What a shame the Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game had to kill the bears in Centennial Campground, which is being used as a homeless shelter. I went into the campground last week and there was food left out on tables and on the ground, along with outdoor cooking. People are wrongly “camping” just outside the campground with food in their tents and food left out in the open.
A few years ago, a tent “camper” near Centennial killed a young bear with a homemade spear; food and garbage was all over the place. In 2016, nine bears were killed in the Anchorage area by Fish and Game. In 2017, 37 were killed by ADF&G and citizens, and in 2018, over 31 bears killed, a lot in the Centennial area. What’s happening is akin to bear baiting, and bears are suffering the consequences. They can smell food from miles away.
Many East Anchorage residents are against Centennial Campground being used as a “shelter,” approved by the June 27 meeting at Centennial with Rep. David Nelson and Assemblymember Forrest Dunbar present. Using Centennial as a shelter is a bad idea. Certain people are now illegally “camping” in the outskirts of Muldoon, chopping down trees, making fires, drinking alcohol, leaving out garbage and panhandling. How many more bears will be killed in this area by the end of summer? Maybe it’s time to permanently close Centennial Campground, which is too close to homes and too much of a draw for wildlife in our residential area.
— Michael Harrington
Anchorage
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