Clara Hoffman is Home Range Wildlife Research’s Research and Education Assistant.
Home Range research looks at reducing bear-human conflicts
The Methow Valley’s wild shrubs produced a more abundant fruit crop in 2023 than they did the previous year, according to recent findings by Home Range Wildlife Research.
Home Range scientists are studying wild fruit production as part of the organization’s Human-Bear Coexistence project.
“There’s been some research [showing] that bears get into more conflict with humans when they don’t have their natural foods to eat,” said Clara Hoffman, Home Range’s Research and Education Assistant. That conflict can take the form of raiding bee hives, bird feeders and trash cans, and even entering houses in search of food.
Evaluating the availability of native berries is helping the researchers learn how much food is available to bears and where it’s located, so they can better understand bear behavior and identify ways to reduce conflicts between humans and bears.
Citizen scientists
Home Range is a Methow-based nonprofit, founded in 2021 and specializing in wildlife research and field training. The organization’s berry surveys are conducted by citizen scientists — members of the public who volunteer to help conduct scientific research. Home Range conducted a pilot study of wild fruit crops in 2022 and refined its survey approach based on the outcomes of that research.
In 2023, 28 volunteers collected data about five species: serviceberry, chokecherry, elderberry, currant and dogwood. Each volunteer walked a different one-mile transect — a set route along which information is recorded — once a month from June through September.
The citizen scientists collected data about the presence of each species, its phenology, and berry abundance. “Phenology” is the study of cyclical events in nature, and in this case refers to the stage of fruit-production that a plant had reached — whether it was blooming or had green or ripe fruit, for instance.
Home Range also used game cameras to record bear activity along the transects. Using identified transects allows systematic collection of data about both plants’ productivity and the use of those plants by bears.
All five shrub species were more productive in 2023 than they were in 2022, when many plants produced few berries. Although Hoffman was hesitant to draw conclusions based on the data collected over the last two field seasons, she did note a correlation between the poor 2022 berry crop and a high incidence of human-bear conflicts that year.
“Anecdotally, we’ve heard of a lot less conflict this year,” she said. She’s hopeful that in the current year, “we’ll see bears going into the winter nice and fat and coming out of the winter in good condition.” Ending the winter in good condition is important because bears who are hungry when they emerge from hibernation may be more likely to come into conflict with humans, Hoffman said.
Serviceberry was the most abundant of the five shrub species surveyed by Home Range’s citizen scientists during their 2023 berry surveys. The five vertical bars show how frequently the volunteers spotted each species. The colored blocks that compose the bars show how many plants of each species exhibited high, medium, or low crop success, or were barren.
Bear awareness
Home Range is currently developing a Bear Aware Community Assessment for the Methow, in partnership with Defenders of Wildlife, a national conservation organization. As part of the assessment, Home Range conducted a Back Yard Survey earlier this year to evaluate the presence of bear attractants around human habitations.
The organization will incorporate the results of that survey, along with wild fruit data and the outcomes of other monitoring activity, in a report that the scientists expect to issue by the end of the year. Hoffman and her fellow researchers are also working with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and expect to receive more concrete conflict data from the agency, which will further inform the assessment.
The document will include analyses and recommendations that can provide guidance to community leaders, waste managers, conservation groups, land and wildlife management agencies and landowners. Hoffman hopes it will be a resource for “anybody who lives in the valley” who would like to learn more about bears and how to co-exist with them. Home Range is also collaborating with other local organizations to educate residents about living in bear country.
Home Range researchers will continue to collect data about wild fruit production, and are “always looking for folks to come walk transects,” said Hoffman. If you’re interested in volunteering as a citizen scientist, you can find a volunteer intake form at www.homerange.org/community/get-involved/volunteer. Home Range will contact volunteers for the bear project next spring.
