Bears, Fruit Trees, and Gleaning in Northwest Montana
This article was featured in the Bigfork Eagle on August 14, 2024.
Northwest Montana’s landscapes are a haven for both people and wildlife. Fruit trees can be a valuable addition to local gardens; however, black bears and grizzly bears need to be considered, especially once the fruit is growing and ripening. Bears in Montana are foraging throughout the year, but during late summer and fall they enter into a stage known as hyperphagia and their search for calories intensifies as they engage in a non-stop feeding extravaganza to prepare for hibernation. This is also a time when fruit trees are producing delicious meals. Bears are looking for low hanging fruit (pun intended), and uncollected fruit—on the tree and ground—may attract bears to the area and increase the likelihood of bear-human conflicts. Securing attractants and managing fruit production is crucial to prevent these conflicts.
Ensuring that fruit trees are well-maintained is one proactive way to minimize bear attractants and make for a better harvest. Regular pruning helps maintain tree health and encourages better fruit production. It also makes it easier to pick fruit and cuts down on the amount of unharvested fruit falling to the ground. Consistently picking fruit when ripe and removing any fallen fruit helps reduce bear attractants.
When a person has had their fill of fruit, it’s important to keep picking. Fruit gleaning involves collecting leftover or surplus fruit. Not only does this prevent fruit from going to waste, but it keeps bears from accessing it and making an association between humans and a food resource. For some, it is possible to collect fruit themselves and share it with neighbors or donate it to local organizations like food banks, wildlife sanctuaries, or cideries. Fruit gleaning can also be a chance to bring people together. Fruit gleaning programs organize volunteers to collect fruit on public and private property throughout a given area. Gleaning events can be organized through local non-profits or community groups, ensuring that excess fruit is harvested and distributed to those in need while removing bear attractants. Gleaning events can also culminate in fall cider festivals, showing off ways to use excess fruit. A number of fruit gleaning community efforts exist in northwest Montana, including the Great Bear Foundation’s Bears and Apples program in Missoula; Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks’ Northwest Montana fruit donation program in mid-September where all fruit is donated to the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center in West Yellowstone; and Facebook pages like Flathead Fruit Gleaning, Kootenai Fruit Gleaning, and Mission Valley Fruit Gleaning.
While fruit gleaning is an effective tool for reducing bear attractants, it doesn’t get rid of the attractant entirely. Bears will eat fruit even if it is not ripe. In addition to picking fruit off the tree and up off the ground, a properly installed temporary or permanent electric fence around trees will further deter bears from getting fruit. Combining an electric fence with scare devices such as motion-sensitive alarms (like Critter Gitters) and flashing lights (like Foxlights) can add an extra layer of protection for fruit trees and other property, while encouraging bears to move along. Bear-resistant garbage cans are another great tool to secure bear attractants and can even be used to store excess fruit before it’s donated.
If fruit tree maintenance and gleaning are too challenging or proving to be a hassle, replacing fruit trees with pollinator-friendly plants is a great way to prevent bear conflicts while supporting pollinators like bees and butterflies, whose presence creates healthy ecosystems. When choosing plants to attract pollinators but not bears, it is important to select species that don't produce edible fruit. Other non-fruiting native plants can be a good choice as well.
By understanding bear behavior, securing food attractants, and participating in gleaning, residents can truly enjoy the fruits of their labor: enjoying sweet snacks from their gardens, keeping their property and community safe, and keeping bears out of conflict.
