As bears across Alaska begin to emerge from winter hibernation, Gov. Bill Walker has declared April Bear Awareness Month -- and state officials are urging residents to help keep the animals out of urban areas.
According to a Thursday statement from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, a grizzly was seen recently along Nordale Road in Fairbanks. More bear sightings farther south come amid unusually warm weather that can uncover moose carcasses during the spring thaw.
"Reports in Kodiak have included sightings of brown bear sows and yearling cubs which normally don't appear until later in the season," state officials wrote. "And in Southeast, recent warm days have skunk cabbage and other wild greens blooming, setting the stage for bears there to start moving any day."
Anchorage-based Fish and Game biologist Dave Battle said this spring's local sightings -- primarily of black bears -- have taken place in Kincaid Park, along Campbell Airstrip Road and in the Rabbit Creek area. He said Fish and Game hasn't heard of more reported sightings than in previous years but they're starting earlier this year.
"It's all been so far in greenbelt-type areas; we haven't seen any in neighborhoods or trash yet," Battle said. "Usually we'll hear one or two calls around mid-April and then it'll go silent for a little while, and then it'll get crazy in May."
No reports of bear sightings have come in so far this spring from the Government Hill area just south of Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, where a family of five black bears roaming neighborhood streets made national news in 2015. Fish and Game planned to euthanize the animals, prompting an outcry that led Walker to ask that the bears be relocated instead.
In June, however, four of the bears were fatally shot by officials after they showed up at a campground in Hope on the south shore of Turnagain Arm.
Despite Walker's intervention, his press secretary Katie Marquette said that wouldn't happen again going forward.
"The governor will defer to Department of Fish and Game officials to make those decisions," Marquette wrote in an email Thursday.
Battle said only a few black bears were spotted in Government Hill last fall in the lead-up to winter.
"Those never got into much trouble, either because they weren't as brazen as those (family) bears or because they weren't as successful at getting into trash cans," Battle said.
State law bars negligently or deliberately feeding human food or trash to a variety of animals, including bears and moose. Fish and Game spokesman Ken Marsh said residents of the neighborhood had apparently taken steps to improve their bear safety last year.
"It seems like Government Hill did go a long way toward getting their trash problems in check when we were dealing with that situation," Marsh said.
Battle repeated calls for people not to put trash cans outside overnight before trash day.
"That is a major issue with bear problems around town, and it's one that's very difficult to address because it goes on in practically every neighborhood in town," Battle said.
Alternatively, Battle said, he'd be fine with trash being left outside overnight if it's stored in bear-proof containers.
Anchorage police still have a largely reactive response to bear problems in town, according to spokeswoman Jennifer Castro. Due to officers' focus on public safety, their priority is the threat that the presence of bears in inhabited areas poses to people.
"A few times during the summer we get calls with regard to bears in neighborhoods," Castro said. "If we determine that that bear was in that area because of people leaving trash out, we have (cited) and we can cite people for that."
Municipal code under Title 26.7 prohibits trash cans from being stored "on or in view from any public street" until trash day, and also requires that they be retrieved on trash day. Castro said officers don't proactively enforce that policy in Anchorage, though, since different neighborhoods have different trash days.
"I haven't seen us go out on the front end looking for trash cans," Castro said. "How would we know when that trash can was put out?"
One of Anchorage's two waste collection services, Alaska Waste, has offered bear-proof trash containers for years, while Solid Waste Services is working on a pilot program in Government Hill. SWS spokesman Travis Smith said the company will also attend an April 21 meeting of the Government Hill Community Council to explain the program to residents.
"We're going to put out around 100 (bear-proof trash cans)," Smith said. "We'll also have a 3-cubic-yard dumpster there for people to use."
Smith said SWS also encourages people to put out trash cans as close as possible to 7 a.m. on trash day, shortly before their regular pickup time.
"Ideally, you want to put it out right then -- ideally you want to put it out right before a truck's coming, say 6 to 7 a.m. if you're leaving for work early," Smith said. "They're really meant to be out of sight when they're not on the curb."
Marsh encouraged people to report bear-related incidents to their local Fish and Game office or Alaska State Troopers post. In addition, he said, the early bear awakenings are also a wake-up call for humans to do their part in making other neighborhood food sources bear-proof.
"This is a good time for people to get things shored up, before we do start getting calls and bears getting into things they shouldn't be," Marsh said.
Fish and Game bear-proofing tips for homeowners
Garbage -- Store trash inside buildings or in bear-proof containers; keep secured until the day of scheduled pickup. Encourage neighbors to do the same.
Electric fences -- Electric fences can keep bears out of gardens and compost, and away from buildings, chicken coops and domestic animals. For more information, contact your area Fish and Game office or visit the department webpage.
Barbecues -- Clean barbecue grills, especially grease traps, after each use.
Pets -- Feed pets indoors or clean up excess and spilled food between meals. Store pet food, livestock food and birdseed indoors or in bear-resistant containers.
Bird feeders -- Take feeders down April through October, store out of bears' reach and remove spilled seeds.
Freezers -- Keep freezers locked in a secure building or otherwise out of bears' reach.
Gardens -- Plant gardens in the open, away from cover and game trails. Only compost raw vegetable matter and turn over compost frequently.