Be Bear Aware-Upcoming Meeting [AUDIO]

It is important to be “bear aware” throughout Montana.  This year the Montana Department of Fish Wildlife and Parks have relocated 11 bears and euthanized 2. Allowing bears to find human foods such as garbage, pet food and bird seed habituates them to search for food throughout neighborhoods and can lead to dangerous encounters. Bear Aware Coordinator for Defenders of Wildlife, Erin Edge  says keep all trash in bear resistant containers and offers these tips as well. (My interview with Edge is attached below)
• Keep your garbage indoors except on your day of pickup.
• Use a bear-resistant garbage container. Bear-resistant carts are available for rent from Allied Waste for $10 a month above the cost of a regular blue garbage cart. Call Allied Waste at 543-3157 to order. They can also be purchased at Ace Hardware.
• Take in birdfeeders or hang them high where birds can reach them but bears cannot. Pick your fruit and pick up windfall fruit. Securely fence gardens and compost piles. Put your barbecue grill inside a building.
• Visit here for complete information on living with bears. You can also report attractants and bear sightings on this website.

Friday at noon  Bear Aware Coordinator for Defenders of Wildlife, Erin Edge will be presenting “Living With Bears.” Edge will talk about how to keep garbage and other attractants away from bears to keep neighborhoods and bears safe, and she’ll talk about bear-resistant garbage containers. The talk will include information about Missoula’s wildlife and garbage ordinances; Ed Franceschina of Missoula City-County Animal Control will be on hand to answer questions, along with City Council representative Pam Walzer, who worked on the garbage ordinance.

The one-hour talk, sponsored by the City of Missoula, will be held in the large meeting room of the Missoula Public Library. Park on the south side (back) of the library and come in through the south (downstairs) door.