To encourage bear-proofing measures, Collier parks to get Florida grant

Three parks in Immokalee will get help to keep Florida black bears away.

A grant from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will help pay for bear-proof garbage containers at Airport Park, the Immokalee Sports Complex and Immokalee Community Park.

Unsecured trash is the biggest reason bears wander into neighborhoods and become nuisances, at best. If the bears keep returning for easy access to food, they can end up killed on roads or shot. 

Increasingly, euthanization is the only option; relocated bears often wander back to their home ranges. Also, wide-open wild spaces big enough to relocate bears are becoming harder to find as bear populations have rebounded and they lose habitat.

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The choice of the Immokalee parks for the bear-proof trash bins doesn't mean those spots have bear problems, or other nuisance wildlife, only that the parks are known to be in bear country, said Collier County parks region manager Nancy Olson.

"We try to put them where the bears are," she said. "Between bears and coyotes, we probably could put them anywhere in Collier County."

Collier County's $3,800 grant was one of 10 awarded to Florida communities through the state's BearWise program, which distributed $515,000 this year.

The grant program is a good way to show the importance of taking steps to reduce run-ins between people and bears, and should lead to more widespread use of bear-proofing kits even without grants, said Elizabeth Fleming, senior Florida representative for Defenders of Wildlife.

"It's the right, responsible thing to do when you live in an area where there are bears and other wildlife," she said. "It's what humans should be doing, period."

Last year, the program awarded $825,000, including to Farmworker Village in Immokalee, Max Hasse Park in Golden Gate Estates and Conservation Collier preserves at Pepper Ranch and Logan Woods.

Florida black bear populations have rebounded from fewer than 500 in the 1970s, when the species was classified as threatened, to more than 4,000 in the most recent count.

The Big Cypress bear subpopulation in Southwest Florida is estimated at as many as 1,000 animals — 49 percent more than in 2002.

Increasing populations led the Conservation Commission to remove black bears from its list of threatened species in 2012 and approve a one-time controversial bear hunt in 2015.

LIVING WITH BEARS

Here are some steps to keep bears away from your neighborhood:

• Secure household garbage in a sturdy shed, garage or bear-resistant container.

• Put garbage out on the morning of pickup rather than the night before.

• Feed pets indoors or bring in dishes after feeding them outside.

• Clean grills and keep them in a secure place.

• Pick ripe fruit, remove fallen fruit and remove or bear-proof wildlife feeders.

Source: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission