For Immediate Release
Media Contact: Jackie Greger, Jackie.Greger@sierraclub.org
As Bears Emerge from Dens, NJ Still Lacks Comprehensive Non-Lethal Trash Management
TRENTON, NJ – The New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife announced today that black bears are beginning to emerge from their winter dens, reminding residents to secure their garbage and potential food sources that attract them. The Sierra Club, New Jersey Chapter, believes the state needs to take a step further in mandating non-lethal bear management policies to reduce nuisance cases, protecting both people and bears.
"Spring has arrived, and with it, the predictable return of black bear activity across New Jersey. While the NJDEP is reminding residents to be 'bear aware,' the state continues to fall short on the most effective tool we have to prevent conflicts: a statewide mandate for bear-proof garbage management. It’s really important that we address the root causes of human-bear conflict. We need to transition from managing the bears to managing the source of the problem, which is human behavior and waste management,” said Taylor McFarland, Conservation Program Manager for the Sierra Club. "Bears enter human spaces because we have fragmented their habitats and left out a 'buffet' of unsecured trash. We cannot continue this cycle of blaming the bears for a problem we have the power to solve with smart policy."
Black bear nuisance cases involving trash are the most common type of bear complaint in New Jersey. Unfortunately, after so many nuisance cases are documented to the NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife, the state initiates a multi-day bear hunt. The problem the Sierra Club has when these hunts occur is that the black bears creating these nuisance cases are not necessarily the ones getting killed in the hunt. Only 20% of tagged bears killed in state hunts were actually known to be involved in nuisance situations. Hunters often catch young bears rather than the older, habituated males digging through your garbage.
The Sierra Club is calling for several critical steps to ensure public safety and wildlife protection:
- Mandatory Bear-Proof Containers: The state must move beyond small-scale pilot programs and mandate bear-proof garbage cans in all "bear country" areas with high population densities.
- Support for the "Bear Smart" Bill: The Legislature must pass Senator Johnson’s deterrent bill (S765), which requires corrective action for the storage of food or garbage that results in the unintentional feeding of bears.
- Ending the Ineffective Hunt: The current hunting model often kills bears in the woods who are not "nuisance" bears, doing little to address interactions in residential neighborhoods.
- Increased Funding: Governor Sherrill and the Legislature should allocate significant, recurring funding to help municipalities and residents transition to bear-resistant infrastructure.
“Coexistence is not about removing bears from our landscape, but about removing easy, unnatural food sources from our yards. When we take these proactive, simple steps to secure our trash, we create a safer environment for our communities and a sustainable future for New Jersey’s bears,” said Taylor McFarland, Conservation Program Manager for the Sierra Club, NJ Chapter.
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About the Sierra Club: The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information about our work in New Jersey, visit www.sierraclub.org/new-jersey.