[pct-l] Bear Canister "required" areas on PCT in the Sierra...

[Joel Ramey]

I think an issue with bears nabbing food would come more from them needing
the calories in early summer. A hiker carrying 10 lbs of high calorie food
must really look like an easy meal for a bear. After all, we're just a pink
fleshy sack of protein with no horns or claws to defend ourselves...

-Taildragger

On Feb 3, 2008 11:33 PM, Carl Siechert <carlito at gmail.com> wrote:

> I have no idea whether there are more bears than the land can support.
> However, the fact is that about 1800 per year are already being culled.
> Check this link:
> http://dfg.ca.gov/licensing/pdffiles/2007HuntingDigest-BigGamePages43-45.pdf,
> which leads to a PDF from the California Department of Fish and Game. (The
> first page of the PDF is about wild pigs; scroll down to the second and
> third pages for bear info.) Although bears are hunted throughout California,
> the stats indicate that most are in northern California rather than the
> Sierra Nevada. Warning for those with a weak stomach: these pages include a
> few pictures of dead bears.
>
> Btw, Wandering Bob usually makes lots of sense, but I had to scratch my
> head about his suggestion that the way to solve the problem of "man [trying]
> to fool around with that natural balance" is for man to fool around even
> more by "immediately start[ing] a massive reduction" of the bear
> population.
>
>
>
> On Feb 2, 2008 10:04 PM, Craig Stanton <craigstanton at mac.com> wrote:
>
> > Whoa, whoa, whoa,
> >
> >                Who said there were too many bears? Who said they aren't
> > sustainable on the available (natural) resources? Aren't they just
> > curious about the smells we give off and then find we've got better
> > snacks they they do? I for one do not advocate a bear cull to make it
> > easier for hikers to go through the sierras. Carry a canister, take
> > no food, sleep at bear-boxes, I don't mind. But please don't shoot
> > the bears so we can encroach on them more.
> >
> > ~Craig
> >
> >
> >
> > On 3/02/2008, at 6:52 PM, Bob Bankhead wrote:
> >
> > > The problem - in one man's opinion - is one of too many bears in
> > > too small an area. The natural food supply therein is insufficient
> > > to feed them all.
> > >
> > > Whenever there are not enough resources (in this case, food) to
> > > support an established population, that population must either find
> > > a new food source in the area (in this case, people food), relocate
> > > to another area that has the needed resources, or die off until it
> > > reaches a level that can be sustained by the available resource
> > > supply. That's nature's way and it has worked since life began.
> > > When man tries to fool around with that natural balance, all he
> > > does is cause trouble.
> > >
> > > So, I'll take the politically incorrect (but ecologically sound)
> > > position: immediately start a massive reduction (kill or relocate)
> > > of the Black Bear population in the Sierras. Reduce that population
> > > to the level that their natural habitat can actually support (aka
> > > "the wild state") without the dependence on people food. Add an
> > > economic benefit by opening the hunting season and let license fees
> > > help fund the reduction. Other state and federal land managers
> > > routinely selectively cull wildlife populations to prevent mass
> > > starvation, and adjust the lengths of hunting and fishing seasons
> > > or the number of animals allowed to be taken when needed to
> > > maintain a healthy population level.
> > >
> > > THEN you can really regulate, enforce, and penalize people who do
> > > not properly store or handle food in the area. No free passes. No
> > > tiny slap-on-the-wrist type fines. Make it hurt. This will help to
> > > "motivate" compliance.
> > >
> > > Now I seriously doubt that any bureaucrat or politician is going to
> > > risk ending their career by defying the animal rights activists and
> > > outraging the public by suggesting, let alone actually doing, such
> > > a thing in the Sierras. It is far easier to control, regulate, and
> > > fine the people than to actually control the bears.
> > >
> > > End rant.
> > >
> > >
> > > Wandering Bob
> > >
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