Alaska Fish and Game biologist urges Cordova residents to secure trash, reduce bear attractants

Charlotte Westing, a wildlife biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, told the Cordova City Council that bears commonly move in and out of neighborhoods and that human attractants — not merely population increases — drive most urban bear problems.

"Bears do not perceive our invisible property lines," Westing said, explaining that bears follow natural foods and human food sources across neighborhood boundaries and will return if they find a reliable reward.

Westing framed her presentation around common myths, local research and practical steps residents and the council can take to reduce conflicts. She described Cordova’s unified bear response team — which includes Fish and Game, Alaska Wildlife Troopers, the U.S. Forest Service and local police and fire — and said the police department acts as the central clearinghouse for bear calls because it provides 24‑hour dispatch and a call log that helps staff analyze trends after the season.

She discouraged moving bears as a routine response: evidence and local tracking show translocation often fails and simply delays the problem. "We don't move bears and expect them to survive better; moving them puts stress on the bear and the outcome is often the same," Westing said. She also said Fish and Game uses trapping primarily as a method to euthanize animals in urban settings when other options are unsafe, and that agency hazing (paintballs, rubber bullets or similar) is used only when attractants have been secured and the tactic is likely to produce a reliable avoidance response.

For prevention, Westing listed concrete, community‑level measures: secure trash (use bear‑resistant dumpsters and heavy lids), coordinate neighborhood efforts if one household cannot manage trash, borrow loaner electric‑fence equipment the agency makes available for poultry, and consider consolidated pickup in trailer courts where door‑to‑door storage is a problem. She said the department has demonstration equipment — including a loaner electrified fence and an electrified mat — that can change a bear’s behavior when used properly. "Once people put that mat out, it didn't even want to be on the same universe as that dumpster," she said.

Westing also noted legal limits and safety tradeoffs: discharging firearms in urban settings carries risks to people and property, and law enforcement seeks to avoid shooting unless someone faces imminent harm. She encouraged residents to call CityPD for immediate public‑safety risks and to contact Fish and Game for non‑emergency advice.

Council members asked about changes in the local bear population and Westing replied that call volume correlates strongly with natural‑food abundance rather than population growth; collaring and harvest‑age data can help but estimating an absolute population is difficult. She said last year’s high berry production likely explains reduced town activity in the most recent season.

The presentation concluded with Westing urging council support for city policies that reduce attractants and for public education to keep Cordova’s bears "wild and beautiful." The council thanked her and indicated staff will follow up on coordination and public information options.