Kenai Fjords National Park bear management plan

Phillips, Laura; Kim, Sharon; Hilderbrand, Grant; Hall, Shelley; Ireland, Jim; Debruyn, Terry; Hahr, Meg; Adams, Leslie; Green, Jordan; Klasner, Fritz

Bears occur throughout Kenai Fjords National Park and represent a significant wildlife component of its ecosystem. Black bears are abundant along the park’s 400-mile coastline, while brown bears are generally only observed in the southern and northern regions of the park. Bears are a focal attraction for park visitors and the opportunity to see a bear in its natural habitat contributes significantly to enjoyment of the park. This interaction, however, can increase the potential for conflict between humans and bears and alter normal bear behavior. Within the context of the NPS mission, the goals of this bear management plan (BMP) are to: - Provide for visitor and staff safety by minimizing bear-human conflicts. - Minimize the effects of human activities on the distribution, abundance, and behavior of black and brown bear populations. - Ensure opportunities for visitors to observe, understand, and appreciate black and brown bears as a part of an intact ecosystem. - Achieve these goals with a minimum of intrusive management actions. The primary responsibility for implementation of this plan lies with the Interpretation, Visitor and Resource Protection, and Resource Management Teams. The major roles in bear management of the Interpretation Team include interpretation and public information. The VRP Team conducts law enforcement contacts and maintains firearms. The RM Team provides professional technical assistance to minimize the effects of human activities on the distribution, abundance, and behavior of bear populations as part of an intact ecosystem. This plan outlines management tools to increase safety of staff and visitors that may encounter bears and to address bear-human incidents. The plan details recommended bear safety training for KEFJ staff and educational and interpretive messaging for the public. This bear management program places a strong emphasis on preventing the development of “problem” bears. A key component of prevention is an aggressively proactive approach to management of food and waste in both frontcountry and backcountry areas. This plan also includes guidelines for a basic framework for response to common bear-human interaction scenarios in the park.

Kenai Fjords National Park bear management plan

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