Bear Smart Missoula

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Help Missoula County and the City of Missoula become a Bear Smart community. Let us know your thoughts about a proposed change in the health code to require bear-resistant containers in an expanded bear buffer zone.

The Missoula City-County Health Board is proposing new regulations that would expand the Bear Buffer Zone in the Missoula Valley and require garbage be stored in bear-resistant containers or enclosures throughout it. The current Bear Buffer Zone was established in 2010 and is limited to city properties. The expanded zone would encompass the upper Rattlesnake, Bonner, Pattee Canyon, Miller Creek, Big Flat, O'Keefe Creek, Butler Creek, Grant Creek and the Potomac area.

According to the bear hazard management plan, from 2018 to 2021, 49% of the recorded bear-human interactions centered around bears and garbage. The proposed rules would address this problem by requiring bear-resistant containers in the bear buffer zone. The requirement, if adopted, would roll out in three phases, with the first phase including the Rattlesnake and Grant Creek, the second phase including the University of Montana and Pattee Canyon and the third phase encompassing the rest of the bear buffer zone. This would give the garbage collection services time to acquire enough bar-resistant containers, while prioritizing those areas with the most bear conflicts.

Let us know your thoughts on this proposal under the "News Feed" article labeled "Proposed Health Code Changes." The Health Board approved this proposal at their meeting on Aug. 17, and recommended that both the Missoula County commissioners and city council adopt the health code changes, as well.

The commissioners opened this hearing at their public meeting on Sept. 14, and they will make a final decision at their public meeting at 2 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 28. Residents are welcome to attend in the Sophie Moiese room of the Missoula County Courthouse annex, or virtually via Microsoft Teams. Find the agenda and link to join.

Stay tuned on the City of Missoula's meeting page to see the city's decisions on this item and join their meetings. The Public Safety, Health and Operations Committee met on Sept. 13, and the first hearing at city council will take place at 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 2, in the City Council Chambers as well as via Microsoft Teams, and the final decision will be made at the city council meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 16, also in the City Council Chambers and via Microsoft Teams.

The increase in human habitation into wildlands and the increase in the Missoula Valley’s population has led to increased human-bear conflicts. The County and City recognize that this creates a public safety hazard and leads to food-habituated bears having to be killed. City and County leaders are collaborating with the Bear Smart Working Group, made up of concerned residents, bear experts and agency representatives. The group has followed the Bear Smart Community program developed in British Columbia, Canada. The goal of this group is to address the root causes of human-bear conflicts, reduce the risks to human safety and private property and reduce the number of bears that must be killed or relocated each year.

Missoula can reduce these human-bear conflicts using a combination of public education, promotion, ordinance enforcement and public and private partnerships to remove bears’ access to garbage, birdfeeders, livestock and pet food, tree fruit and unsecured outdoor freezers. Learn more about how Missoula is working toward being Bear Smart in the hazard assessment, the hazard management plan and the Bear Smart resolution.

The resolution was approved by Missoula County and the City of Missoula to establish a Bear Smart policy to help staff implement best practices to protect residents and bears in the Missoula Valley. The Missoula County commissioners and the Missoula City Council heard this resolution at their joint public meeting on Oct. 3.

You can read over the resolution, the hazard assessment and the hazard management plan and take the quick, five-question survey to let staff know your thoughts on how to become a Bear Smart community. Please note this survey is not for research but for public comment purposes only.

Banner and project tile photo credit: Gwen Florio

Help Missoula County and the City of Missoula become a Bear Smart community. Let us know your thoughts about a proposed change in the health code to require bear-resistant containers in an expanded bear buffer zone.

The Missoula City-County Health Board is proposing new regulations that would expand the Bear Buffer Zone in the Missoula Valley and require garbage be stored in bear-resistant containers or enclosures throughout it. The current Bear Buffer Zone was established in 2010 and is limited to city properties. The expanded zone would encompass the upper Rattlesnake, Bonner, Pattee Canyon, Miller Creek, Big Flat, O'Keefe Creek, Butler Creek, Grant Creek and the Potomac area.

