1st SOCES targets trash as top source for bear activity on base

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Joe McFadden
  • 1st Special Operations Wing Public Affairs
You are taking a trash bag outside to the curb of your driveway one night. Suddenly, you see a bear digging through your garbage container. You freeze as you see the bear make its way not into the woods to seek shelter, but to the next neighborhood to continue its feast. 

This worrying encounter may lead you to wonder why bears would leave the forest in the first place and create potentially lethal situations. In doing so, would it ever occur to you that one of the biggest factors is actually in your hands?

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's 2010 Black Bear Management Plan, where bears are allowed to forage on garbage, pet food and other attractants, they become food conditioned and habituated to humans.  

The plan also noted these bears can become a threat to human safety, and that Florida has recorded a 106 percent increase in bear-related core complaints, ranging from going through dumpsters to threatening humans, since 2004. 

The report stated that reducing human-bear conflicts through people eliminating attractants would take nearly 100 percent compliance and vigilance across entire neighborhoods.

After identifying unkempt garbage bags as the primary reason for bear encounters on base, the 1st Special Operations Civil Engineer Squadron repaired existing latches and installed new ones on approximately 50 garbage containers in the Pine Shadows housing area at Hurlburt Field, August 25.

The bear-resistant latches were placed on the cans of the houses closest to the forest perimeters of the neighborhood as part of the 1st SOCES's ongoing effort to curb bear activity on base.

"This is a good step, but it all starts with educating residents about what attracts bears into our yards," said Kristal Walsh, 1st SOCES natural resources manager. "We need to make a habit of consistently removing any attractants by securing garbage, removing bird feeders and keeping outside areas free of food."

Some of the latches installed in 2009 by the 1st SOCES and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission had either worn out from being unloaded by garbage trucks or, in some cases, been ripped off by hungry bears in search of food. To fix this, each brown garbage container received two latches on each side to ensure no hand, or claw, could reach through any opening in the lid.

Additionally, volunteers from the squadron strengthened the latches with materials like metal zip-ties and chain-links. They also inserted wood blocks, donated by 1st SOCES's structures shop, under each container's plastic lip for reinforcement.

Despite the improvements, volunteers acknowledged the latches can only work if residents use them every single time they throw their trash away. If the containers are left open or if garbage is piled up outside it overnight, bears are more likely to seek out garbage as a potential food source.

"I know, being with the Fire Department, we've come out before with calls of bears in the neighborhood," said Airman Michael Featherston, a firefighter with the Hurlburt Field Fire Department and volunteer. "This project is very important, and I'm glad to help out."

Master Sgt. Lawrence Wood, 1st SOCES heavy equipment superintendent, volunteered not only to help the community, but also the bears that may become dependent on the base's trash as a resource.

"It's all about the wildlife," Sergeant Wood said. "I've paid for supplies to secure these dumpsters because the wildlife means that much to me."

The 1st SOCES has taken other actions in the past to warn residents about potential risk factors that can lead to bear encounters on base. Hurlburt Field's website's front page features a "Be bear aware" section containing tips about what to do if they see a bear. The squadron has also worked with the FFWCC in community seminars with the focus on educating people during bear season.

But even with the new latches, seminars or website advisories, Mrs. Walsh reasserted that individuals properly disposing their trash is the single biggest step to reducing bear activity on base.

"I hope that we'll see people latching their cans and won't see as many problems," Mrs. Walsh said. "If the cans aren't being locked, they're useless."

Anyone who encounters a bear on base should immediately call security forces at 884-7777 or the environmental flight at 884-4651.