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Alaskan Wilderness Too Near For Some

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The Associated Press

Published: August 17, 2008

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Even in a city whose logo is "Big Wild Life," the summer of 2008 is testing residents' tolerance for large carnivores.

The problem is bears - black bears and the bigger grizzlies. So far this summer, three people have been mauled in the city.

Some people say humans are to blame for the confrontations and insist no bears should be killed because of the attacks.

On the other side is a growing chorus of people like Devon Rees, who want something done about the big bruins.

"It is pretty much unsafe to walk around at night," the 18-year-old said.

Residents share the municipality - covering more than 1 million acres and with more than 360,000 people - with more than 300 black bears and 50 to 60 grizzlies. Aggravating the problem is that Alaska's largest city is snug up against the half-million-acre Chugach State Park, the third largest state park in the United States.

"Chugach State Park is a bear factory. It pumps out bears every year," said Rick Sinnott, the area biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. When those bears are hungry, they come into Anchorage to feed on salmon in the city's many creeks and streams, and Sinnott said that is not likely to change.
Sinnott said efforts are being made to expand the hunting of bears in Chugach. The state park was off limits to hunting grizzlies for 30 years. Last year, three permits were issued but hunters were unsuccessful.

Killing all the bears is not an option, Sinnott said.

"It is a state park. People that use the state park, they want to see bears there," he said.
Alaska Fish and Game has received 500 to 600 bear complaint calls in Anchorage this summer, usually from people reporting a bear on their deck, in a neighbor's garbage or running through yards.

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