With bear sightings increasing in our area, it may helpful to remember the steps you can take to coexist successfully with black bears. The most common items that attract bears to residential areas are unsecured garbage, bird feeders, feeding pets outside and messy grills. The best way to minimize human-bear conflicts, and conflicts with other wildlife, is to remove or secure all unnatural foods. Unfortunately, some people deliberately feed bears by making food available near roads or homes. This leads to problems for both people and bears, it is also illegal. Remember—remove the food and you remove the bear. If you have additional questions on effective methods to avoid conflicts with bears, please contact our Region 3 General Wildlife Line at 845 256-3098 or email at Wildlife.R3@DEC.NY.GOV. Additional information on avoiding bear conflicts can be found on the DEC website at https://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/6995.html and BearWise.org. Also attached are flyers and informational handouts.
