(Photo and poem excerpt courtesy of Dwight Jenkins)
Tipped over trash cans, waste strewn across the street — the remnants of a hasty raid were a common sight in Petersburg in the first weeks of autumn. Although the culprit has fled the scene, everyone knows who it is: garbage bears.
“I think bears have just always been a natural part of what we deal with, especially come summer and fall,” said Grace Wolf, a Petersburg resident. “When I was like seven years old, I do remember a couple times they were in the garbage, but my mom always had it like bungeed and that usually kept them out. They have now gotten smarter, and they can get into cans.”
The Petersburg Police Department has received over 100 calls this season about bears getting into trash — and the public is taking note.
“There’s a lot of traffic on Facebook about it, we also get reports by phone and just talking to people,” Chris Cotta, Public Works director, said. “We do know based on all of the information we typically monitor and gather that there’s been a lot more activity. It’s significant.”
The bear issue even made it onto the platform of a candidate for local office. Marc Martinsen is running for a seat on Petersburg’s Borough Assembly. He said ticketing people whose trash cans get burglarized isn’t the way to go.
“You ever watched a 400 pound bear when he’s playing with a garbage can and he wants in it?” Martinsen said. “He tips it on his side, jumps on it, and pops it like a pimple. There’s nothing that’s going to hold that lid on. This whole ordinance of fining people, treating the citizens like children with timeout. I mean, everybody knows the bear problem.”
Martinsen is referring to a controversial measure the borough put in place a couple years ago. It allows local law enforcement to fine residents who fail to properly secure their garbage. First offenders get a $50 ticket, then it’s $150 for a second offense, and $300 for a third. The police department has issued 41 citations this year, collecting a little over two grand. Police Chief James Kerr says it’s been a busy season.
“With the bears, our number one concern is public safety,” Kerr said. “We’ve had a lot more interactions with the bears getting in the garbage cans. So, that’s why you see the increase in citations this year, because of the lack of people putting the straps on, and that’s all we’re asking for — a reasonable effort.”
Kerr himself hasn’t been spared from the bear burglaries — or the legal consequences.
“I personally had a ticket, we left to go camping, and when I got back, as soon as I hit cell coverage, I had a photo of my trash texted to me by someone in the community,” Kerr said. “I tell everyone we’re doing the same for everyone, so that’s why I called up the sergeant and had him come over and write me a ticket.”
The new fines give residents more incentive to call when there is a problem in their neighborhood. It’s been costing the police department as well.
“We’ve had 106 calls — that’s a substantial number,” Kerr said. “And so you figure man hours on that — financially, we’ve been spending more money, it adds up, between time and resources being spent towards dealing with them. We have a limited budget, and so I think the borough’s doing the best they can with their resources, and we’re just trying to work with the community on it.”
Part of that budget has gone towards non-lethal measures to limit the bear presence in town, including pepper ball guns.
“We started using those on the bears recently, and we’re getting a better response,” Kerr said. “It’s just like getting hit with pepper spray.“
As for why there has been such an increase in bear activity in town, there are likely several factors at play. For one, bears are naturally voracious eaters in the fall, as they enter hyperphagia – the process of putting on weight to survive their winter hibernation. Their need for calories makes them seek easy targets. In bear’s natural habitat, this usually means fish, but according to Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologist Frank Robbins, that resource hasn’t been as reliable this year.
“It might be related to lack of rain and fish not accessing the streams, like they do most years,” Robbins said.
Robbins says that the black bears are simply acting on their natural impulses, and rural communities need to be more aware of their role in the ecosystem.
“Petersburg is smack dab in the middle of bear habitat,” Robbins said. “The plastic garbage pails that we have really aren’t great storage devices, they’re more of delivery devices. So, if you can store your garbage in an outbuilding or in the garage, and then only use the plastic trash cans to deliver the garbage to the garbage truck, that’s the best policy.”
Other strategies to deter bears include freezing garbage to eliminate enticing odors, and investing in more serious can protection. For example, last year, the community purchased an industrial steel container for an apartment complex that was being routinely targeted by nuisance bears drawn by the volume of garbage. While it has proven successful, it has drawbacks.
“That’s actually worked very well, but each one of those dumpsters is $15,000, so doing that across the whole entire town is not feasible,” Kerr said.
As a more cost effective measure, the borough has invested in garbage straps and replacement cans for those damaged due to bear activity.
“The dump has been giving out the bear straps for your garbage can, that’s 100 percent free,” Kerr said.
These efforts to help residents better secure their trash are crucial, as the bear problem isn’t going away anytime soon. Bears won’t go into hibernation for several months yet, so town residents should stay vigilant — or be ready to bear the consequences.
