Bear Reports sent July 4th:
• Shell Lake Bear—appears to be a juvenile male encountered on the southeast campsite on Shell Lake. This bear came into the campsite and was chased off three times with pot banging and finally rock throwing. The group strung noise makers (pots, etc.) onto the pack before hoisting it into the trees, but the bear didn’t return that night. Bear was estimated between 200 and 250 pounds and may be favoring his back right leg. Reported 7-3-2017.
• On July 2 around 4 p.m. a bear tore into a food pack on Campsite #34 on the South Arm of Knife Lake: the site is southeast of Amoeber Lake (in the bay by itself). Earlier groups reported seeing a bear but had no encounter. The unlucky group hung their food pack 10 ft. up and 4 ft. from the tree before leaving the campsite. They were gone most of the day. When they returned, they found their food pack shredded. A bear broke branches until it broke the one supporting the food pack rope. A tent was torn also (almonds inside). The group said this was a persistent and smart bear—even got the pack off the carabiner. Bear returned to the site while the leader was calling in the bear report. The group moved to a nearby site and the bear followed them. They were successful in chasing it off that time. In the same area, another group carried their food pack and garbage with them while they were day tripping, but a bear knocked over three unoccupied tents. That group was all girls. Although there was no food in the tents, the contents may have smelled sweeter than average ?. (Actually, still-packaged feminine hygiene products may have smelled attractive to the bear. Using unscented toiletries when in the woods is a good idea.)

Further Bear Reports:
• On 6/24 on the South Arm of Knife, Campsite #34 (again): bear came into camp while group leaders were making coffee. They chased it away by banging pots.
• On 7/3 on the campsite on the northeast point of Thunder Point a bear came within 15 to 20 feet of a group. Yelling wasn’t successful—only aggressive pot banging drove it away. The bear showed little fear and finally walked away slowly. The group stayed at the site another night and the bear did not return.
• On July 6th, a bear entered a campsite on the south side of the large island on South Arm Knife (Campsite 30) and got away with a bag of granola. It returned later that afternoon and was chased away.
• I’m attaching a bear-discouraging food hanging poster. You’re welcome to reproduce it and hang it up. If you have groups going into the South Arm of Knife Lake, please share these bear reports with them. Remind them of the importance of keeping ANYTHING with a scent out of their tents.
• Please report anymore bear incidents to me (not just sightings, but interactions—especially if the bear is successful or acts aggressively).
Other News:
• Please remind groups that they should not eat and take breaks on portages. Groups are finding landings crowded with gear and canoes while the owners are off picnicking. One example, a group leaving canoes and gear on the narrow landing at Prairie Portage while they were off eating lunch at the picnic tables. Groups were left to squeeze through their belongings.
• Walking behind a campsite to dump fishguts or burning food waste is sending out invitations to bears and other wildlife. And the people dumping are not the only group who will wind up hosting them. Encourage visitors to think about future campers and the shortened future for a nuisance bear.
• If you are having print issues: an update on Internet Explorer appears to be the culprit in most cases. Active has loaded an exe and a zip file onto your cooperator page that works for Google Chrome. After you run these applications, remember to allow pop-ups from your cooperator account page. If these instructions sound like a foreign language, call me and I can help you walk through it.
• Remember there is now mixed use of passenger vehicles and ATVs on the Grassy Lake road from the Echo to Mudro access. Please urge your livery drivers and visitors to drive the road slowly, anticipating ATVs.


Rebecca Manlove
Information Assistant
Forest Service
Superior National Forest, Kawishiwi Ranger District
p: 218-365-2093
rmanlove@fs.fed.us

1393 Highway 169
Ely, MN 55731
www.fs.fed.us


Caring for the land and serving people

Thanks for posting the info. It sounds like the bears are being well fed which makes it even more of a problem. This brings to mind another current thread - if you take your tents down and bring your packs with you while fishing or day-tripping, someone just may take your spot thinking you forgot your tarp and misc. equipment. If you leave it at those sites it may get chewed up by a bear.

quote Northwoodsman: "Thanks for posting the info. It sounds like the bears are being well fed which makes it even more of a problem. This brings to mind another current thread - if you take your tents down and bring your packs with you while fishing or day-tripping, someone just may take your spot thinking you forgot your tarp and misc. equipment. If you leave it at those sites it may get chewed up by a bear."

I'll take my chances with the bear.

I stopped at a campsite on Oyster Lake to find 2lbs of raw bacon and a pile of fish batter. These thoughtless actions are one reason there are bear problems. Needless to say, I didn't choose that site.

quote egknuti: "I stopped at a campsite on Oyster Lake to find 2lbs of raw bacon and a pile of fish batter. These thoughtless actions are one reason there are bear problems. Needless to say, I didn't choose that site."

I think those same people must have been at the bluff site on Lynx, where I found batter and coldcuts.

22 years ago my brother in law and I ran into bad bear problems on Ensign/Ashigan lakes. We had our food up in the tree using 3 ropes, and that litle bastard still made off with it in the middle of the night. The evening before, the same bear came into camp while we were cooking dinner, and nabbed our food bag. Thankfully that time, we were able to run it off and get our food back. During the course of all this, I caught a Boy Scout from a troop staying in the campsite that shared our latrine....putting fish guts down the latrine when I went up for a nature break:-(. I gave him a good lecture about that- and told him to DEEP SIX his fix guts in the lake from now on. Needless to say on that trip, we ended up going home after 3 days. Then on the way home the weld on the tongue of the trailer broke....good thing the safety chains were attached. It was quite a trip. This year, I am going back- it's my first trip back SINCE that fateful trip....I just hope things haven't changed much on the Fall Lake route- we NEVER saw bears over that way!

Thanks!