Defenders of Wildlife Program Associate Russ Talmo installing a solar powered electrical system to help prevent bears from scavenging in The Ice Cream Place's dumpsters.
Defenders of Wildlife Program Associate Russ Talmo hangs warning signs after installing a solar powered electrical system around the Ice Cream Place's dumpsters. This finishes off a fencing project Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks that began in late May.
SEELEY LAKE - Russ Talmo, Defenders of Wildlife program associate, wrapped up Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks' bear exclosure project around the The Ice Cream Place's dumpster Friday, July 16. He electrified the fence adding the additional deterrent to hungry bears.
The solar-powered electric fence will have a joule strength of 1.5 and will push around 10,000 volts of electricity throughout its wires. According to Talmo, a structure would need at least 6,000 volts to act as a deterrent to bears.
The electrical aspect is intended to deter bears from climbing over the 16-foot by six-foot square structure. Because this portion is strung above the fence with a buffer in between, humans are able to avoid coming into contact with it altogether.
"Without a pain stimulus to deter them from wanting to go over it, they will just go right over it," Talmo said.
According to him, the electricity is meant to be painful but not injurious. With previous versions of electrical fences, the constant current could prohibit someone or something from letting go of it. However, with this new version it acts as more of a repellent and forces the intruder to move away from the structure.
The actual construction of the fence first began in late May but the logistics of funding the project as part of a $15,000 grant from the Missoula Resource Advisory Committee has taken several months. Portions of the funding will also go towards another electric fence near The Filling Station, a project FWP hopes to complete later this summer.
FWP prioritized these locations because they have experienced above average bear activity in the past.
FWP Bear Specialist Jamie Jonkel was in charge of the planning while The Ice Cream Place Co-owner Paul Daniels organized the labor.
Talmo said Defenders of Wildlife typically does 40 to 60 electric fence projects every year. By the end of summer the organization will have done 500 electric fences across its 11-year existence. To learn more about their electric fence incentive program for private landowners visit https://defenders.org/got-grizzlies
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