According to the bear hazard management plan, from 2018 to 2021, 49% of the recorded bear-human interactions centered around bears and garbage. The proposed rules would address this problem by requiring bear-resistant containers in the bear buffer zone. The requirement, if adopted, would roll out in three phases, with the first phase including the Rattlesnake and Grant Creek, the second phase including the University of Montana and Pattee Canyon and the third phase encompassing the rest of the bear buffer zone. This would give the garbage collection services time to acquire enough bar-resistant containers, while prioritizing those areas with the most bear conflicts.

Let us know your thoughts on this proposal under the "News Feed" article labeled "Proposed Health Code Changes." The Health Board approved this proposal at their meeting on Aug. 17, and recommended that both the Missoula County commissioners and city council adopt the health code changes, as well.

The commissioners opened this hearing at their public meeting on Sept. 14, and they will make a final decision at their public meeting at 2 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 28. Residents are welcome to attend in the Sophie Moiese room of the Missoula County Courthouse annex, or virtually via Microsoft Teams. Find the agenda and link to join.

Stay tuned on the City of Missoula's meeting page to see the city's decisions on this item and join their meetings. The Public Safety, Health and Operations Committee met on Sept. 13, and the first hearing at city council will take place at 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 2, in the City Council Chambers as well as via Microsoft Teams, and the final decision will be made at the city council meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 16, also in the City Council Chambers and via Microsoft Teams.

The increase in human habitation into wildlands and the increase in the Missoula Valley’s population has led to increased human-bear conflicts. The County and City recognize that this creates a public safety hazard and leads to food-habituated bears having to be killed. City and County leaders are collaborating with the Bear Smart Working Group, made up of concerned residents, bear experts and agency representatives. The group has followed the Bear Smart Community program developed in British Columbia, Canada. The goal of this group is to address the root causes of human-bear conflicts, reduce the risks to human safety and private property and reduce the number of bears that must be killed or relocated each year.

Missoula can reduce these human-bear conflicts using a combination of public education, promotion, ordinance enforcement and public and private partnerships to remove bears’ access to garbage, birdfeeders, livestock and pet food, tree fruit and unsecured outdoor freezers. Learn more about how Missoula is working toward being Bear Smart in the hazard assessment, the hazard management plan and the Bear Smart resolution.

The resolution was approved by Missoula County and the City of Missoula to establish a Bear Smart policy to help staff implement best practices to protect residents and bears in the Missoula Valley. The Missoula County commissioners and the Missoula City Council heard this resolution at their joint public meeting on Oct. 3.

You can read over the resolution, the hazard assessment and the hazard management plan and take the quick, five-question survey to let staff know your thoughts on how to become a Bear Smart community. Please note this survey is not for research but for public comment purposes only.

Banner and project tile photo credit: Gwen Florio

  • Proposed Health Code Changes

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    On Aug .17, 2023, the Missoula City-County Health Board approved the proposed changes to the solid waste regulations in the Missoula City-County Health Code. The proposed changes include a requirement to use bear-resistant containers in an expanded bear buffer zone, in addition to some clean up changes to the rest of the regulation. They then recommended that both the Missoula County commissioners and city council adopt the proposed changes by reference.

    The commissioners opened this hearing at their public meeting on Sept. 14, and they will make a final decision at their public meeting at 2 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 28. Residents are welcome to attend in the Sophie Moiese room of the Missoula County Courthouse annex, or virtually via Microsoft Teams. Find the agenda and link to join.

    Stay tuned on the City of Missoula's meeting page to see the city's decisions on this item and join their meetings. The Public Safety, Health and Operations Committee met on Sept. 13, and the first hearing at city council will take place at 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 2, in the City Council Chambers as well as via Microsoft Teams, and the final decision will be made at the city council meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 16, also in the City Council Chambers and via Microsoft Teams.

    Find the bear buffer zone recommendation and proposed changes to the solid waste regulations in the "Documents" section on the right-hand side, and let us know your thoughts here!

    You need to be signed in to add your comment.

  • As bears emerge from their dens, contain all attractants!

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    As of April 5, there are increasing reports of signs of black bear activity across the Fish, Wildlife and Parks Region 2 (which includes Missoula). There have also been reports of grizzly bears in the Seeley Lake area.

