Community Development, Research, and Education in Naknek and King Salmon, Alaska
Collaborators: Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Bear Trust International
Project Location: Naknek and King Salmon, Alaska
Project Overview
As part of this project, we will help two bear-habituated communities in Alaska become bear-resistant, measure the outcome scientifically, and use data from wild bears to develop education programs for children in Alaska and beyond. Findings and methods from this project will also provide a scientifically designed and tested approach to mitigating human-wildlife conflicts throughout the U.S. and elsewhere.
Needs Addressed by Project
This project addresses three broad needs, each of which correlates with one of our three project components. The conservation component of our project focuses on increasing human safety and reducing wild bear mortality in two financially-needy communities where bears are habituated to human trash. The research component of our project seizes the opportunity to test this management strategy, the results of which will be used to help guide effective wildlife conservation. The education component of our project seeks to inspire and empower children in grades K-12 by teaching them about science, math, and conservation. The education programs we envision will be innovative, hands-on, and based on real-life research.
Project Site: We chose the two communities of Naknek and King Salmon for our project site owing to their dire and timely need for bear-human conflict mediation, the research opportunities, the enormous potential for education outreach, and the financial need of the communities. The communities of Naknek and King Salmon are currently experiencing significant bear-human conflicts. These conflicts are projected to increase sharply during 2011, unless something is done to prevent bears from having access to human trash.
In Naknek, brown bears frequently visit places where children and the elderly live. Bears are common at the Bristol Bay-Borrough School (serving grades K-12), the Southwest Elders Home, and the Camai Community Health Center. In both Naknek and King Salmon, bears frequent apartment buildings owned by the local Alaska Native Corporation.
The need for minimizing bear-human conflicts in the Naknek and King Salmon area is so significant that this area was recently mandated by the Alaska State Troopers and the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation to install an electric fence around the dump site near Naknek. To minimize bear-human conflicts, this fence was installed in August, 2010. It is anticipated that during spring 2011, bears that have been habituated to trash located in the dump near Naknek will move into town (Naknek and King Salmon) and seek new sources of easily-accessible trash foods. Hence, it is critical to provide bear-resistant containers to these two communities.
Despite the real need for bear-resistant containers, these communities cannot afford to purchase them. Bear Trust recognizes that rural communities frequently do not have the financial resources to purchase bear-resistant containers, even when bear-human conflicts are significant and ongoing. Hence, Bear Trust recruits sponsors from the private sector to help pay for the purchase of bear-resistant dumpsters for such communities.
Key Areas Where Bear-Resistant Dumpsters Will Be Placed
- 1 dumpster at the Bristol Bay-Borough School in Naknek
- 1 dumpster at the Bristol Bay Borough Office
- 1 dumpster at the Camai Health Center in Naknek
- 1 dumpster at the Southwest Elders Home in Naknek
- 1 dumpster at the Cedar Village Apartments in Naknek
- 1 dumpster at the Lake and Peninsula School District Office in King Salmon
- 1 dumpster at the Bay West Apartments in King Salmon
- 1 dumpster at the Fox Creek Apartments in King Salmon
- 1 dumpster at the Taiga View Apartments in King Salmon
- 2 dumpsters at the FAA Housing in King Salmon
Scientific Component of the Project
Bear Trust and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) want to scientifically measure the outcome of installing bear-resistant containers. In summer 2010, ADFG attached a radio collar to one female brown bear that visited the newly electrified dump site in Naknek. ADFG will deploy up to eight additional radio collars as the opportunity arises when responding to problem bear calls in 2011. Weekly attempts will be made to locate all collared bears within the area immediately surrounding King Salmon and Naknek to evaluate movement patterns and response to bear-resistant containers. In addition, we will collect data on the frequency of bear conflict calls, and bear mortality, before and after bear-resistant dumpsters are installed. All data will be analyzed during 2012 to determine how bears responded to the installation of bear-resistant containers.
Education Component of the Project
Our children need educational opportunities that will engage and inspire them. Bear Trust and our collaborators have an incredible opportunity to use the data that we collect on research bears as a tool to provide innovative education opportunities for children. Because bears are charismatic animals, bears make an ideal vehicle for engaging children and teaching them about math, problem-solving, science, reading comprehension, biology, and conservation.
Education Program #1:
We will use the data collected from wild bears in Naknek and King Salmon to develop education programs for local students. One of our goals for Education Program #1 is to provide hands-on experiences for students and teach them about the excitement and process of science. We want to get students excited about learning! We will tailor Education Program #1 to children in Naknek and King Salmon.
For several years, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game has wanted to go into local classrooms and involve children with bear conservation, but they do not have the time or resources to develop the much-needed education programs. That’s where Bear Trust International comes in. Bear Trust will develop the programs and Alaska Department of Fish and Game will implement them into local schools. Lesson plans will be age-appropriate for children in grades: 1) K-2nd grades, 2) 3rd-5th grades, 3) 6th-8th grades, and, 4) 9th-12th grades.
Education Program #2:
Bear Trust is currently working on another education program based on wild bear research for students in grades K-8. Learn more
Project Goals
The Alaska Project will meet the following goals: 1) increase human safety and decrease bear mortality by preventing bears from becoming habituated to human trash, 2) provide critical information, based on sound science, to help guide effective wildlife conservation and community planning, 3) provide two innovative education programs for Alaska children, 4) foster community participation, 5) help a needy community, and, 6) serve as a model for other communities that exist in bear habitat.