Caribou-Targhee National Forest implements updated food and attractant storage order
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) — The Caribou-Targhee National Forest has signed a new Forest Order relating to food and attractant storage, which will be implemented immediately.
The last food storage order was signed in 2016, and this update brings the Caribou-Targhee National Forest into alignment with similar orders for all national forests in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
Food Storage Orders have been an effective mechanism for protecting public safety and minimizing human-bear conflicts. The new Forest Order dealing with food and attractants can be found below.
Many of the requirements of the new order remain unchanged from the previous version. Some of the key changes for the new order include:
- Requirements for storage or attendance of attractants are the same during daytime and nighttime hours.
- Electric fences are an acceptable storage method if included on the most current Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee Certified Bear-Resistant Products list, are installed properly, and meet the design and minimum electrical output specifications on that list. These fences must be tested with a voltmeter for proper operation at least every 24 hours.
- Horse or livestock trailers used for storing attractants may not have any openings greater than 10 inches in two dimensions and must have any food, refuse, or animal carcasses stored more than three feet from any opening.
“We ask all visitors to the Caribou-Targhee National Forest to familiarize themselves with the updated Forest Order regarding food and attractant storage,” Acting Forest Supervisor Steven Jenkins said. “Food storage orders help reduce adverse human-wildlife encounters with bears another species.”
