The Bear Smart Initiative is a community initiative sponsored by the Jackson–Macon Conservation Alliance (J-MCA), a nonprofit organization that was formed in hopes of bringing like minded people together who agree on the cause of conserving and protecting the Southern Appalachian Mountains Mountains of Western North Carolina. J-MCA was established in the year 2000 with an office in Highlands, North Carolina. As stated on the welcoming page of their website, the Cashiers-Highlands plateau is a unique ecosystem and as anyone from the area knows, is a Mecca for tourists almost year around. With tourists and residents alike cause a need for protective initiatives to be set into place not only for those residing in the area but also for the wildlife, namely the black bears of the area.
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Mission Statement
The J-MCA hopes to address things such as species protection, water, air and light pollution control, loss of forest lands and habitats and local climate degradation. Each year they take steps to establish committees and organize forums, newsletters, and workshops all in hopes of spreading awareness and educating the public about issues that concern the area.
The Initiative
The Bear Smart Initiative has stemmed from the emergence of black bears in neighborhoods around the area over the last few years. The bears have been attracted to such things as dumpsters and food being left out at homes. Bears became a nuisance when they kept returning to these sites to look for food, not to mention that when they have cubs they teach them the same actions, so the problems pass from generation to generation. Not only is this bad for people in the area that have to deal with the bears, but it is also unhealthy for the bears and can ultimately lead to their deaths. With so many communities, gated and not, as well as the many country clubs in the Highlands and Cashiers area, a nuisance has quickly grown into a problem. BearSmart looks to address these issues.
There has not been any legislative measures passed yet but steps are being taken. Currently, they are going through the process of approaching trust holders for acquiring grants and resources. For this step, they have approached those who have the means to support such an initiative along with the interest to do so. This includes those who live at country clubs or own local businesses.
The next step, and likely the most important one, focuses on the education of the public. The J-MCA has held public forums, one as recent as September 13, 2010. The turnout was a large one and most in attendance were very receptive and acknowledged that the bears have become a problem in the area (Lassiter). The information given to the public can be found in the small brochures that are floating around in Highlands. It provides information like the kind that is provided above but also suggests some rules to follow as well:
Bears are often attracted to bird feeders. Even though the black bears around western North Carolina are rarely aggressive it is best not to put one's self in a position to find out first hand. The brochures that are circulating also give suggestions of how to react in encounters with a bear:
Current progress
The J-MCA has partnered with Wild South, located in Asheville, North Carolina, to approach the legislative process. Wild South is also a grassroots, non-profit organization that wishes to inspire people around the area to enjoy and protect the surroundings. A large part of their values as stated is to encourage responsible behavior among those who uses the land. John Edwards, who was once on the board at J-MCA, but has since moved on to become the coordinator for Mountain Wilderness Days, which is sponsored by Wild South, is an advocate for educating children and wishes to promote sportsman like behavior from an early age and fix poor hunting practices.
A poor hunting practice could be the act of using dogs. Hunters use dogs to track bears and tree them then of course go on to kill them. J-MCA does not wish to hinder the hunters, but they do believe that it is unfair to train a dog to track and corner a bear to be killed. Aside from this there have also been complaints of dogs entering neighborhoods. There are many documented cases of people being attacked by dogs and the concern here is that these dogs are trained to hunt and that could make them even more dangerous. Many around the area however believe that this trend will die out without legislation being passed.
Another concern to J-MCA is the technique used to train these dogs to hunt called “bear baying”, where a bear is declawed and tied to a fence. The hunter then turns the dogs on it to maul it and develop a smell for the animal. The only state that allows this is South Carolina, but it likely happens locally too and goes undetected.
A meeting took place in Waynesville, North Carolina, fairly recently to address such problems. The parties involved were the J-MCA, the General Assembly of North Carolina, members of the North Carolina House of Representatives, Smoky Mountain sportsmen, Bob Gudgers, and Wild South. The North Carolina Wildlife Federation declined the invitation. General ideas were passed around, and Miss Lassiter implicated that the meeting went well. Some of the parties were cautious, but did agree to meet again. Since the initiative is fairly new there has been no legislative passed yet and it is still being discussed. The outlook is positive when the statistics of poaching is examined and shows a steady increase of incidents in the area and people are beginning to develop the desire to quell these actions.
Controversy
Seemingly the biggest problem with an initiative like this one comes from the side of the hunters who believe that the J-MCA wants to do away with hunting. According to the J-MCA they would rather advocate for a “fair-chase” style of hunting. There are in fact specific guidelines that the champions of this style live by like:
Restrictions of killing a bear
Even the North Carolina Wildlife Federation seems to be at least somewhat interested in promoting better hunting techniques despite the fact that they declined the invitation to attend the meeting that was formed to discuss the BearSmart initiative. In the fall 2010 edition of their journal they specifically focused on the Sportsman Responsibility Doctrine, saying:
NCWF pledges to work in cooperation with hunting and fishing groups, the general public, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, and the General Assembly to develop a slate of amendments to the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Law and implementing rules to be known as the “Sportsman Responsibility Doctrine”.
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The doctrine will address the image and behavior of hunters and anglers in the State to the end that conflicts among hunters and anglers, landowners, and the general public will be minimized and the traditional heritage of hunting and fishing within North Carolina will be preserved. —"Resolving to Fight for Wildlife". North Carolina Wildlife Federation Journal: Wild Lives, Wild Places (2010)