Bear encounter causes camping restrictions
Graveyard Fields is closed to overnight camping following a bear break-in to a tent in the popular recreation area, and the U.S. Forest Service is also requiring campers to use bear canisters in adjacent public lands.
According to a U.S. Forest Service press release, the bear entered the tent and took a hiker’s backpack. Though no injuries resulted, the potential was there.
That’s not the only bear-human interaction that’s been reported to the Forest Service recently. They’ve fielded numerous calls about bears getting food from backcountry campers, so commercially made bear canisters are now required in the adjacent Shining Rock Wilderness, Black Balsam, Sams Knob and Flat Laurel Creek areas.
“In springtime bears are opportunistically looking for food that campers and trail users bring on their trips,” said Pisgah District Ranger Derek Ibarguen. “Black bear attacks on people are rare, but when we do have encounters we do our best to break the cycle of success so the bears do not become habituated to humans — protecting both our visitors and the bears.”
Over the next few weeks, the Forest Service will monitor the area — located at mile 418 of the Blue Ridge Parkway between the intersections with U.S. 276 and N.C. 215 — and decide when it’s safe to reopen the area to overnight camping. Day use is still allowed.
Read up on bear safety online at www.fs.usda.gov/main/r8/recreation/safety-ethics. 828.877.3265.
