Wildlife feeding plan deserves support
Bonner County is a wonderful place to live. Longtime residents and newcomers agree that the allure is the beauty and natural world that we find so appealing. Part of that natural world is wildlife.
As people continue to populate places that wildlife inhabit, or move into places displacing resident wildlife, encounters with our wild neighbors are bound to happen.
Idaho Department of Fish and Game manages Idaho’s wildlife populations. In 2010, IDFG Officers received an astonishing 770 phone calls from concerned Bonner County residents dealing with bear issues. To put this in perspective, this is a mere fraction of the calls received by the officers in the three counties south of us.
In Bonner County, we have some of the most productive bear habitat in Idaho, and as a result we have a high population density of bears. We also have a growing human population. Many people do not understand the danger of feeding bears and other wild animals.
Bears are big, powerful and exceptionally smart animals: our best defense is their natural fear of us. When that is lost, the situation becomes very dangerous. Research has shown that bears naturally avoid areas of human habitation. However, a bear that has been food conditioned is attracted to the places where people live, camp, or travel, in anticipation of a food reward. A food-conditioned bear will become habituated to people and will lose that natural response to flee from humans.
A food reward can come in many ways. Bird feeders left out all summer can become an easy meal for a hungry bear. Trash, barbecue grills, and pet food attract bears, raccoons and skunks, visitors that the average homeowner does not want to encourage.
Some people intentionally feed wildlife, including bears, for personal gratification, thrills, and photographic opportunities. ANY feeding of wildlife, intentional or not, endangers the animal, the person engaging in the activity, and the people living nearby.
In 2009, an elderly Colorado woman was mauled to death by the bears she refused to stop feeding. In 2007, a grizzly bear (a species federally listed as threatened) that was repeatedly fed in the Nordman area eventually had to be destroyed by officials because it was so habituated and food conditioned it posed a public safety hazard.
These stories are not uncommon.
To encourage compliance in people who fail to or refuse to stop feeding wildlife, we are asking the Bonner County commissioners to consider passing an ordinance prohibiting wildlife feeding.
The negligence of the person next door could endanger the well being of the child down the block. Idaho Fish and Game will also continue education and outreach programs regarding living in the urban/wildlife interface and peacefully coexisting with the animals we all enjoy and respect.
We ask for your support as we push forward with this initiative and encourage you to contact us with any questions you may have.