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BY DANNY BLEVINS

STAR CORRESPONDENT 

June and the official summer season are upon us. While some are enjoying picnics, hikes, and viewing the beauty of nature, others are getting serious about fishing, hoping to land a monster fish for the wall or for the stomach.

One thing is for sure, it is a good time to be alive.

Bears are well out of hibernation and I have already spotted two on two different occasions on forest service lands. The first bear was in good shape and would have weighed about 400-450 pounds.

The second one was much smaller and was probably a yearling that had been driven away by his mother. He probably weighed about 125 pounds and he had very little fat.

This is usually the time of year that the bears make themselves a nuisance to homeowners, campers, and anyone who is careless with food.

Keep all food, including scraps, safely away from where a bear can smell them. Avoid using your bird feeder, and if you grill outside, pick up all waste and remove any food waste off the grill.

Don’t keep food in your car because a hungry bear can easily break out a window and trash your car.

I learned this one the hard way one time when I kept bags of trash in my truck. A very large bear broke the truck cover’s door in half and trashed the inside and outside of my truck.

If you have an outside trash can at your home, secure it in some way that a bear cannot get into it. I have bear teeth marks all over my trash can, but he has never gotten into my trash.

If you are camping, put up all food and securely store it. Take any food waste a long distance away from your campsite if you are primitive camping and never leave coolers or boxes out that can be easily opened.

Enjoy the outdoors this summer but be smart with bears.

Bear proof your home, cars, and campsites and let the bears find enough food naturally.

It may save their lives.