Page 6 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • August 17, 2011 Franklin Lakes Borough council to push state on black bear issue by Frank J. McMahon The Franklin Lakes Borough Council intends to notify the state’s politicians that the governing body wants them to take some specific action about the intrusion of black bears into residential areas. A resolution recommended by Councilman William Smith is expected to be considered by the council at its Aug. 17 meeting. Smith said the resolution is intended to send a message to state politicians that they must do more about the black bears that intrude in borough neighborhoods and residents’ yards than to just annoy the animals so they will go away. “My analysis is that the problem is caused by too many black bears in the area,” Smith said, pointing out that this area has two bears per square mile and the highest concentration of black bears in the country. “The state has no way to cut down that number,” Smith said, adding that 700 black bears were killed in last year’s hunt, but more than that number were propagated. “If they catch them, I’m told that they just aggravate them and move them out of the area,” Smith said, noting that recently a mother bear and two cubs were found in a resident’s swimming pool which had a fence but a gate that was open. He described the black bear issue as political because there are competing groups who support or oppose state action to solve the problem, and any compromise between those groups doesn’t work. Smith said the only way to solve the problem is to kill the bears. “It’s a continuing danger,” Smith said, “and so a resolution is needed to protect our residents.” There have been several recent complaints from borough residents about the intrusion of black bears on residential property. Two weeks ago, a bear attacked two boys in their tent in a campground in Stokes State Forest. While the young black bear entered their tent and allegedly swiped at them, the boys were uninjured and the bear was shot by a wildlife technician and wounded, but it escaped into the woods. The next day, the bear was captured and killed by state environmental officials. That was the first reported attack by a black bear on humans this year, according to the NJDEP, and there was one in 2010 and one in 2009. Michelle Smith, a wildlife biologist with the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife, recently came to the borough in response to residents’ complaints and gave a presentation about the facts and myths about black bear activity in the borough. According to Smith, the black bear population is growing in the state with increasing activity in northwest Bergen County. Bears have been sighted in all 21 counties, although the most activity is in the counties of Sussex, Warren, Morris and Passaic. Smith said there are approximately 3,278 black bears in the area north of Route 80 and west of Route 287. Smith explained that the state will not trap and remove black bears from an area unless there is a serious threat to public safety. When bears are moved, the animals are only sent to the nearest forested area, from which they often return. Most of the calls her department has received from residents, Smith said, pertain to nuisance issues where a bear is rummaging in garbage cans David Smith, as seen on “America’s Got Talent,” will perform juggling tricks and amazing feats on Wednesday, Aug. 24 at 7 p.m. at the Franklin Lakes Public Library. Families with children of all ages are welcome to this end of the summer reading program celebration. This event is sponsored by the Friends of the Library. Registration is required, and may be completed by calling (201) 891-2224 or by visiting the library during regular hours. The library is located at 470 DeKorte Drive. Reading program finale or dumpsters looking for food that is inadvertently left outside, or sometimes set outside deliberately to feed the bears. Smith emphasized that deliberately feeding bears is illegal in New Jersey and the inadvertent or deliberate feeding of the black bears is the primary reason they come to residential areas. Last year, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner approved a comprehensive black bear management policy including the state’s first black bear hunt since 2005 to deal with the overpopulation of bears. According to NJDEP wildlife officials, bear-related complaints vary from year to year due to environmental factors, but serious bear incidents increased along with the rise in the black bear population. There were several encounters with aggressive black bears last year, wildlife officials said, when there were 1,261 black bear incidents, including 76 Category One (aggressive) incidents reported to the NJDEP during the first half of the year. The New Jersey Fish and Game Council designated black bears as a game animal in 1953 and provided a limited hunting season from 1958 through 1970. Based on data gathered during the hunting seasons, the state council assessed the bear population and closed the hunting season in 1971. In 1988, the state council commenced a population research and monitoring project providing data showing that the bear population could support a regulated hunting season, and reinstated a limited hunting season. Hunters killed 328 bears in 2003 and 298 bears in 2005. The hunting season was closed until last year when the NJDFW authorized a new black bear hunt. The NJDEP reported that there were 591 black bears killed in that hunt and since then reported bear incidents are down 47 percent this year.