    Don't attract bears to your property. The food bears find on your property may keep them from denning. Bear attractants include garbage, birdseed, chickens, livestock, feed and pet food, tree fruit, gardens and compost, BBQs, coolers, unsecured outdoor freezers or other easily obtainable food.

    Below are some ways you can make your property Bear Smart:

    • Use electric fencing for attractants like chicken coops, gardens, compost piles, livestock and other attractants that are commonplace or come with the landscape. Learn more about deterring bears with electric fencing.
    • Use the recommended bear-resistant products for your trash, livestock feed, coolers and other food storage.
    • Make sure to thoroughly clean your BBQ after each use.
    • If you do not have a bear-resistant cooler, container for livestock feed, or other food storage, store them indoors where bears cannot access them.
    • Do not put birdfeeders out from March to Dec. 1, or longer if bears are still active. This year, as of Jan. 11, some bears are still active.
    • Don’t leave trash, groceries or animal feed in your vehicle. Bears can pry open car and truck doors or break windows to get at food.
    • If you have a fruit tree on your property, pick fruit as it becomes ripe and remove any fruit off the ground. Store the picked fruit in a secure building, garage or shed. Electric fencing may be effective at keeping bears from this attractant. Contact Missoula Valley Fruit Exchange, Garden City Harvest or Great Bear Foundation Bears and Apples program if you’re unable or need assistance picking your fruit.
    • If you garden, do not use blood meal, and use an electric fence to keep bears out.
    • If you compost, avoid putting meat, fish, melon rinds or other pungent scraps in the pile, or just don’t compost kitchen scraps. Keep the pile aerated and properly turned, and, again, do not use blood meal.

    All too often, bears find anthropogenic foods while in their quest for natural food resources. Bears that become used to being around people may be called “habituated”. Bears that receive “food rewards” like garbage or birdseed can become “food-conditioned” and exhibit behaviors like walking on porches and causing property damage that leads to their removal. By securing attractants on your property, you can keep bears wild, improving the safety of both bears and people. Learn more about being bear smart on MissoulaBears.org

    You can also learn more about being bear smart on Missoula County’s Tip of the Spear podcast The Bears are Calling: How the County and City are Becoming Bear Smart

  • What to do if you encounter a bear

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    Black bears are abundant in the Missoula Five Valleys area and are encountered frequently within urban settings along Missoula’s wildlands interface. Residents living within the Missoula Bear Buffer Zone should expect black bear activity and become aware that grizzlies are becoming more common. While recreating in the Missoula Bear Buffer Zone and Missoula’s outlying areas, carrying bear spray is recommended. If you encounter a bear while hiking or if a bear visits your home, stay calm, do not approach the bear, and report the incident to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, the Missoula Bears Facebook page or file a report at Missoula Bears.org.

    If you encounter a bear, the bear’s behavior, rather than its species, should determine how you respond. In any bear encounter, your behavior matters.

    If a bear is not actively engaged with you (looking away, ignoring you, running away or retreating):

    • Give the bear space by backing away slowly from the bear and going in the opposite direction of the bear.

    If a bear shows agitated/defensive behavior (huffing, jaws clacking, head swaying back and forth, bellowing, swatting the ground, and excessively salivating at the mouth):

    • Stand your ground, prepare your bear spray, and speak in a calm manner, until the bear retreats.

    If a bear charges or appears ready to charge:

    • Stand your ground.
    • If it charges, use your bear spray, when the bear comes within 30-60 feet.
    • If the bear is going to touch you, go face down on the ground, cover your neck and head as much as possible, and deploy your bear spray in the bear’s face. If you do not have bear spray, play dead if it is a grizzly bear, fight back if it is a black bear.

    If a bear follows you, or slowly, purposefully or methodically approaches you:

    • Stand your ground.
    • Get aggressive: wave your arms and shout vigorously.
    • Get spray out and ready.
    • Fight back if it makes contact.

    If a bear enters or reaches into your tent:

    • Use your bear spray.
    • Fight back.
Page last updated: 15 Sep 2023, 08:52 AM