The bears who have taken over Cordova’s Mile 17 Landfill are reaching critical levels, according to city officials.
Dozens of bears can be spotted trying to feast on trash at the landfill any given day, and it’s only a matter of time before somebody is seriously injured or worse, council members said during their Aug. 5 regular meeting.
“Let’s take that someone has been maimed or worse,” Council Member Kasey Kinsman said. “What are those measures that we’d be forced to do if that did happen, and what can we learn from that and start implementing now?”
Cordova residents earlier this year voted to approve a measure that would pay for the installation of an electric fence around the landfill to help keep the bears at bay, but officials haven’t yet broken ground on that project. The city, which is required by the state Department of Environmental Conservation to install the fence, released a request for proposals (RFP) for a lead contractor earlier this month. The city also previously released an RFP for a project engineer, however that request yielded zero applications, according to Cordova City Manager Samantha Greenwood.
While there have been no reported maulings or injuries from bears at the landfill, council members say it’s not always safe to even step outside a vehicle there.
Some of the animals have become aggressive and territorial over their food there as well. The city found a dead bear at the landfill on Aug. 4, apparently killed by another.
“It was buried at the landfill with no issues,” Greenwood told The Cordova Times.
The RFP for a contractor to build the electric bear fence closes Aug. 24.
Council members are scheduled to select a contractor for the project during their Sept. 2 regular meeting.
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