Grant funds Smokies bear cable repairs
A grant from the Appalachian Trail Conservancy will allow Friends of the Smokies to improve bear safety infrastructure at A.T. campsites in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
The $4,000 grant will support repairs to food storage cables at these campsites and shelters. Park biologists estimate there are more than 1,500 bears in the park, equal to about two bears per square mile. Since 2006, more than 60 percent of A.T. shelters in the Smokies have experienced some form of human-bear conflict annually. Thanks in part to this ATC funding, every A.T. campsite in the Smokies has food storage cables, reducing the chances of such conflicts.
The grant is funded by the ATC’s specialty license plate sales in North Carolina. It also supports seasonal staff and two wildlife interns who assist with cable repair, as well as other bear management and monitoring.
