Although Woodstockers believe that all creatures great and small should participate in civic activities, the Woodstock Bear Task Force formed last June is not comprised of bears. In fact, the bears have no representation on it at all.
Who are its human members and what have they been up to? Information is available on the task force’s Facebook page, which can be found at facebook.com/woodstockbeartaskforce or by searching for Woodstock Bear Task Force. Information is also available by visiting the town website, woodstockny.org, and clicking on “Bear Information” on the links on the left of the main page.
The task force aims to minimize the number of interactions bears have with humans and to educate people on ways to reduce the things that attract them.
“On June 2 of this year, the DEC approached the supervisor because Woodstock had the most complaints about bears in our county,” task force chair Anula Courtis said during a progress report to the town board on September 19.
The task force supervisor Bill McKenna formed now has nine members including Courtis, Rachel Jackson, McKenna and his secretary, Melanie Marino.
“You may be aware that the Town of Woodstock is facing increasing levels of bear-and-human-related conflicts. Last year, the DEC received at least 50 reports of bear-related conflicts from our residents,” Courtis said. “And though the majority of these reports were associated with bears accessing trash cans or bird feeders, there were also nine instances of bears breaking into homes. Once a bear enters a home and obtains food, it is more likely to enter a home a second time, creating a significant public safety concern.”
Six bears had to be euthanized by the DEC. In one incident, the homeowner shot and killed the bear after it entered the home.
“These more serious instances such as bears breaking into homes are often the culmination of bears either intentionally or unintentionally being allowed access to human-derived food sources for a long period of time,” Courtis said.
A bear getting into the trash may be a minor inconvenience, but it can lead to behavior that results in more serious conflicts, according to Courtis. She described the intentional feeding of bears as “an unnecessary and wholly selfish act that will ultimately prove detrimental to that bear.”
Woodstock and other communities have found the most effective way to alleviate bear interactions is through education, legislation and community involvement. The task force has distributed materials such as an at-home checklist provided by the organization BearWise and recently staffed a table at the weekly farmers’ market.
“Kids were coming by the table. They took these coloring materials, they took mazes, and it seemed that every single Woodstocker had at least one or two bear stories,” Courtis said. “And they stood around the table sharing it, which was really, very nice. There are materials for children and also leaflets in Spanish.
The task force plans to return to the town board this month to seek legislation.
“We’re going to request that every Airbnb in town provide their guests access to a bear-resistant trash can. We’re going to ask that they are required to post the BearWise-DEC materials in a visible place so that guests don’t feed bears leading to us having to euthanize those bears,” Courtis said.“And we will also come back and request that some other businesses in town be required to have bear-resistant trash containers, including hotels, apartment buildings and restaurants.”
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