As we move through spring in Alaska, Dillingham residents are already reporting bear sightings near popular spots like the VORTAC and the courthouse. With bears emerging from hibernation and searching for food, local wildlife officials are urging the community to take extra precautions to avoid attracting them.
John Landsiedel, the Dillingham Area Wildlife Biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, spoke with KDLG about the most common bear attractants in the area, recent sightings, and practical steps residents can take to keep both themselves and the bears safe.
Landsiedel: My name is John Landsiedel, the Dillingham Area Wildlife Biologist for Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
Sutherland: Great. And you're here today to talk about bears in the community. What are the main attractants of bears?
Landsiedel: The main attractant of bears is typically fish waste. So fortunately, the landfill in Dillingham is open seven days a week so that people can get rid of their fish waste. But some other attractants that people may be less familiar with would include chicken coops and compost piles, and then, of course, food waste, just general trash. When we get into the fall, people having moose parts and hanging moose quarters and processing moose in their yard would also be a common attractant.
Sutherland: In the last couple of years, there have been a lot of reports of sightings of bears. Is there something that has been driving up the bears to come into the community?
Landsiedel: Dillingham just sits right smack dab in Bristol Bay, and it's all bear country, and when there's attractions it usually keeps them around longer than homeowners or the neighborhood would like.
Sutherland: So what steps can people take to avoid attracting bears?
Landsiedel: The first step, I think, is just walking your property and making sure there isn't anything unnatural that's odiferous, and that it doesn't have a strong scent to it. Securing our trash, if that's keeping it in a locked shed or in a garage or in an Arctic entryway. And then thinking about: are you gardening? Do you have compost piles? Do you have a chicken coop or chicken feed? Do you have dog food on your porch? We would want to secure those as well. And then again, most people are subsisting on salmon and moose. Keep those scraps secure and then take them to the dump as soon as possible as well.
Sutherland: Out of curiosity, we're pretty early into bear season. Have there been any incidents or any sightings out this year?
Landsiedel: Yeah, there have been bears in town already. The courthouse and a popular walking spot–the vortac–has had some bear sightings.
Sutherland: And as far as general safety goes, What can people do to remain safe while just walking about or living their lives?
Landsiedel: Yeah, I think it just goes back to these attractants. In a general sense, bears want to leave us alone. They're likely to not be a problem or pose a threat if you give them their space. I want people to still recreate and go outside, but I just want them to be aware that they can certainly carry bear spray or a firearm as a deterrent, and people are legally allowed to lethally remove a bear if it poses a threat to their life or their property. They are still required to report it to us and bring that hide and skull to us for record keeping.
Sutherland: So that's the biggest take home going into the fishing season, is removing fish waste from properties.
Landsiedel: Yeah, and then I think because people get so busy, they forget about the bird feeder they hung up in the winter. It's summer, spring, the weather's nice, we're going outside and, oh yeah, there's trash on my back porch. The city is taking it on themselves to do what they need to do, to clean stuff up. And we're asking that everyone else check their own yards and help a neighbor if they need to help a neighbor clean up their yard as well.
Sutherland: Great. Thank you so much, John.
Landsiedel: Yeah, I appreciate it Margaret.
To report a bear sighting or a bear kill, go to the local Fish and Game office or the Alaska Department of Fish and Game website.
