Roads closed in some national forests in Idaho to
protect grizzly bears are really wide open to anyone driving a
motorcycle or all-terrain vehicle, says the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service. The agency conducted an unannounced inspection of about 80
gates in the state’s Panhandle National Forest this fall and found
nearly 90 percent of the gates passable by motorcycles and 60
percent by all terrain vehicles, reports the Casper Star-Tribune.
“I don’t think you can make a gate that is foolproof, but we think
some of them could be improved,” says Fish and Wildlife biologist
Bob Hallock. Forest Service officials, angered by the surprise
inspection, say they rely on signs to discourage ORVers. The
Panhandle’s grizzlies pay the price when roads stay open that are
supposed to be closed. The area’s 45 or more bears either shy away
from people, which reduces the animals’ foraging range, or become
habituated to them, which increases the risk of human-bear
encounters, say federal wildlife
officials.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Are bears de-fenceless?.
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