Looking for the bear necessities
By Nelson Daily Editor
By Timothy Schafer, The Nelson Daily
The popular hiking and biking trail above Nelson is now closed as grizzly bears are still lurking in the area.
The Nelson Salmo Great Northern Trail, formerly the Burlington Northern Santa Fe right of way, is closed from the entrance from Cedar Street in Nelson to Cottonwood Lake until further notice, said Joe Chirico, the Regional District of Central Kootenay’s general manager of Community Services.
“The closure is required to prevent encounters with grizzly bears which have been spotted in the area,” he said.
Conservation officers are still trying to trap three grizzly bears — a mother and two cubs — that have been wandering through the edges of the city in Uphill. Garbage and ripening fruit on the trees have been the incentive for the bears.
Two bears had been caught and re-located but they have come back.
The closure is in cooperation with the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation Officer Service and Wildlife Section, and the Nelson City Police.
