With New Jersey being one of the country's most overdeveloped and densest states, the coexistence of bears and humans will continue to get more difficult unless we effectively manage our trash.
New Jersey must invest in practical, non-lethal management efforts so that humans and bears can coexist. NJDEP provided 3,000 free bear-proof containers, but unfortunately, that was just a drop in the bucket.
Our legislature must support policy that educates the public about bears, bear behavior and methods for reducing human-bear conflict, reduces the dependence of bears on garbage, enforces restrictions on the feeding of bears, and develops bear-proof garbage cans.
These non-lethal management strategies will ultimately protect people and bears.
We need to ensure that legislation like S765(Johnson)/A360(Stanley) stays strong and continues to include provisions that require corrective action when storing any food or garbage that would result in unintentionally feeding bears known to frequent the area.
Send a message urging your state representative to support bear smart solutions that will help reduce nuisance cases, increase public safety, and awareness!
