By Morgan Simmons
simmonsm@knoxnews.com
The Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area is officially bear country.
Park officials say bear sightings are up, and so are efforts aimed at stopping nuisance bear problems before they start.
“Visitors to the park are seeing bears more frequently,” said Tom Blount, chief of resource management for the Big South Fork. “Over the last two summers we have really stepped up our bear management in terms of proper food storage and visitor education.”
Black bears were virtually eradicated from the Cumberland Plateau of Tennessee and Kentucky by the late 1800s because of habitat destruction and unregulated hunting.
In the mid-1990s the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and the University of Tennessee captured 14 adult female bears and 16 cubs from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and released them in the Big South Fork to test the feasibility of a full-scale reintroduction.
Biologists say the Big South Fork’s current black bear population stems from bears naturally migrating into the park from southeastern Kentucky and southwestern Virginia in addition to the experimental reintroductions.
The Big South Fork covers almost 125,000 acres across the plateau. Biologists say the area has proven to provide high-quality bear habitat in terms of food and winter den sites.
In recent years the Big South Fork has installed bear-proof garbage cans and food storage lockers at campgrounds. The park has new brochures on bear safety and proper food storage, and has sent out fliers reminding horseback riders that bears are once again part of the park’s ecosystem.
The main objective, said Blount, is to prevent bears from becoming habituated to people in the first place.
“We’re trying to stay ahead of the curve so we don’t experience some of the early problems the Smokies went through,” Blount said. “We’re basically implementing traditional bear management guidelines that help us balance visitor protection and wildlife management.”
Each year the Big South Fork draws about 700,000 visitors. As with the Smokies, autumn is one of the park’s busiest seasons.
More sightings are being reported in Big South Fork by staff as well as visitors. Park officials say there so far have been no incidents of bear aggression, though some visitors who have encountered bears have registered their alarm with the park.
“We have not had to deal with what the Smokies has had in terms of aggressive behavior at this point,” Blount said. “The comfort level varies from group to group. Some people see a bear in the wild and think it’s the greatest thing ever. Others panic and swear they’re never coming back.”
Morgan Simmons may be reached at 865-342-6321.