Anchorage Daily News

Shotgun best deterrent for bears

Did anyone notice the Daily News reported that government officials responding to the recent bear attack carried a 12-gauge shotgun, whereas outdoor magazine and national park propaganda tells us to use pepper spray?

See the Daily News bear attack story from Sept. 29, 1996: "A Can of Spray; a Lot of Luck." The story tells how I experienced a face-to-face encounter with a grizzly bear when it attacked and knocked me down on a trail along the Kenai River near Renfroe's Hole. Pepper spray had failed to stop the bear in its charge even though it was used correctly and in ideal conditions.

-- Chris Deile

Bellingham, Wash.

Cut bear numbers, attractants

The wildlife in our community are being managed to the biological carrying capacity. It is time for a serious discussion of what the social carrying capacity is.

The stocked salmon in Campbell Creek and unchecked moose population and associated spring calving are having a direct effect on the risk of human-bear encounters on the Hillside.

Will our community parks become a place where only those with a very high risk tolerance can go? With all the controversy over the footprint of a few ball fields off Elmore Road, it seems ironic that we haven't had a serious discussion over yielding our park to unchecked bear populations. Are we going to wait for a fatality to take action?

I'm not saying eliminate bears, but reducing their numbers and the feed that attracts them (stocked salmon, moose calves AND garbage) should happen before someone is killed. Yes, people need to mitigate their personal risk when using our parks, but we also need to mitigate risk as a community.

-- Rick Rogers

Anchorage

Editor's Note: Rick Rogers and a friend were charged by a sow grizzly with two cubs on the Double Bubble Trail in Far North Bicentennial Park in mid-June.

We're the problem, not the bears

Let the bears do what they do and where they want to do it. The problem exists with the people in our community. We can't seem to live with the bears, but the bears seem to be able to live with us. Here is what I mean. Bears live in Anchorage. They are everywhere from downtown to the Hillside. They go to the creeks to eat fish, especially late June-July. They do this at night. What do we do? We schedule a bike race. It is in late June, by the Campbell Creek, at night, in a bear corridor. How irresponsible is that? I guess this is to be expected from people who would ride their bikes for 24 hours.

-- Timothy Glennon

Anchorage

Bruins shouldn't be urbanites

Our local biologists are right: Bears will be bears. That is exactly why they shouldn't dwell in the city. If a human predator attacked one of our kids, we would hunt them down and throw them in jail regardless of whether they had children to feed. But let the same behavior happen from a bear and we blame ourselves for not taking adequate precautions. We should all learn from these encounters, do what we can to prevent humanization of bears, and eliminate all of the city bears that violate city laws. There is plenty of wilderness in Alaska where bears can be bears. The intercity parks are for the people.

-- Mark W. Doughty, RN

safety officer

Alaska Psychiatric Institute

Anchorage

Before the race, consider the risk

I am thankful that Petra Davis survived her encounter with the bear. I wish her a speedy recovery. She will have a harrowing tale to tell us all.

But I have to question whether holding a 24-hour competitive event in an area know to be frequented by moose and bear was all that wise, especially when the event contestants are riding mountain bikes. Let alone at 1:30 a.m. and next to a noisy salmon stream!

Many risk factors point to this incident as being inevitable. Riding all day, crossing back and forth through high-quality bear and moose habitat, shouldn't a contestant expect an encounter?

A person moving quickly on a bike or running gets much closer to an animal before it detects them. In conditions of limited visibility and sound camouflage, such as a running steam or wind-rustled leaves, they get closer still. Then the animals may react with great violence or flee.

What can be done? Take a hard look at the competitive events. Local and state government should work with applicants to reduce the apparent risks. What happened to Petra could happen to anyone running or biking in Alaska. But when we organize an activity, we concentrate the impact and increase the risk.

Local and state governments should consider closing areas during certain seasons or times of day when wildlife conflicts are most apt to occur. State Parks has closed the Albert Loop Trail in Chugach State Park and Troublesome Creek Trail in Denali State Park to avoid human-bear encounters when salmon are present.

