PANAMA CITY — Six public workshops — one of them in Panama City — are scheduled in the next month to discuss management of black bears.
The Panama City meeting, hosted by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, will be May 8 at the Panama City Public Library on West 11th Street. The public is invited to make comments on local bear issues and the workshop allows interested individuals to sign up to be members of the East Panhandle Bear Stakeholder Group, the FWC said.
“The FWC is excited about getting the perspective of local residents and stakeholders on bear management in the east Panhandle of Florida,” Dave Telesco, FWC Bear Management Program coordinator, said in a press release. “These workshops allow more interaction between participants and FWC staff than a regular meeting. We will be listening more than talking.”
One reason bears are wandering into urban areas is because they find an easy meal in garbage cans. FWC spokesman Stan Kirkland said bears can smell trash from a mile away.
The easiest way to deny bears food is to provide bear-proof trash cans with locks. There is no universal mandate for bear-proof trash cans, Kirkland said, because not all garbage companies are set up for them.
"In some counties there are a dozen different companies handling garbage contracts," Kirkland said. "We're urging people to contact their local provider to find out more."
The FWC last did a bear survey in 2002, which found the black bear population of Florida to be about 3,000 bears. In the east Panhandle area, there were about 700 bears.
Kirkland said there are more bears now. A survey is planned for 2014-15, which will include setting up barbed-wire enclosures around the state. The barbed wire catches hair, which FWC researchers then run through DNA tests to determine the bear population.
For more visit myfwc.com/bear.
WANT TO GO?
Who: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
What: Public meeting on managing bear population
When: 6:30-8 p.m., May 8
Where: Panama City Public Library on West 11th Street.
In addition to the Panama City meeting, the other workshops are scheduled for 6:30 to 8 p.m. local time on the following dates:
- April 30: Bristol, Veterans Memorial Civic Center, 10405 N.W. Theo Jacobs Lane
- May 6: Tallahassee, Woodville Community Center, 8000 Old Woodville Hwy.
- May 13: Perry, Forest Capital Hall, 204 Forest Park Drive
- May 15: Carrabelle, Carrabelle Auditorium, 1001 Gray Ave.
- May 20: Port St. Joe. Gulf Coast State College, Gulf/Franklin Campus, 3800 Garrison Ave.