Environment DEC
From the September 2006 issue
DEC Enforcing Bear-Resistant Canister Regulation
A canister can be attached to
the bottom of a backpack
DEC Forest Rangers and Environmental Conservation Officers have been patrolling the eastern High Peaks Wilderness to ensure compliance with the bear-resistant canister regulation. The regulation requires overnight users in the eastern zone of the High Peaks Wilderness Area to use bear-resistant canisters for the storage of food, toiletries and garbage during the period of April 1 through November 30 of each year. Violators of the regulation are ticketed and may be subject to a fine of up to $250.
Fair Warning
New York's regulation regarding bear-resistant canisters became effective August 24, 2005 after an extensive two-year public education effort. This effort included development and distribution of information through web pages, fact sheets, tip strips, trailhead signs, displays, presentations and direct mailings to more than 500 recreation groups, outing clubs, summer camps, lodging facilities, tourism groups, nature centers and information centers within the Adirondacks and across the Northeast.
The regulation defines bear-resistant canisters as a commercially made container constructed of solid, non-pliable material manufactured for the specific purpose of resisting entry by bears. These canisters usually are made of hard plastic, weigh three to five pounds and can hold up to nine days' worth of food for one camper. Canisters are available for purchase or rental at many outdoor equipment retailers statewide.
Canister Effectiveness
Black bears spend a great deal of time exploring for food. Intelligent and curious, they learn from experience. If a bear is successful in obtaining food through a certain activity, it will repeat that activity. If an encounter with a hiker or camper results in a bear obtaining food, it will associate campers or hikers with food. Once rewarded, it will repeat the behavior until it is habituated to obtaining food from campers. Habituated bears lose their fear of people and can become aggressive toward humans.
Bear-resistant canisters have proven to be an effective means for preventing bears from obtaining campers' food. Data collected by DEC during the summer of 2004 show that of the approximately 400 reported bear interactions with humans in the eastern High Peaks, half resulted in bears taking campers' food. Of the people who reported encounters with bears, more than 75 percent of them had been using tree hangs and lost their food to bears as a consequence.
