Juneau’s resident black bears break into trash cans every year. In most cases, it just creates a mess, but sometimes those bears end up dead.
So far this year, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game has euthanized five black bears downtown, including two at once back in July.
Regional Management Coordinator Roy Churchwell said this year was not an especially active year for trash bears across the whole of Juneau, because there was plenty of natural food available.
“I don’t actually think it is a bad year, I think some years have been much worse,” Churchwell said. “There were decent berries out and there were fish available for bears.”
That’s compared to years like 2018, 2019 and 2020, when a lack of natural foods and a bear baby boom drove up bear activity.
But Churchwell said this year, there was a concentration of problem bears downtown, and commander Jeremy Weske with the Juneau Police Department said they received more than 160 bear-related calls this year.
Trash management in Juneau is governed under a city ordinance, which the police enforce. It lays out rules about when garbage can be put out on the curb and what kinds of cans it can be stored in.
It also doles out fines when trash attracts bears. Even so, the local trash rules are frequently violated, and Weske said there are repeat offenders who earn several fines in a single year.
“I think in general, people respond well to education and maybe a ticket or two if it gets that far,” Weske said. “But there will be people who don’t respond well to that and we have to have a different strategy for that.”
The ordinance calls for a $50 fine for the first trash violation, $100 for the second and $300 for a third within the span of two years.
The ordinance dates back to 2004. In the year before it went into effect, 23 bears were killed. So Churchwell said it’s helped, but there’s room for improvement.
“When the original ordinance went into effect, there was a decline in human-bear conflicts and bears getting into trash. And so that’s a good thing,” Churchwell said. “We just want to build on that and create a situation where there’s even less human bear conflict, if possible.”
Earlier this year, the Department of Fish and Game commissioned a pair of wildlife researchers from the University of Fairbanks to study Juneau’s human-bear interactions, with the hope of saving more bear lives on the future.
But in the short-term, trash management is going to be especially important over the next month. Right now, bears are going through a phase called hyperphagia as they get ready for hibernation.
“It’s a time when they’re just really trying to put on weight before they go into the den,” Churchwell said. “So they’re really looking for food at this time.”
Those hungry bears will be eyeing trash. Juneau residents should only store trash in a bear-proof can, and trash should be stored inside — or in a garage or shed — until trash pick-up day.
