An area popular with hikers in Olympic National Park has also turned popular with some black bears, leading park officials to halt camping in the Enchanted Valley area.
According to the park, visitors recently have reported that bears have approached hikers in the valley and also managed to obtain and eat campers' food.
“Bears that eat human food come to consider people as a food source, and are extremely dangerous,” said Superintendent Sarah Creachbaum. “Sadly, bears have gotten into and consumed human food this spring in Enchanted Valley and we have closed the area to camping effective immediately.”
Several visitors have reported having seen at least one bear consuming human food and trash and others have described seeing bears that appear unafraid of people.
For now, the Enchanted Valley area is closed to all camping between Pyrites Creek and the O’Neill Pass trail junction. The six-mile section of trail between these two locations remains open for hiking, but there is no camping above Pyrites Creek or below the O’Neill Pass trail junction, park officials said.
Hikers walking this section of trail are reminded to stay at least 50 yards away from wildlife and to keep food, trash and all scented items properly stored and out of reach of wildlife at all times.
Enchanted Valley will remain closed to camping for the next 30 days. Rangers and wildlife biologists will continue to monitor the situation in the coming weeks.
“We will re-open Enchanted Valley to camping as soon as we are able to do so,” said Superintendent Creachbaum. “When it re-opens, the use of bear cans will be required for all overnight use in the area.”
Proper food storage is vital to maintaining safe distances between bears and humans and is required in all park wilderness and frontcountry areas of Olympic. Information about how to keep food and garbage safe from wildlife is available online.
For information about wilderness hiking and camping, including current trail condition reports, people should visit the online Wilderness Trip Planner or stop by the Olympic National Park Wilderness Information Center (WIC). The WIC located at the Olympic National Park Visitor Center in Port Angeles is open daily from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and may also be reached by calling 360-565-3100.
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Comments
I'm very glad NPS is closing the area temporarily rather than killing the bear(s) because a backpacker wasn't conscientious. When I was in the Enchanted Valley in June a few years ago, there were bears all over, but they kept their distance, and we and others were extremely careful with our food consumption and storage. It was a wonderful--enchanted--wildlife experience.
Thank you justinh, there is an interesting new book, "Speaking of Bears" by Rachel Mazur that gives an in depth study of bear biology and the NPS history of trying to manage bear populations in Yosemite, Yellowstone and other parks. A very interesting and educational read. Also, much thanks to Michael Kellett for his informative posts on snow pack in the Rockies. Having been involved in snow survey measurements in the Sierra in cooperation with the California Department of Water Resources for over 30 years, I found Michael's comments right on with my own training and experience here in the Sierra.
Thanks, rmackie. I'll check it out.