DEC rep meets with Town of Webb officials, discusses wildlife control options
A presentation was made to the Town of Webb Board on Tuesday by Steve Heerkens, a Wildlife Biologist for the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), and Zoe Smith, director of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Adirondack Program in Saranac Lake, at the board’s monthly meeting in Old Forge.
This was very much an update and continuance of previous communications between the DEC and the Town of Webb about local nuisance wildlife problems.
Specifically, reports of undesired interaction between black bears and the human public have ramped up in recent weeks.
Heerkens described a recent episode in Inlet, where property owners entered their home to find a bear intruder.
The offending bear was put down by the DEC based on behavior that made it a potential danger to the human population, according to Heerkens.
A homeowner on Adams Street in Old Forge described three break-ins of his home in recent days, as well.
He asked Heerkens what measures he should take should the bear again make entrance through his door, which has twin-bolt locks.
“Best is to give the bear the opportunity to get out,” Heerkens said. “We don’t need anybody trying to be a hero.”The homeowner said he felt he followed the advice of bear experts in keeping his garbage inside the house, but the result was worse than if he had kept it outside.
He is now exploring a design for an electrically-charged storage arrangement, which Heerkens said have proven effective in deterring nuisance bears.
But it’s possibly time now to go beyond previous bear-control measures that have included posters based on the “Fed Bear is a Dead Bear” theme.
The main problem is still human beings, who must continue to be educated.
Too many people keep presenting marshmallows or other snacks to bears—even deer and other wildlife—or leaving tantalizing garbage unsecured.
Some of it has to do with people putting trash at the curb one or more nights before pick-up, rather than the morning of.
Heerkens said it must really be impressed on the public, especially camp-owners, that garbage cannot sit outside too far in advance of the pick-up crews.
He suggested locating a dumpster on the way out of town to make self-disposal by visitors and camp-owners more convenient.
Put bluntly, the Fulton Chain region is currently one of the worst in the Adirondacks, if not the worst, for nuisance wildlife activity, Heerkens said.
“Has the town considered any ordinances at all against feeding wildlife?” he asked.
Zoe Smith said New York state has wildlife feeding laws, but many localities are enacting additional laws more specific to their areas.
Heerkens suggested that a temporary light-up sign be posted on Route 28 into Old Forge—one with a warning against feeding deer and bear.
Heerkens offered to broker such a sign through the Department of Transportation if the town was willing.
Every avenue of educating the public must be pursued and onward into the future, he said. And then violators must be confronted with fines. Enforcement is critical if the public is going to take the law serious, according to Heerkens.
“It sends the message that the community is finally saying, ‘This is no good.’” he said.
Heerkens made it clear however, that the DEC is imposing nothing on the community other than advice and suggestions.
And he said he understands the culture—the camp owners and visitors that find it charming to lure wildlife with food.
“We’re just here to open up the dialogue and help you figure out what’s next,” he said. “Because there is a problem.”
And the problem is bigger than bear-proof cans and DEC intervention.
“DEC can’t just come up and trap everything,” Heerkens said, describing the agency’s limitations.
“We can’t get everything. When people feed them and make food available, these bears are getting rewarded over and over,” he said.
