Black bear conflicts relatively low along the North Shore compared to recent years
It has been yet another bountiful year for natural bear food, primarily fruits and nuts, in the northeast region of Minnesota. According to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR), 2022 was the second-best year for abundant natural bear foods, and 2023 is shaping up to be another great year.
“Based on what we’ve heard, especially in the northeast, this is beyond a bumper or banner year for bear foods,” Andrew Tri, the bear project leader with the Minnesota DNR, said. “So it’s a great year to be a bear, and advantage will certainly go to the bears this hunting season.”
While reports of bear nuisance calls have occasionally appeared in the weekly DNR conservation officer reports this summer, the overall volume of these calls has decreased.
“We’re down at least a third and probably closer to 40% over the last five-year average,” Tri said. “When foods are good, human-bear conflict drops dramatically.”
With that said, a handful of problematic human-bear conflict areas have been identified in and around the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.
On Sept. 8, the U.S. Forest Service released a list identifying regions where human-bear conflicts have increased. The areas include Clearwater Lake, Rose Lake, Duncan Lake, Alder Lake, Moon Lake, and Caribou Lake, located up the Gunflint Trail.
A number of the recent incidents in the BWCA have been linked to improper food storage.
In a recent news release, Superior National Forest Wildlife Biologist Cheron Ferland said that “once a bear is ‘rewarded’ with human food or garbage, it is likely to become habituated and continue the behavior, which could ultimately lead to the bear being dispatched.”
WTIP’s Kalli Hawkins spoke with Andrew Tri, the bear project leader with the Minnesota DNR about statewide bear populations, 2023 assessments of natural bear foods, bear nuisance calls, and the start to the bear hunting season. Audio from the interview is below.