Grizzly bear damages beehive near Porthill
Unprotected beehives, like these in the Porthill area, are attractive to bears. On Tuesday, May 26, a young grizzly bear found some unprotected beehives near Porthill and caused extensive damage.
(Photo by TONIA BROOKS)
PORTHILL — A year ago, in May 2019, Darcy and Mandy Lammers experienced livestock loss due to a grizzly bear who killed lambs, and a few miles away from the Lammers’ ranch, another resident lost some sheep.
On Tuesday, May 26, a NIXLE alert went out to Boundary County residents to alert anyone signed up to receive email messages and/or text messages from the alert system that a young grizzly bear was in the Porthill area.
The alert read, “Advisory: Idaho Fish & Game Alert: Dear Nixle User: Be advised — a young grizzly bear has caused extensive damage to an unprotected beehive near Porthill. Ensure all food attractants are secured. Be bear aware!”
The grizzly bear is listed as endangered on the Wildlife Endangered Species list and is a protected animal. Grizzlies cannot be killed by residents for nuisance issues such as livestock attacks or property loss.
The Kootenai tribal office had hosted a few meetings to discuss a way in which a community alert system could be created and initiated prior to the bears waking for the summer from hibernation.
A few ideas were discussed regarding the information dissemination, with one idea agreed upon by most of the group assembled: bear alerts via the NIXLE system.
The NIXLE system is administered by the Boundary County Sheriff’s Department. NIXLE is a service that allows verified government agencies to send messages to residents who have subscribed to the system. It is free of charge.
Protocols for reporting of observed bears were discussed in late February during the Grizzly Bear Subcommittee meetings held on behalf of the Kootenai Valley Resource Initiative (KVRI) group.
“If you have a black bear getting into mischief, we would like to deal with that,” said Brian Johnson, conservation officer for Idaho Fish and Game. “It might be a black bear today, but if there’s a problem at that homesite we want to deal with it before it’s a grizzly bear at that homesite.”
Idaho Fish and Game would like to help those households that are having issues with black bears, or grizzly bears, in mitigating the circumstance of the contacts and limiting the attractants if able to do so.
Johnson explained there are more human injuries due to other animals, more so than bears.
The general consensus at the February meeting was agreement with the usage of NIXLE in getting the information to those residents who have subscribed to the public alert system.
The first grizzly bear NIXLE alert for 2020 was sent to subscribers on May 26 at 3:21 p.m. concerning a young grizzly bear in the Porthill area.
“The Nixle report went out,” said Rhonda Vogl, KVRI facilitator. “The program is working!”
If community members see a bear or are having problems with a bear, they are urged to contact the Boundary County Sheriff’s Office at 208-267-3151, who will disseminate the information.
The NIXLE service for weather alerts, emergencies, road issues, wildfires, accidents, etc. can be accessed by texting the ZIP code where you would like information to 888-777; for Boundary County, use the 83805 or 83853 ZIP code.