Panthertown Valley campers now required to use bear-resistant canisters or face fine
The U.S. Forest Service has instituted a new rule requiring campers to secure their food in bear-resistant containers in Panthertown Valley in Nantahala National Forest.
This includes all food, trash and scented items like deodorant, soap and lotions. Even lip balm can attract a bear’s attention, according to a news release from the Forest Service. Spokesperson Cathy Dowd said the agency has been working on this new rule since 2018 due to an increase in bear-human interactions.
“Up until that point and actually through recently, there have been an increase in the number of incidents where bears were just boldly coming looking for food from campers,” Dowd said.
“They weren’t afraid of any of the noise campers were making that bears are generally scared off by. There was just the feeling that it was creating an unsafe situation for both the public and the bears themselves.”
Johnny Wills, a wildlife biologist for the Nantahala Ranger District, said that some campers in Panthertown Valley would wake up in the middle of the night to find a bear trying to retrieve their food. Other times, a bear would show up while campers were setting up their tent, grab their backpack, and run off with it.
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Even with groups of people who had dogs barking and were creating all kinds of commotion, these bears weren’t very willing to leave, Wills said.
While no human-bear interactions have been reported to the Nantahala District Office recently, Wills warns that likely won’t last.
“It will start up again, though,” Wills said. “It’s just a matter of time in Panthertown Valley before another bear tries to get into people’s food. So, this closure order is going to really help this situation.”
Recent bear interactions closer to Asheville include a bear spotted wandering around the intersection of Haywood Street and Battery Park Avenue on April 21, a bear seen walking through the Buffalo Mountain neighborhood in East Asheville with a plastic lid around its neck on April 24, and a bear attacking two people picnicking at the Folk Art Center last October.
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Under the new provision, failure to use a bear canister can result in up to a $5,000 finefor an individual and/or imprisonment for up to six months. If someone is doing their best to take precautions and "a bear takes advantage of the situation through no fault of their own," they tend not to receive a fine, Dowd said. However, if someone is being careless, that’s a different story.
“Somebody blatantly leaving out food because they want bears to come into the area so they can get great pictures, for example,” Dowd said. “There are situations where people are so incredibly careless as to create an unsafe situation for everyone. That’s generally where the highest fines are imposed.”
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The Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee, which coordinates federal and state management and research actions to protect grizzly bear populations, created a list of different canisters they have approved as bear resistant. Products had to meet certain criteria to make the list, either passing a live bear test using captive grizzly bears or a technical evaluation.
Bear canisters are available at most outdoor stores, including Diamond Brand Outdoors and Black Dome Mountain Sports in Asheville. When purchasing a product, check for an IGBC Certified Bear-Resistant logo and certification number.
If you are eating outdoors and see a bear nearby, pack all food and trash away and leave immediately, the U.S. Forest Service said. Black bears are different from grizzly bears, Dowd warns, so it’s not appropriate to play dead should one attack. Try to make loud noises, fight back and act aggressively. EPA registered bear spray is also useful to combat bear attacks. Yet, experts say that using a bear-resistant canister is the best way to stay safe in bear country.
“Bears are very reluctant to give up an easy food source and they have not been discouraged by humans yelling, banging pots, or blowing air horns. Using a bear-resistant food container is the surest way to deny bears access to human food,” Wills said in a news release.
“Bear sightings are a thrilling part of a forest adventure, but healthy bear-human interactions require that people take care not to teach bears to associate people with food.”
Further tips for staying safe while in bear country, recommended by the U.S. Forest Service, can be found at bearwise.org
Ryler Ober is a news intern with the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at ROber@gannett.com and follow her on Twitter @ryleyober.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Panthertown campers now required to use bear-resistant canisters
