Blackfeet

bear-proof

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By CHRIS PETERSON

Hungry Horse News

East side bears will have a tougher time getting into trash this year.

Last year, some 30 black bears were killed because they became problem bears - getting into garbage and raiding campgrounds and campsites on the Blackfeet Reservation.

The bears were drawn to campsites and dumpsters after the berry crop - huckleberries, chokecherries and serviceberries all did poorly.

Now the Blackfeet Tribe has put "bearproof" dumpsters at several businesses where bruins were causing problems, said Dan Carney, biologist with the tribe.

Carney said the dumpsters were bought with a grant from the Defenders of Wildlife and a tribal wildlife grant. The dumpsters are owned by the Blackfeet Utilities Department.

The new dumpsters aren't cheap - an eight-cubic yard one is about $1,000 and bigger ones are $7,000 to $8,000.

Carney said it's too early to tell how the berry crop will fare this year. Berries bushes are susceptible to damage in June from late cold snaps, which freeze the buds.

Carney said so far, however, bear sightings have been about normal. Two subadult grizzlies have been seen in the Babb area, but bear problems so far have been nothing out of the ordinary.

On the west side of Glacier, bear sightings have been fewer than normal. Usually bears flock to the roadsides in early spring to feed on dandelions and other new grasses and forbs, but this year, with almost no snow in the woods and higher elevations, the green-up has been throughout the forest, particularly in burned areas where there is no tree canopy.

As such, few bears have been spotted and those that are don't hang around the roadside.