(Asheville Citizen Times) The U.S. Forest Service on Wednesday issued a bear alert for three high-elevation areas in Pisgah National Forest in Haywood County after bears damaged tents and backpacks looking for food.
Bears have taken food from campsites six times in the past two weeks near the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Forest Service said.
Those incidents happened in the Graveyard Fields, Black Balsam and Shining Rock Wilderness areas just off the parkway. All are spots likely to draw plenty of hikers during leaf season. No one was injured.
Rangers were posting signs warning of possible bear encounters, and rangers planned to walk the trails there this weekend to talk with hikers and campers about protecting themselves and their equipment, Pisgah Ranger District ranger Derek Ibarguen said.
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