The Appalachian Trail Conservancy Strongly Recommends Bear Canisters

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You may have heard the expression “a fed bear is a dead bear,” an adage that unfortunately holds some truth. So much so that this concept has led to renewed policies on the USA’s most famed thru hiking trail, The Appalachian Trail (A.T).

Black bear populations have risen substantially in the last 50 years throughout Appalachia. In some areas populations rose from under one thousand to tens-of-thousands during this time period. With a return of black bears to their natural habitat, human and bear interactions are becoming more frequent. According to The Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s (ATC) recent food storage policy:

“In recent years, bears have returned to habitats along the A.T. corridor where humans had formerly eradicated them. For this and other reasons, ATC, land managers and the Clubs are receiving an increasing number of reports of negative encounters between hikers and wildlife, typically black bears. Most of these are related to bears attempting to access hikers’ food.”

When bears become habituated to humans they face displacement and sometimes, death. While bear canisters are not required on all sections of the trail, the policy “strongly recommends” thru hikers and other overnight visitors to use an IGBC approved bear canister to store their food.

“By using a bear-resistant container, hikers are minimizing their chances of a negative bear encounter on the Trail and helping prevent more bears from becoming habituated to humans as a source of food,” said Hawk Metheny, ATC Vice President of Regional and Trail Operations.

Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee (IGBC) Approved Bear Canisters for Backpacking

Products on the IGBC-approved list have met minimum standards based on a Grizzly Bear’s ability to access the contents. However, per their website “ IGBC certification does not guarantee that a product is bear-proof; nor does certification by the IGBC guarantee that a product will never be breached by bears or that small amounts of the contents of the containers won’t be able to leak or spill out.”

Here is a full list of IGBC approved bear resistant products. Products such as the Grubcan and BearVault® are lighter weight options that are popular amongst backpackers and thru hikers.

There are also several bear canister lending programs in Georgia and New England available for Appalachian Trail visitors.