Jack "Found" Haskel, Desolation Wilderness staff

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE July 15, 2022 — New rules are being introduced at a popular hiking spot in the Sierra Nevada that aims to prevent bears from stealing human food.

Effective Monday, July 18, 2022, overnight visitors to Desolation Wilderness are required to store their food and trash in a canister designed to prevent access by bears.

Forest orders were recently signed by forest supervisors from Eldorado National Forest and Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, the agencies tasked with management of Desolation Wilderness. Their purpose is to protect lives of bears and visitors to Desolation Wilderness.

In recent years, bears have become more aggressive in their search for food, relying on human sources rather than natural sources. This causes increased interactions between humans and bears and the possibility of bears becoming habituated to the presence of humans. A person who fights back or gets between the bear and food is risking bodily injury or death. In cases where a bear is known to repeatedly threaten or intimidate visitors, or cause injury, the bear may be euthanized.

When a bear gets human food, it creates a mess with food packaging torn up and left scattered in campsites and along lakeshores. Sometimes bears eat the packaging along with the food. Rangers have observed food wrappers with bar codes in bear scat.

Backpackers at Lake Aloha, Gilmore Lake, and other popular camping areas in Desolation Wilderness have lost as many as ten “bear hangs” a night to bears in recent years. Visitors are left with no food. To continue their backpacking trips, many of these groups must hike out of the wilderness to get more food.

Typical methods of food and trash storage are no longer effective as wildlife has grown accustomed to humans. Whistles, banging pots and pans, yelling, nothing is working. Bears have adapted to even the most experienced campers’ food hangs and brought them down.

One of the principles of Leave No Trace is to respect wildlife. Considerate campers observe wildlife from a distance, store food securely and keep garbage and food scraps away from animals. A camper would be wise to check his or her tent for food in pockets, candy wrappers, and the like.

Backpackers can rent a bear canister at the Placerville Ranger Station when they get their permit. For more information on rental, call (530) 647-5415. They can also purchase a canister at a recreational outlet. Most bear canisters sold at retail recreational stores are highly bear-resistant.

Backpackers who are not in compliance with the forest order will be in violation of 36 C.F.R. § 261.58(cc) and are subject to be cited and fined.

The complete texts of Forest Orders 03-22-11 and 19-22-02 can be found at www.fs.usda.gov/eldorado and www.fs.usda.gov/ltbmu.