
file photo by Boyd Loving
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, as black bears emerge from their dens this spring, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection is reminding residents and outdoor enthusiasts to take steps to reduce the potential for encounters, including reducing food sources, such as unsecured trash, that can attract bears.
In addition, the DEP has secured a contract with a company that will provide nearly 3,000 certified bear-resistant residential trash receptacles for distribution in six municipalities with elevated numbers of bear incident reports as part of the Murphy Administration’s efforts to protect public safety and reduce bear-human encounters.
“Bears have an extremely keen sense of smell. They are actively searching for food as they leave dens. The risk of an unwanted encounter rises if they associate you or your property with food,” NJDEP Fish & Wildlife Assistant Commissioner David Golden said. “People can prevent encounters with bears by removing or properly securing any potential food sources such as trash, pet food or bird seed. It is also critically important for people to never feed black bears. Feeding bears is dangerous, illegal and may result in bears becoming aggressive.”
Reducing Bear-Human Encounters Building upon previous investments to improve public education and reduce bear-human interactions, the Murphy Administration provided $500,000 in the Fiscal Year 2024 budget to provide certified bear-resistant trash receptacles to residents in municipalities that are being impacted by bear-related nuisances. The DEP this week executed a contract with Toter LLC, with headquarters in Statesville, N.C., to provide free containers for distribution in Sparta, West Milford, Jefferson, Rockaway, Hardyston and Hampton. The first shipments are expected before the end of the month. |
![]() To increase awareness of bears and bear safety, NJDEP Fish & Wildlife continues to implement a multimedia Know the Bear Facts black bear safety outreach campaign that includes messages in English and Spanish. The campaign provides bear safety tips and public service announcements on social media, TV streaming services, radio broadcasts, the program’s bear safety webpage and email blasts. The campaign began in March and will run through the fall of 2024 during periods of peak bear activity. Reducing the presence of trash in unsecured waste containers and other food sources, such as pet food, bird seed or even small livestock, is essential because bears will learn to associate food with people and their homes and begin to forage in neighborhoods for food. This can lead to bears causing property damage, approaching humans for food and becoming dangerous. Intentionally feeding bears is illegal in New Jersey and carries a fine of up to $1,000. Safety Tips Most of New Jersey’s black bears live in the northwest portion of the state, particularly Morris, Sussex, Warren and northern Passaic counties, and portions of Hunterdon, Somerset and Bergen counties. However, black bears have been sighted in all of New Jersey’s 21 counties. It is extremely important to be familiar with ways to avoid encounters and how to safely react if an encounter occurs. The DEP offers the following tips for property owners to minimize conflicts:
If you encounter a black bear in your neighborhood or outdoors while hiking or camping, follow these safety tips:
Report black bear damage or aggressive bears to your local police department or to Fish & Wildlife by calling 1-(877) WARN DEP (1-877-927-6337). |
Lets take a clue from the liberal media, when they report suspected criminals, intentionally omitting descriptions , and only describe them as bears…….
I hear you man, you call white bears polar bears, and brown bears grizzly bears but you have to label the ursus americanus “black bears”. Come on man, do better.
Why must comments always include politics on every topic? This article is strictly about bear safety for Pete’s sake.
That sounds RACIST to me.