — it’s time to secure garbage, fruit trees and livestock, according to a local bear expert.

“It doesn’t matter what the food source is,” said Fish, Wildlife and Parks bear management specialist Kim Annis. “Bears will eat anything, and at this time of year especially, the need to eat can override the discomfort of being around humans.”

Annis emphasized that there are no inherent problem bears, but that humans create them by having food sources that bring bears close to our homes.

She recommends dealing with fruit trees early in the year, before the fruit ripens and bears can smell it.

“What you can do is, in the spring, if you don’t plan on picking your fruit, enjoy the flowers for a few days and then take a leaf blower or pressure washer and remove all the flowers,” Annis said.

If you miss that window, picking the fruit green is an option, she said, or replacing fruit trees with ornamental versions like a flowering crab apple.

For those who want to keep their fruit trees and use the fruit, Fish, Wildlife and Parks can help people by loaning electric fencing and applying for grants for permanent solutions. The agency can also loan out bear resistant garbage cans.

This year, bears began accessing garbage left out for collection in Woodway Park in Libby, Annis said, and they were only showing up on collection nights.

“They know when to come,” Annis said with a laugh. “Because of that, we recommend keeping your garbage behind four walls, a roof and a door and putting it out in the morning. But if you can’t do that, we can loan you a bear-proof garbage can.”

Annis encouraged people to report bears near their residences before they get into the garbage so she can help assess ways to secure properties.

Gary Britton, who lives outside Troy city limits, keeps both chickens and bees. He said that although he has annual visits from bears, with some attempts to get through the electric fencing he has installed, the bears don’t become a problem because they cannot access the food.

“I keep all of my chicken feed and bird seed in trash cans in the shop all behind a locked metal door,” he said. “My chicken and bee enclosures have two-layer fencing. The internal fence is welded wire or deer/rabbit fencing with the outer layer being an electric fence.”

One of Britton’s power converters for the electric fence was loaned to him by Fish, Wildlife and Parks. The other he purchased.

Annis takes calls daily during bear season — mostly people reporting bears accessing food near houses — but her goal is always “to work herself out of a job,” she said.

Having a high-density black bear population and a threatened grizzly population means Annis mostly contends with black bears, relocating an average of eight and euthanizing an average of one every year in her range of Lincoln and Sanders Counties.

Euthanizing is a “huge waste”, said Annis, as the bear has to be disposed of in landfill after being chemically euthanized Bears are only euthanized once they get to the stage of breaking into buildings, she said.

“Moving a bear is a band-aid fix,” Annis said. “We want to address any problems before a bear gets to the stage of needing to be moved.”

Annis sees the work she is doing now in helping residents secure food attractants as important training as grizzly numbers — currently estimated at 65 bears in the area — increase.

“All bears are opportunistic,” Annis said. “So if there are food sources around humans, they will move in.”

Local resources for those who have excess fruit this season include the Libby and Troy Farmers Markets, the Troy Apple Exchange Facebook page, Libby and Troy food banks and Annis herself, who said she can help connect people who want to pick fruit with those who have an excess.

Annis is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week for bear management and can be contacted at 406-291-1320 or kannis@mt.gov.