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Show Campers told how to With dry conditions returning this year, bear-encounters bear-encounters are expected to also reappear, but campers and outdoor recreationists can generally avoid bear problems with a few simple rules, provided, by "Ron Stewart, Northeastern Region Information and Education Manager from the Division of Wildlife Resources. Hot, dry conditions and widespread wildfires resulted result-ed in numerous conflicts between bears and humans last year and the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources warns recreationists recre-ationists to be especially cautious this season. Lack of moisture in the high country may result in failed berry and mast crops, leaving leav-ing the bears to search for other alternatives. As bears desperately try to put on weight before winter, they struggle with the limited resources available. Stewart reports that most bear problems occur as careless recreationists leave garbage and food scattered scat-tered around camp or attempt to feed them. Since, bears have an excellent memory for food resources, unwittingly, we teach bears that people and food go together. They learn that if they find us, a full stomach can't be far behind. Unfortunately, some owners of cabins and summer homes deliberately feed bears. Others leave food and garbage in unprotected containers. con-tainers. Picnickers, campers and hikers may drop food and edible garbage. Anglers may leave dead fish and unused bait along shorelines. shore-lines. Bears that discover humans are sources of food can become problems and usually need to be destroyed or relocated. Eventually fed bears break into cabins,, trailers and vehicles, wrecking property and ; threatening human safety. Stewart commented, "Even : if you escape unharmed,' you may have trained thVlSSair to look to humans" for foiocl. The next person may not be so lucky when the bear demands to be fed," Offending bruins must then be trapped and relocated or destroyed. A relocated bear often starves to death or is killed by the resident male bear. In almost all cases, a fed bear is a dead bear. Here are some : measures you can take to protect the bears and yourself. Stewart provides the following follow-ing rules to help avoid bear problems: , 1. Keep a clean camp. Bears,' with their extremely good sense of smell, can be attracted to a camp from several miles away. Food in the camp and food odors on clothing after cooking can likely interest these animals. ani-mals. Almost every case of black bears damaging property prop-erty or attacking people has resulted from bears being fed by food scraps, pet food, or garbage. Since bears will eat anything humans eat, discarded food scraps, food wrappers, vegetable cuttings, cut-tings, and wash water ' should be properly taken care of. Place food scraps and fat drippings in an air tight container , and take them home. Don't leave them in the fire pit. Store coolers and food in the trunk of your car, in a bear proof container or suspended suspend-ed between two trees. 2. Separate your cooking cook-ing area from your sleeping sleep-ing area. Clean camps include separating sleeping areas from eating areas. Food, coolers, cooking utensils, uten-sils, cleaning rags, and clothing used while cooking should be left,in the cooking area, which minimizes the ' chances of attracting bears ' ' to sleeping campers. Don't sleep in the clothes you cooked in.1 , . 3. Suspend food, garbage and game out of bears' reach or iock them in car trunk or ' camner. Food, garbage, and game should be suspended :'. 12 or more feet above the ground and four feet away from a tree, when in the i backcountry, to keep food from bears' reach. Other options include keeping food in a sealed compartment compart-ment of a vehicle, such as a i trunk, or in a camper. Stewart comments that food stored in these locations is usually safe, as long as windows win-dows and doors are closed, but bears can break in if they find an opening. 4. Keep yourself clean and odor free No cooking cook-ing odors, perfumes, etc. Stewart recommends leaving leav-ing perfumes, make-up, and deodorants at home, which have the ability of attracting attract-ing bears. He also added that blood is a greater attractant than the former The seventh of 13 really great reasons to switch to the Bank of American Fork. Makes organizing your Alpine Highland Lehi stay safe from bears items. " .' 5. Make noise while hiking. In areas where bears are common, singing or attaching a bell to your backpack will alert bears of your presence and generally help them to move out of your way. Avoid getting between a mother and her cubs. ' If you do encounter a bear, here are a few tips: Stay calm. Avoid direct eye contact. ... : i ...... - : ....... ik.;..'.--- , - . ' !.. - , . . . '.' ' -. " .jcv vt i-";c f .' nrtef nmn.A fi h '" i tn . ' 1 .,.: .... .'-:'!..'.. - .(!. -..'!' -; . i . .' ; : . , I. : -. " " ,-. , ;.. , - '. . r :t . . ' . ' ... . ; .-, .? .. 'r . ' . - ' ' ... " .-V ' . . r . ' - " - " r- .' r i ' , - ? X ' ' I VJ . r - -. I (. , I rf - .- - Ji-' " Av .mrrr American Fork Pleasant Grove Orem Spanish Fork - Draper American Fork CitizenLone Peak New Utah! - Wednesday, June 20, 2001 - Page 3 Make a lot of noise. r Retreat slowly or climb a tree. Fight back, if attacked. These animals usually will not attack humans. Most contacts consist of sightings and, on a few occasions, consist of bears damaging property or attacking livestock or pets. Stewart added that a little common sense can prevent most bear problems prob-lems while in the back-country. financial records a snap! Campfire programs available at Jordanelle Recreationists may want to bring their families to the evening campfire programs at Jordanelle State Park. Upcoming programs include - the Nature Conservancy, Smokey Bear, and the Raptor Recovery Center. Boaters planning to visit Jordanelle State Park should plan ahead as on-the-water gasoline facilities and the boat pump-out sta www.bankaf.com Utah's strongest bank. tion are not available at this time. According to Assistant Park Manager Tracy See, ice and recent high winds damaged seasonal sea-sonal and overnight rental; boat slips, including gas and electrical lines. Boaters should fill boat gas tanks -before arriving at the park and make arrangements for' proper boat sewage disposal. dispos-al. For more information call (435) 649-9540. JIHil!UJSBWIWBilSJIWWlM .... . |