Graham Creek camping area reopens to public

No guarantees, but for now, the bears are gone.

Graham Creek, a popular dispersed camping area on the Coeur d'Alene River Ranger District, reopened to the public on Monday.

The area was closed in late July due to frequent black bear encounters.

"We enacted the area closure to discourage the bears from returning to Graham Creek. By removing campers from Graham Creek, the food and trash that was attracting the bears to the site was also removed," says Kimberly Johnson, Deputy District Ranger.

Jason Kirchner, Forest Service spokesman, said the situation was unusual because at one point there were four bears in the campground at the same time.

He said because there was so much snow in the high country, the bears were looking elsewhere for food.

The fruit trees and the smells of food brought in by campers likely attracted the bears, Kirchner said.

While people saw the bears, they were not threatened. Still, there were too many bears to let the situation pass.

"Fish and Game was concerned about some of their behaviors," Kirchner said.

Forest Service representatives hope that the lack of food and trash onsite has discouraged bears from visiting Graham Creek, about 14 miles north on Coeur d'Alene River Road.

In addition, huckleberries and other food sources have recently become available drawing bears away from the lowlands and into the hillsides away from the site.

"They feel like the threat has passed, Kirchner said.

Campers still need to be "Bear Aware" and are asked to store food and trash properly while staying at Graham Creek. All food and trash should be kept inside bear proof containers or locked vehicles while camping on National Forest.

There are no guarantees that the bears will not return.

"If people do not store their food and trash properly, do not follow Bear Aware protocol, and the bears return, Graham Creek may close again. We want to protect both humans and bears," Johnson said.

For more information, visit BeBearAware.org or call 664-2318.