Several weeks ago, this column was dedicated to some advice about learning to live and avoid problems with black bears, which are steadily increasing in our area. Last week, the Department of Environmental Conservation held a public seminar and meeting at the Plymouth Fire Department on that very subject. I was sad to note only about a dozen people attended. Yet I'd be willing to bet a full bird feeder that over the next couple of years there'll be a lot more than that who'd wished they'd attended.
Why do I say that? Because we've already experienced dozens of bear-related incidents in the area over the past couple of years, and it will only get worse if residents don't take steps to avoid bear-people conflicts. As I told Dave Rielhman, the DEC Region 7 Sr. Wildlife Biologist who gave the presentation, "Hold this again in a few years, and I'll bet the room will be packed."
In many ways, the influx of bears into our region parallels the return of deer to the area. By the early 20th Century deer were extirpated from our region, and just seeing a deer track in the 1920s was major news. Hunters in search of a New York deer had to travel to the Adirondacks. But as agricultural and forestry methods changed our area's habitat, the deer gradually returned and kept expanding their population. By the 1960s, not seeing a deer while afield in our area was unusual.
Black bears prefer forests, swamps and denser habitat, and south-central New York State has seen that type of cover steadily proliferating, thanks to decades of abandoned farmlands being allowed to grow and mature. Habitat is always the key to wildlife species either expanding or reducing their range and numbers. Well, we now have a lot of bear habitat in our county and surrounding counties, and the bears are moving in and expanding their numbers because of it.
Just as the Adirondack deer expanded, bears from the Catskills, northern Pennsylvania, and the Allegany plateau are expanding into our region. As the bruins migrate from the west, east and south, the converging point is (you got it) Chenango County. The transition will take longer than the deer's return since bear sows only have cubs every two years, while deer produce fawns annually, but even at the rate of producing an average of two cubs every two years, that translates to the potential of doubling our bear population every year.
How quickly can an increase in bear numbers impact the number of bear-human conflicts and incidents? Between 2001-03 in the Catskill region, the DEC recorded three to five home entry incidents per year. Over the next three years, however, there have been between 21 and 45 such incidents annually, and indications are the 2007 numbers will also be high. That's a remarkable increase for such a short period. Why the big increase? It's because more people are moving to the country or outer suburban areas and unconsciously providing bears with easily accessible food sources such as bird and pet food, unsecured garbage and greasy BBQ grills.
The DEC has a few simple rules for people to avoid attracting bears to their homes
* Remove bird feeders in March and don't put them back up until December
* Don't leave garbage outside of houses or garages.* Clean garbage cans and other refuse containers frequently with ammonia, bleach or Lysol.
