Trouble bear

July 23, 2026 New York DEC is closing several campsites in the St Regis Canoe Area due to a nuisance bear.

DEC says paddlers should avoid the Western and Northern shores of Long Pond and avoid sites 5 thru 11. The bear has been approaching people looking for food and exhibiting minimal fear of humans and doesn't seem to be deterred by things like bear spray and loud noises.

If that happened in Alaska, we would be told to grab our guns in case the bear approached us. I have been told twice in the 42 years I have lived here to grab my gun because of a bear in the campground.

This was due to the improper disposal of food refuse. Bears in wilderness areas are disposed of every year due to negligence by visitors and the misuse of campsites.

Black bear meat is quite delicious. Problem solved.

Steve in Idaho said:

Black bear meat is quite delicious. Problem solved.

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I dunno for sure but that might depend heavily upon what he's been eating. I've had bear & I like it but squirrels are tasty here too (where they feast upon acorns, various nuts and lots of corn). Further north where they eat nothing but pine cones, they are said to taste like turpentine.

Not sure I wanna eat a garbage dump bear. Also not sure how you'd rehabilitate him to stop seeing people as a readily available food source.

Gamma1214 said:

Not sure I wanna eat a garbage dump bear.

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I'm assuming it hasn't been a nuisance bear for long. Usually around here, that starts when the berry crop fails or a fire drives them into civilized areas. But of course, our bears are used to being hunted, so aren't as likely to be habituated dumpster divers.

The New York DEC euthanized this nuisance bear yesterday per its black bear protocol. Sadly, this bear ultimately died because of its learned behavior caused by a small minority of people who failed to follow proper food security and storage procedures in a high-use backcountry area.