Conservation and Education in Clam Lake, Wisconsin
Location: Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest in Wisconsin
Collaborators: US Forest Service, the Department of Natural Resources, National Wildlife Federation, and a wonderful charitable foundation that wishes to remain anonymous
Project Duration: 2007-2013
Project Overview
Bear Trust is collaborating with the USDA Forest Service in Wisconsin and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to complete a wild bear conservation and education project in the Clam Lake Area of the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. Our project addresses a timely conservation issue and provides innovative education opportunities for children.
Conservation Component of the Project
The conservation issue our project addresses is bear-human conflicts that arise when bears have access to human trash. Such conflicts are significant and ongoing in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, which hosts over 730,000 recreation visitors annually.
Bears and other scavenging wildlife can become quickly and tragically habituated to trash left by humans. Bears are resourceful animals that take advantage of easily accessible food found in trash cans. Some bears that become habituated to trash eventually break into vehicles, camper trailers, and tents. Because such behavior poses serious threat to humans, habituated bears are often captured and euthanized. A fed bear is a dead bear is a sobering slogan for any situation where bears have access to trash. The most effective way to end nuisance incidents, to prevent future habituation of bears, and to protect human life in bear habitat is to install bear-resistant containers.
Despite the obvious need for bear-resistant containers in the Clam Lake Area, the USDA Forest Service continues to be unable to purchase them due to severe budget constraints. Bear Trust recognizes that rural communities and public land agencies frequently do not have the financial resources to purchase wildlife-resistant containers, even when bear-human incidents are significant and ongoing. Therefore, Bear Trust seeks to recruit sponsors from the private sector to help pay for the purchase of wildlife-resistant dumpsters for areas where wildlife, such as bears, are prone to take advantage of accumulated garbage—usually to their detriment.
Update
In 2007, Bear Trust International implemented Phase I of the Great Lakes Region Project by installing eleven 3-yard, wildlife-resistant dumpsters at campgrounds located in Sawyer, Ashland, and Bayfield Counties. Specifically, the bear-resistant dumpsters were installed at the Day Lake, Beaver Lake, Black Lake, Moose Lake, Stockfarm, Namekagon Lake, and Lake Three Campgrounds located in the Great Divide Ranger District, in the Clam Lake area, Wisconsin. We held a dedication ceremony on August 1, 2007, for which the Bear Trust president was present.
Conservation Component: Phase II
During 2008 and 2009, bear nuisance activity in the Clam Lake Area decreased dramatically. The bear-resistant dumpsters have been a success! However, bears still frequented areas where regular dumpsters (i.e., non bear-resistant dumpsters) exist. Therefore, Phase II of the Great Lakes Region Project includes purchasing nine 4-yard bear-resistant dumpsters and four 32-gallon, bear-resistant containers to be placed in the following key areas where reducing bear nuisance behavior is particularly critical:
-Pine Lake Campground (Forest County): 2 bear-resistant dumpsters
-Newman Lake Day Use Area and Sailor Lake Campground (Price County): 2 bear-resistant dumpsters
-Two Lakes Campground (Bayfield County): 2 bear-resistant dumpsters
-Great Divide Ranger Districts Campgrounds (Bayfield County): 2 bear-resistant dumpsters
-Wanoka Campground (Bayfield County): 1 bear-resistant dumpster
-Rock Lake Trailhead (Bayfield County): 1 32-gallon bear-resistant hid-a-bag container
-Morgan Falls Trailhead (Bayfield County): 1 32-gallon bear-resistant hid-a-bag container
-Camp Loretta Trailhead (Bayfield County): 1 32-gallon bear-resistant hid-a-bag container
-Day Lake Picnic Area (Bayfield County): 1 32-gallon bear-resistant hid-a-bag container
Education Component of the Project
Bear Trust is deeply committed to education. One goal of the Great Lakes Region Project is to educate children by engaging them with innovative education opportunities. The Great Lakes Region Project falls under Bear Trust’s larger Adopt-a-Dumpster Program, which incorporates Education Programs whenever possible. As part of our project in the Great Lakes Region, we will provide free Education Programs to children in grades K-12. The programs build on wild bear research and meet National Science Standards. Learn more