Rotary Report
Brian J. Stiehler
April 12, 2011
Rotarian and Jackson-Macon Conservation Alliance (J-MCA) Chairman, Robert E. Smith introduced Administrative Assistant, Debbie Lassiter and Board member, Cynthia Strain to the Highlands Rotary Club on April 12th. In continuation of Earth Stewardship month, Rotary continued the theme by having the two speak to the Club on the J-MCA's Bear Smart Initiative.
Cynthia Strain has taken on as chair of the Bear Smart Initiative, and started by asking Rotarians what kind of experiences they have had with bears. Incidents of bears getting into trash, grills and bird feeders are all too common in Highlands. In one instance, a couple living in Horse Cove awoke to find a bear standing at the foot of their bed! In conjunction with organizations such as Wild South, American Bear Association, Appalachian Bear Rescue, Highlands Audubon Society and the Town of Highlands, J-MCA has put together a great local Initiative.
The first ever Bear Smart Initiative was put together in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada. After thousands and thousands of bear incidents, followed by the killing of hundreds of bears needlessly because people thought they were problems, the community decided to start anInitiative. J-MCA has taken a proactive step to educate Highlands and Cashiers residents on how to live harmoniously with bears.
The program began this Spring because bears have just started to roam the plateau again, after hibernating a majority of the winter. Berries and food are scarce at this point, causing bears to turn to trash cans and homes for food. Bears are very intelligent, curious and hungry creatures. In the spring, a bear consumes approximately 2,200 calories a day. In late summer and fall, a bear consumes over 20,000 calories in a given day. In the mountains, seeing bears can be an incredible sight, particularly when they come near your home. However, after a bear finds food, like garbage, it becomes conditioned and then becomes a pest to the homeowner. Therefore, do not ever feed the bears. This means putting the trash out the morning of rather than the night before or only using small amounts of bird feed so it is gone by the end of the day. It requires residents to be creative in order to not attract bears. Do not plant trees and shrubs like blueberry bushes, apple trees etc that attract bears. If you do opt to plant those, keep them far from the house at the edge of the woods where the bears can feed harmlessly. Cleaning your garbage cans and grills after each use can also help. By spraying them with bleach or ammonia or apple cider vinegar can help cover the smell of food.
Bears are not tame and should not be approached. Keep your distance and respect the fact they are wild animals. If you are ever confronted by a bear, back up slowly, do not run and do not make eye contact. Bears are naturally afraid of people and are not typically dangerous unless provoked.
J-MCA is planning a Mountain Black Bear Festival on June 10th and 11th. For more information, please visit www.j-mca.org.
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Brian J. Stiehler, CGCS
Golf Course Superintendent
Highlands Country Club
PO Box 220
Highlands, NC 28741
(828) 787-2778