It’s been a record-shattering year for human-bear interaction in Haines. Now, borough administration is asking residents to report the bear damages they’ve sustained this season.
The Haines Borough has had enough with the bears. Borough Clerk and acting manager Alekka Fullerton said she needs data to let elected officials know what Haines has gone through this year.
“We wanted to be able to paint a picture for them, not just say, ‘we have had this problem with bears.’ We wanted to really humanize it by contextualizing, seeing the damage that we’ve sustained,” Fullerton said.
Fullerton is asking Haines residents to let her know if bears have damaged their property this year. Specifically, she wants a description of the damage, how much it cost, and when it happened.
Then, she’s asking elected officials and state agencies for help.
“I think that our police department does not feel supported by ADFG and by the Wildlife Troopers, and I want to be partners with them. And so I’m hoping that this will be an invitation and to work with us in a better way to manage our bears,” she said.
Quick disclaimer here, Fullerton’s husband is a Haines Borough Police Officer.
She said she’s also hoping Bill Thomas—Haines resident and special assistant to Governor Mike Dunleavy—will make a case on behalf of the town.
She said she needs a better solution than shooting bears and spending the borough budget on police overtime. Law enforcement reports late night bear distress calls on most nights and dozens of calls reporting bear damage to homes, vehicles, and property each month.
“We need better education, we need better outreach, all of those things. I understand that there may be tools that we don’t know about. And I’m sure that ADFG has more tools, they struggle with this. They must struggle with this elsewhere and in other circumstances. And I just want more support and more discussion, and more resources, honestly,” said Fullerton.
Bears may be about to den down this year, but Fullerton said it isn’t too soon to talk about a plan for next spring.
“I don’t want to be in this position next year. And so I want to start having this conversation earlier, rather than later. I don’t want to wait ’til May to decide what we’re going to do about bears next year,” she said.
If you’ve sustained bear damage this year and would like to report it to the borough, email beardamage@haines.ak.us.
