Does Diversionary Feeding Create Nuisance Bears and Jeopardize Public Safety?
Diversionary feeding of black bears (Ursus americanus) around campgrounds and residential areas has received little study because of concerns it might create nuisance bears and jeopardize public safety. To evaluate those concerns and assess its effectiveness in mitigating human-bear conflict, we studied diversionary feeding at a U. S. Forest Service campground/residential complex that had been a perennial focus of human-bear conflict. Before the study began, 6 bears were removed from the complex in 1981-1983. During 8 years of diversionary feeding tests (1984-1991), the only bear removed was a transient sub-adult male that had not yet found the diversionary feeding site. Nuisance problems were greatly reduced throughout the study despite the fact that garbage continued to be available and study bears were intentionally habituated and food-conditioned. The study included 1985-the year with the lowest bear food index recorded for Minnesota. In this study and other examples of diversionar