-- Pete Panarese

Eagle River

Bicycle trails damage park

I personally use Bicentennial Park almost daily. I have slowly watched how the bicyclists have taken over the use of the trails and their destruction of much of the natural beauty. Of course, not all bicyclists, but I have seen much abuse by many of them.

The park is such a jewel for Anchorage and such an envy of many cities, I just find it hard to believe that the bicyclists have ruined so much park with their constant creation of new trails and the destruction of foliage.

It seems that Arctic Bicycle Club shares much liability for this recent bear attack, for having a race at this time of year, when bears are frequent and with very protective mothers.

The area of attack is historically a bear hot spot. I do understand that Bicentennial Park is a multi-use park for everyone to enjoy Alaska's wildlife, but not a park for bicycle races and such ill-planned events.

-- Hugh McPeck

Anchorage

Race conditions hard to fathom

I have been an Alaskan sports fan for 35 years as well as a resident.

The article about the young bicycle rider left me shocked beyond belief. I do not understand the reasoning behind

(1) night racing, (2) riding alone in the dark and (3) being in the midst of a well-known bear area. No trophy or accolades should be worth the dire risk to these bicycle racing participants.

Please explain to us, the reading public, the ABC's of this event/competition.

Signed, a very confused sports fan.

-- Frank A. Roetman

Valdez

Want to live in L.A.? Go there

OK, folks, one more time: You have chosen to live in Alaska. Bears are a part of the experience we live with. It makes life a bit risky but, hey, it also makes this one of the most unique places to live on Earth. Where else can we fish for trout and salmon a few hundred yards from our homes and even our downtown offices?

When Dad moved here in '68 we were taught to be "bear aware" and adjusted our habits to suit the bears, not the other way around. That is life in Alaska. If you want the wildlife-sterile environment of L.A. or Dallas or wherever you came from, hop on a plane and go back there.

But stop trying to change my home (and the bears) to mimic the places that many of us fled to come here for a better life. Please, don't try to turn this town into "Los Anchorage." (Regardless what the bumper stickers say, we are not a suburb of L.A.) Bears and moose were here when we got here, they are a needed part of the ecosystem, and they belong here. Learn to co-exist.

It is horrible that a teen was mauled. But riding in the pre-dawn hours in a high-bear area is a risk to be avoided.

-- Laura OLacy

Anchorage

Hunting, relocation are answer

The bear attack on the 15-year-old cyclist in Hillside Park on Sunday was bound to happen. As a long-time Alaskan I see the bear (and moose) population has increased to dangerous levels.

Those who watch the moose and bears walk by their living room windows may love the ever-increasing numbers but they invariably never do anything outside their properties.

Anyone using the trails and parks will tell you about encounters and close calls they have had.

Its time to reduce the number of bears (and moose) in the Anchorage Bowl through organized hunting or relocation.

My prayers are with this young racer and her family. I apologize in advance for bringing up a political issue during her recovery.

-- Susanne McFarland

Anchorage

Trails are invitations to disaster

I have lived here for 60 years. There is only a certain amount of area for man and beast to live. People are the pests, not the bears on the Anchorage trails. That is why they call this the Bowl, from the Chugach to the sea. There is only a certain amount of space for the two species to live.

The trails should never have been made in the first place. This is a unique area. If bears wander into homes or downtown Anchorage, they should be shot. If not, they will only come back. Otherwise, the Upper Hillside, Chugach Range, etc., is their own turf, and during the time when they go to the rivers and tributaries to hunt fish, it should be off limits to people.

The so-called trails are an invitation to death during the time of year that wild animals roam for salmon and food. Close the trails up during the salmon season and relocate the pests (people) to lower elevations, closer to the city of Anchorage.

-- Judith Martin

Anchorage

Seeing wildlife worth some risk

I was born and raised in Alaska and have always accepted the risk of living closely with nature. Being able to step out into one of our many parks and have a chance encounter with moose, coyote, mountain sheep and, yes, even bear is one of the things that make Alaska beautiful and unique. I am absolutely against "thinning out" bears or shooting one because it displays what experts have classified as normal behavior. Recreation should be combined with prudence to minimize our risk of a dangerous encounter with Alaska's wildlife.

-- Yarrow Griffith Silvers

Anchorage

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