The resolution will be heard at Tuesday's Anchorage Assembly meeting.

The resolution puts some assembly members at odds with Alaska Department of Fish and Game officials.

On one side of the table is Starr, who represents Eagle River on the Anchorage Assembly. He sees the increased presence of bears as a threat to public safety and people's enjoyment of developed trails.

Across the table is Alaska Fish and Game Southcentral area biologist Rick Sinnott, who says man's expansion into bear's habitat is the cause of increased encounters.

The proposed wildlife safety specialist would be responsible for hazing bears with pepper spray or rubber bullets to chase them from urban areas. Using lethal force on a bear also would be an option.

“I'm not advocating the killing of every bear that comes to town,” Starr said. “But in the cases when hazing doesn't scare a bear away and when the bear is posing a direct threat to public safety, we're left with little choice other than to kill the bear.”

Starr said under his proposal the city would be able to respond quicker than fish and game.

“The city needs to be in a position where it can take immediate action to protect public safety and not just put up signs that say there is a bear in the area,” Starr said.

Sinnott said the problem is not the response time from his agency, rather he says humans need to better understand bear behavior and take precautions such as closing hiking trails for a portion of the year.

“More often than not the encounters and attacks by bears happen when people startle bears doing what bears do,” Sinnott said. “Each of the four attacks this summer happened near salmon spawning streams, where the bears were looking for food. Two happened in the dark and one happened on a trail that had been closed because of a previous mauling.

“The attacks were not because the bears were being aggressive,” Sinnott said. “The attacks happened because the bears were surprised by humans and they were defending their space.”

Finding a way to prevent future negative encounters with bears is what both Sinnott and Starr hope to accomplish.

“There is room to work on this issue,” Sinnott said. “Getting the public involved in the conversation through the public hearing process is a good place to start.”

Starr says there are two distinct issues at play when it comes to bears: wildlife management and public safety.

“Fish and Game's primary goal is wildlife management and the focus of the resolution is on public safety. I think by sitting down and working together we can come to a solution that is mutually beneficial to both sides,” Starr said.

The public hearing will give the Anchorage citizens an opportunity to share their thoughts on urban bear management. Tuesday's assembly meeting begins at 5 p.m. in assembly chambers at the Loussac Library in Anchorage.

This article published in The Alaska Star on Thursday, December 11, 2008.