APPENDIX C 

 SUMMARY OF CURRENT GRIZZLY BEAR FOOD STORAGE DIRECTION 



Food storage requirements and sanitation guidelines in grizzly bear habitat vary across the landscape and 

 depend mainly on land ownership and administration. Sanitation guidelines generally are absent on 

 private lands; where they exist they are mainly in the form of grassroots driven voluntary efforts. Food 

 storage guidelines are on some, but not all, public lands. Where they do exist on public lands, the number 

 and diversity of regulations and orders may be confusing to recreationist, those who derive their 

 livelihood from the public lands, and agency land managers. Tlie following summarizes the status of 

 food storage and sanitation direction on various land ownerships across the 17-county area of this 

 management plan. Individual contacts, if known, are in ( ). 



1. Private Lands 



Bear Aware 



Whitefish, MT; A "Bear Aware" program is being established in the community of Whitefish, MT. The 

 intent of this organization is to raise public awareness about living in bear country and how to avoid 

 bear-human conflicts. As part of this program, the regional garbage hauler (Waste Management System, 

 Great Falls, MT) has given bear-resistant dumpsters to Ptarmigan Village, a resort/residential community 

 in Whitefish, MT. Also, the program coordinator offers to clean up fallen fruit from fruit trees on private 

 residences to remove this food source from being available to bears. (Bill Lavelle, Bear Aware 

 coordinator) 



Seeley Lake, MT: bird feeders (remove or electrical fences); bear-resistant dumpsters at schools; 

 businesses take in downtown garbage cans at night; integrate ecological needs of bears into community 

 planning and decision-making (ex. discourage planting of fruit trees or removal of existing areas on city 

 property.) (Patti Bartlett) 



Blackfoot Challenge (BC) 



Watershed-wide stewardship group. Engage in voluntary efforts to reduce grizzly bear-human conflicts. 

 Carcass redistribution in cooperation with the BC Wildlife Committee, FWP, BFl, USFWS, and Blackfoot 

 landowners; electric fences around calving grounds, dumps, fruit trees; 80 bear-resistant dumpsters in 

 watershed; CIS mapping of attractants in the Blackfoot Valley to develop a community supported and 

 scientifically based plan to further reduce conflicts; "Neighbor Network" to empower local residents to 

 monitor grizzlv bear activity and take actions to keep attractants away from grizzly bears. Under this 

 program, residents use phone tree lists to help neighbors prevent conflicts from occurring, and residents 

 can check out and borrow a variety of devices including bear-resistant trashcans to avoid problems. (Seth 

 Wilson) 



Brown Bear Resources (BBR) 



BBR umbrellas Middle Rattlesnake Bear Task Force (MRBTF) until MRBTF gets established as an 

 organization. Actions taken by BBR on behalf of grizzly bears services over 400 residences plus new 

 developments in the Middle Rattlesnake area and include the following: conduct door-to-door efforts to 

 educate residences on proper sanitation in bear country; work with FWP-R2 wildlife management 

 specialist to identify hotspots for potential bear-human conflict; work with rental property managers to 

 promote proper sanitaHon practices amongst renters; hold monthly public meetings to give updates on 

 bear movements, acHvity, etc.; working on an ordinance for Missoula that is more enforceable than 



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