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Dave Telesco, Fish and Wildlife Commission Bear Management Program coordinator, demonstrates how to use of one of the authorized methods of bear conflict management during a training class at the Dynamics of International Terrorism range on Hurlburt Field, Fla. This course is offered twice a year, and in the last two years approximately 125 members of the 1st Special Operations Security Forces Squadron have been trained on how to properly deal with bear calls. (Courtesy photo)

Hurlburt's SFS learns how to handle bear issues

Published Nov. 14, 2014
By Staff Sgt. Sarah Hanson
1st Special Operations Wing Public Affairs

HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. -- Hurlburt Field personnel recently received bear conflict management training at the Combat Arms Training and Maintenance facility here.

Thirty-two 1st Special Operations Security Forces Squadron members learned different techniques on how to respond properly to black bear calls.

“When military families or personnel on base call 911 for help, security forces personnel respond,” said Kristal Walsh, 1st Special Operations Civil Engineer Squadron Natural/Cultural Resource Manager. “All SFS Airmen who potentially respond to emergency calls are better equipped to manage the situation if they have been exposed to information about bear behaviors, regulations regarding bear management and information about what attracts bears to an area.”

During the course, the students reviewed history of the Florida Black Bear subspecies, ecology, biology and behaviors, in addition to successful methods for limiting conflicts between humans and bears in both urban and wild land interfaces.

“SFS members are often the first on the scene of a bear call,” said Walsh. “Airmen who have attended the training can more effectively calm residents' fears, assess the situation for best management strategies and identify sources of attractants, which can compromise aversive conditioning efforts.”

This training is offered twice a year to any and all wildlife management personnel, security forces members and bear response agents.

Hurlburt Field partnered with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission including Natural Resources to satisfy a need for all SFS Airmen to be trained and knowledgeable in the event they answer a bear call.

“[This training] allows members of the 1 SOSFS to properly react to incidents of bear encroachment on base, such as housing,” said Keith Parker, 1st SOSFS specialist and trainer. “[They] can safeguard and protect base residents by being the barrier between them and the bears using the tools learned in the class.”

Hurlburt Field is located in the heart of “Bear Country,” and bear calls are not uncommon for SFS members.

According to Walsh, in 2013 there were a total of 27 bear calls, including 17 instances of bears going through garbage and one bear in a building.

“Bears were here first so we have to take responsibility to ensure the safety of our families as well as our wildlife,” said Walsh. “This course is just one way Hurlburt maintains a bear-safe community while endorsing environmental stewardship concepts in the community.”