Fish and Game biologist Rick Sinnott wants the city to close the trail as it has when brown bears have been in the area during the last two years. Mayor Sullivan refuses. He's agreed to warning signs, but doesn't want to close the trail in part because there's no budget for enforcement and in part because he argues that Far North is an urban park, where people should be able to go for recreation.
Asked about the routine practice of national and state park officials in closing trails when bear danger is high, the mayor said Wednesday that those are national and state parks with different purposes than city parks.
That misses the point. The issue isn't whether the trail is city, state or national. The issue is the presence of bears and the danger they pose to trail users. If the city is willing to flag the trail as dangerous and warn people off, why not just close it? Close it until the bear magnet of salmon have run their course in the South Fork of Campbell Creek.
That would send a stronger message, emphasize the danger and put a premium on public safety.
Far North Bicentennial Park is not the Delaney Park Strip. While it's within the boundaries of Alaska's largest city, it's right next door to Chugach State Park. It's bear habitat. Whether it should be is an ongoing argument we won't resolve today or tomorrow. Later, we can debate limited hunts to thin bear numbers, rerouting Rover's Run away from Campbell Creek's salmon or the nature of urban parks in Alaska. Right now, bears are there, so hikers and bikers run a high risk of sudden encounters.
In closing the trail we'd not only look out for the people who might run afoul of a bear, but also for those who would have to rescue them and walk into a high-risk situation themselves. People who remember the mauling of bicycle racer Petra Davis and the police dispatch call with rescuer Pete Basinger remember the harrowing nature of that recording as they waited for help -- help that had to come in the dark and well-armed.
That experience led to the 2008 closure.
That made sense then and makes sense now. We can't keep everybody off the trail. But some who would otherwise be inclined to ride past the warning signs might have enough respect for the law to abide by a closure.
The next mauling could be fatal. Let's reduce the risk. Close the trail.
BOTTOM LINE: Mayor's call for common sense should include closing the trail.
Important warning about e-mails purporting to be from the adn.com staff.