NATALIE ANDREWS - Daily Herald | Posted: Wednesday, June 20, 2007 11:00 pm
Two campgrounds have been closed because of bear activity and the recent fatal mauling of a boy has the state on a bear alert.
One of the campgrounds is the popular Blackhawk campground, which is south of Payson on the Mt. Nebo Scenic Loop.
The campground closed because a bear has been getting into the trash, said Loyal Clark, public affairs officer for Uinta National Forest.
"There has been evidence of bear activity, but the bear has never been sighted," Clark said. The campground was officially closed Wednesday, but there were no campers Tuesday, Clark said.
The campground will remain closed until the bear is caught.
The second was at Ledgefork campground above the Smith and Morehouse Reservoir, about 45 miles east of Salt Lake City. A bear has been raiding camp leftovers there and might be losing its fear of people.
The Associated Press reported the campground closed Monday, after the report that 11-year-old Samuel Ives was fatally mauled by a bear.
The 11-year-old was pulled from his tent by a black bear while camping in American Fork Canyon on Sunday night.
According to the AP, officials believe the Ledgefork bear tried to raid a cabin in the area about two weeks ago and got a forearm caught in a door held closed by a woman inside. She also watched the bear put a paw through a window screen.
Sam's death has put the state on an extra bear alert, said Scott Root, DWR conservation outreach manager for central Utah. Sam's family hoped it would. They issued a statement Tuesday hoping more would be done to protect future campers.
To catch the bears, the Division of Wildlife Resources is using traps and cleaning up the campsites to make the traps look extra appetizing.
At the Ledgefork campground, they even heated a steak on a torch.
"We're taking some drastic measures by warming up the meat and creating an aroma," said Phil Douglass, northern region outreach manager for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. "We're trying to get that animal out."
Root classified the bear in Payson as a level two bear. If it's found, it will be tagged with spray-paint and then relocated 50 to 75 miles away.
The relocation is the bear's only chance, Root said, noting that it would be killed if it returns to a campground.
"Then it has just signed it's death warrant right there and we'll put it down," Root said.
Natalie Andrews can be reached at 344-2548 or nandrews@heraldextra.com.
This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A1.