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December 5, 2005
Dear Subcommittee Chairs:
Over the past 2 years the IGBC has reviewed the status of food storage orders and other directives related to securing grizzly bear attractants. The variation among these orders creates confusion for recreationists, other land users and agency personnel and compromises their effectiveness.
Our review also revealed that requirements for securing attractants do not exist in all public lands currently occupied or planned for occupancy by grizzly bears. These gaps create the potential for food conditioning which is a major cause of human-bear conflict, public safety risk and unnecessary grizzly bear mortality.
The IGBC Executive Committee developed the attached “Guidelines for Developing and Refining Rules Regarding Grizzly Bear Attractants on State and Federal Land” for the subcommittees to follow as you address these issues. Given the significance of reducing public safety risk and bear mortality associated with attractants, the Executive Committee expects the subcommittees to work diligently toward more complete and consistent application of requirements on state and federal lands and will expect progress updates as part of your annual reporting at our winter meeting.
In addition, given the ongoing expansion of grizzly bears beyond public lands in recovery zones, reducing bear-human conflicts, maximizing public safety and minimizing bear mortality will require efforts to prevent grizzly bear access to attractants on lands other than state and federal property. Accordingly, the Executive Committee strongly encourages subcommittees to assist other landowners and interests in current or planned grizzly bear range with efforts to identify and eliminate grizzly bear access to attractants on all lands through voluntary, incentive-based, educational or other means.
Thank you for your efforts on this important aspect of grizzly bear conservation.
Sincerely,
Chris Smith, Chairman
IGBC Executive Committee
Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee
Guiding Principles for
Developing and Refining Rules Regarding Grizzly Bear Attractants on State and Federal Lands
Grizzly bears are attracted to unnatural food sources such as human foods and toiletries, livestock and pet foods, harvested fish and game parts, and garbage. Collectively, these items are termed “attractants”. Bears that receive a food reward usually become food-conditioned. This presents risks to human health and safety, and often results in the unnecessary death of bears. Food-conditioning of grizzly bears and associated risks to human safety can be prevented by properly securing attractants.
Over many years, member agencies have issued various orders and direction to secure attractants from access by grizzly bears. Differences among these orders have developed that are confusing for recreationists and other users of public lands, as well as agency personnel and compromise their effectiveness.
In 2003, the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee chartered a Task Force to assess inconsistencies and recommend any needed changes. Among other things, the Task Force recommended that requirements for securing attractants should exist on all public lands occupied by grizzly bears and that greater consistency among requirements should be established. The IGBC concurs with these recommendations and developed these guiding principles for subcommittees to use as they develop or refine requirements for securing food attractants on federal and state lands.
These guiding principles are intended to promote public safety, understanding, and cooperation and to prevent food-conditioning of grizzly bears. IGBC strongly encourages consistency within each grizzly bear ecosystem. Due to differences in statutory authorities, making requirements within National Parks consistent with requirements applicable to other public lands can be of lower priority. Greater consistency between ecosystems is desirable, recognizing that differences may exist. The rationale for any differences should be clearly explained.
Guiding principles
- Requirements for securing attractants in ways that physically deny access by grizzly bears should be in place throughout all habitats occupied or planned for occupancy by grizzly bears on state and federal public lands.
- To develop understanding and support, requirements for securing attractants and appropriate schedules for their implementation should be developed in cooperation with local communities and interest groups.
- Public information and education should be an integral part of any efforts to reduce human-grizzly conflicts, including securing attractants. Informational materials should incorporate consistent definitions and content across jurisdictions and between ecosystems.
- A cooperative and progressive enforcement plan should be integral to implementation of any requirements for securing grizzly bear attractants on public lands.
- Requirements for securing attractants should be based on the best available science and experience and adaptive to new innovations in technology. Requirements should be periodically reviewed for their continued applicability and then adapted as needed.
- The IGBC testing and certification program for bear-resistant storage products should be used as the standard method for evaluating the adequacy of bear resistance.
Definitions
Animal carcass – Dead body or parts thereof, of any domestic livestock or harvested mammal, bird or fish, including the head or skull plate and hide or cape of big game animals.
Attractant – Any solid or liquid substance (excluding water, baled hay, or hay cubes without additives) or refuse that may be eaten, and can attract bears to a site occupied permanently or intermittently by humans. Examples include human foods, soft drinks and alcoholic beverages, cosmetics and toiletries, pet foods, processed livestock feed and grains, bird feeders, animal carcasses, cooking residue, empty food containers, and other refuse.
Bear-resistant –storage of attractants in a manner that makes them inaccessible to bears. Acceptable techniques for bear-resistant storage include suspending attractants at least 10 ft. above the ground and 4 ft. from the suspension supports, storing attractants in a closed hard-sided building or vehicle, placing attractants in IGBC-approved bear-resistant containers, and using bear-resistant electric fencing in accordance with the IGBC testing and certification program. See http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/wildlife/igbc/Safety/resistantcontainer.pdf and http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/wildlife/igbc/Safety/resistantcontainer4-04.pdf
Food-conditioning – The process by which animals learn to associate humans with a food source, such as human, pet or livestock food or garbage. Food-conditioning can occur with or without concurrent habituation to humans.
Habituation to Humans – The process by which animals learn to regard humans as neutral. This occurs when animals are repeatedly in the presence of humans without any negative or positive reinforcement, and responses to human presence weaken or totally disappear.
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