Bears and Apples--what you can do...

You can help the bears by gleaning your fruit trees. Be a part of the Great Bear Foundation's 2010 Apple Project.

Things you should know and do:

Stay 300 ft or more away (that's a football field).
Properly store garbage in dumpsters and cans.
Do not feed the bears--even bird feeders and livestock feeds attract bears, teaching them fatal habits.
Pick up apples and other fruit that has fallen.

--If you need help with picking up fruit and gleaning call the Great Bear Foundation . All the fruit they glean goes to the Missoula Food Bank. To volunteer or get help call Chuck or Christina at 829-9378.

--If you are concerned about bears in your neighborhood, call Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks at 542-5500.

How often do bears venture into town? I've lived hear for eight years and have seen several on the news, but never ran into any.

Good Question. Charles Jonkel would be the one to ask. He started the Great Bear Foundation and is Missoula's resident expert. He's at the Farmer's Market near the railroad almost every Saturday, making the flower leis.

Garden City Harvest now also has a fruit gleaning program in full swing...

Too many fruit trees to keep up with in your yard?  Garden City Harvest will pick them for free and put them to good use!

Give us a call and we will schedule a time with you to gather the fruit from your yard (picking the tree and cleaning the fruit from the ground), sending it to the Food Bank or pressing it for cider.  Great way to put that fruit to good use AND reduce negative bear interactions in your neighborhood.

Call soon -- the fruit is prime for picking now!  Call Zach at 543-4992.