Landfill in tiny Clark a draw for grizzlies amid deadly attacks on people in region
By MEAD GRUVER, AP, Star Tribune, September 07, 2010 [here]
CLARK, Wyo. - From a grizzly bear’s perspective, the small landfill in this tiny northwest Wyoming community might smell like a buffet dinner, with dead livestock and meat processing waste dumped in a pit not far from the other trash.
Environmentalist Hilary Eisen with the Greater Yellowstone Coalition calls the situation in Clark “very worrisome,” with only a short wire fence standing between the landfill and any hungry grizzlies drawn by the scent.
“Bears coming into places where humans are, such as garbage dumps or other places, and recognizing that as a food source, is one of the first steps toward creating a dangerous bear,” Eisen said.
Some point out that landfills with designated pits for dead animals aren’t uncommon and there’s nothing specifically about Clark’s that would make it particularly risky. Others aren’t so sure.
Grizzlies have killed two people within 50 miles of Clark since June. A grizzly seriously injured a man last summer a few miles from the landfill.
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department has trapped two grizzlies this year at the landfill near the Montana state line. The department moved them about 100 miles away to remote areas south of Yellowstone National Park. … [more]