Bear Canisters Are Now Available to Rent on the Rogue River Trail

The Wild and Scenic Lower Rogue River and Rogue River National Recreation Trail draw tens of thousands of visitors annually to enjoy recreational activities including rafting, fishing, hiking, and backpacking. Wildlife viewing opportunities abound in this popular area—particularly the chance to observe black bears.

While viewing black bears from a distance is a cherished, sought-after experience, there is also a long record of human-bear conflict in this area. This summer, the area around Camp Tacoma and Half Moon Bar are especially difficult with bears active and habituated to human food sources. The origin of these conflicts is human-provided attractants (food, garbage, scented toiletries, etc.) made available to bears by visitors who lack knowledge or get complacent about bears and methods for keeping bears from gaining access to them. 

A consequence of how humans store their food and garbage often results in the habituation of wild animals like black bears who easily learn that humans bring them food by leaving it easily accessible to them. You may have heard the term “a fed bear is a dead bear”. This means, when bears learn that humans can be a source of food, it can put them into conflict with humans and often the human solution is to kill the bear; not a good solution from the bear’s perspective or if the objective is to allow the ecological systems which include bears to continue to function with all members intact.

To protect bears and other wildlife from becoming the casualty of the poor food management of humans and make recreating along the Rogue River more enjoyable for everyone, it is vitally important that bears not learn that humans can be a food source for them. With this in mind, Rogue Riverkeeper partnered with other organizations including the U.S. Forest Service’s Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, the Bureau of Land Management’s Medford District, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Oregon State Police, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Kalmiopsis Audubon Society, and the Humane Society of the United States to introduce a pilot program to offer bear canister rentals to keep wild bears wild and thriving in the Lower Rogue River corridor. As of May 2022, Rogue River National Recreation Trail hikers can rent a BearVault bear canister from commercial outfitter partner Whitewater Cowboys, located in Merlin, OR. The goal of this pilot program is to reduce human-bear conflicts, inspire personal stewardship, and foster human-bear coexistence along the Wild and Scenic Lower Rogue River.

Bear canisters are only $5.00/day and can be rented online at Whitewater Cowboys or in person at 210 Merlin Rd, Merlin, Oregon. 

For more information check ODFW’s website on dealing with black bears.

Special thanks to River Network and the Oregon Conservation and Recreation Fund for their generous grants that made this pilot program possible. BearVault provided a generous discount on the price of the bear canisters.