Vermonters usually put out bird feeders to attract winged visitors who fill their yards with song and color. But they could attract a far less dainty visitor: black bears. <\/p>\n
As bears emerge from their dens in early spring, they\u2019re on the search for food. That can lead them to backyard beehives, birdfeeders, compost piles and even chicken coops. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re super adaptable, they\u2019re very curious, they\u2019re always looking for the next best meal,\u201d said Jaclyn Comeau, bear biologist at the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department. <\/p>\n
Reports of bear incidents in Vermont have grown steeply over the past decade, according to department data. While some of that increase can be attributed to changes that made reporting incidents easier, the rise is related to an interconnected set of factors, including changes in the state\u2019s bear population and in human development, Comeau said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have slowly been teaching our bears that our backyards are a good place to find high-calorie, easily accessible foods,\u201d Comeau said. \u201cThey have figured that out, they\u2019re not forgetting it, and we continue to keep reinforcing that behavior.\u201d<\/p>\n
The state\u2019s bear population has grown over recent years,<\/a> from between 4,000 and 6,000 bears in 2018 to between 6,500 and 8,000 bears in 2024, according to population estimates by the state. The latest count is nearly double the objective of 3,500 to 5,500 bears, as outlined by a Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department population model.<\/p>\n The time of year that bears emerge from their dens has also crept earlier and earlier over past decades, Comeau said, likely driven in part by a changing climate that has made Vermont winters shorter and less severe. In Vermont, the emergence has shifted about two weeks earlier over the past 15 or so years, she said, from around April 1 to mid-March.<\/p>\n That means Vermonters need to take steps earlier in the season<\/a> to prevent bears from making a meal in their backyards, by removing or bear-proofing potential food sources. <\/p>\n When bears get food from human sources, they often keep coming back for more, Comeau said. That repeated behavior can lead to conflict with bears, she said, and can be passed down generationally as moms teach cubs where to look for food.<\/p>\n After all, a bear in a yard today means more bears likely in the future. <\/p>\n That\u2019s especially salient in Vermont. Bears live everywhere in the state besides the Champlain Islands, according to the department. <\/p>\n Comeau said removing food sources early in the season can help head off conflict with bears throughout the rest of the year. That includes taking down bird feeders, storing trash and compost in bear-resistant containers and putting electric fences around chicken coops and bee hives. <\/p>\n Being proactive is the best way to prevent problems, Comeau said \u2013\u2013 and to protect bears. <\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t wait until the bear gets into your garbage before you find a more secure way to store it. Don\u2019t wait for the bear to hit your birdfeeder to tell you it\u2019s time to take it in,\u201d Comeau said. \u201cWe (humans) are playing a big role in this, and it really is up to us if we want to see less bears raiding our garbage cans and raiding our chicken coops.\u201d <\/p>\n According to Tom Rogers, executive director at Stowe Land Trust, human development is a driver of increased conflict with bears \u2013 and another area where human action can help reduce conflict. Rogers previously worked on bear-human conflict with the Fish and Wildlife Department.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are encroaching on bear habitat more and more,\u201d Rogers said. \u201cAs the state is becoming more developed and habitat becomes more fragmented, conflicts with bears, as with any other wildlife, are going to be more inevitable.\u201d<\/p>\n With their typical habitat fragmented, bears have to pass through human-settled areas more often, Rogers said, which creates opportunities for them to learn that humans are a source of food.<\/p>\n Stowe Land Trust, along with other conservation organizations, is working to protect corridors of land that connect large areas of forest, such as the Shutesville Hill wildlife corridor<\/a>, which connects the Green Mountains and the Worcester Range. Rogers hopes those projects will help reduce conflicts with bears, as well as benefiting a host of other species such as moose, deer and bobcats. <\/p>\n Rogers said Stowe has been a hot spot of bear activity in recent years, potentially due in part to out-of-state tourists who are not always aware of best practices to prevent attracting bears. He said it\u2019s up to the local community to make sure that visitors are educated about best practices, and that bear-proof infrastructure is in place.<\/p>\n Climate change\u2019s impact on Vermont winters is changing things for many other species, too, Rogers said. <\/p>\n Snowshoe hares and short-tailed weasels become white in the winter, which usually helps them camouflage in snow. But when snowpack comes later or disappears earlier, they\u2019re left exposed to predators, stark white against a brown landscape. <\/p>\n Small mammals like voles burrow under deep snowpack, Rogers said, which helps insulate them<\/a> from frigid winter temperatures. But if there\u2019s a mid-winter melt or rainstorm, that layer of insulation can get eroded, leaving the creatures with little shelter from the elements or protection from predators. <\/p>\n The complex and interwoven changes wrought by climate change on Vermont\u2019s landscape makes human choices about habitat even more important, Rogers said. <\/p>\n \u201cWe really need to be doing everything we can to protect the habitat that wildlife need.\u201d<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n