The Haines Borough Public Library and Great Bear Foundation, a Haines and Montana-based nonprofit dedicated to bear conservation, are partnering with other local organizations to create a volunteer fruit tree harvesting program.

Through the program, residents interested in having fruit harvested will be matched with volunteers, who will remove all fruit from the trees and ground. Edible fruit will be given to tree owners, who have the option of sharing a portion with volunteers. Rotting fruit will go to Haines Compost and the Starvin’ Marvin Garden.

“We’re doing this to help with bear issues,” said Tracy Wirak-Cassidy, education coordinator for the library. In the past year, Haines has experienced a surge in bear activity in town.

The Haines program is based on a similar Great Bear Foundation program in Missoula, Montana, Wirak-Cassidy said. In college, she participated in this program, harvesting fruit from trees to reduce attractants for the local black bear population.

The Missoula program proved successful at reducing not only fruit-tree attractants but also other household attractants, Great Bear Foundation executive director Shannon Donahue said. “Once people start thinking about fruit trees, they start thinking about other things on their property that could attract bears.” In Haines, other common attractants are chicken coops, outdoor freezers and compost heaps.

Wirak-Cassidy said she and Donahue had been wanting to start the program in Haines for some time.

“It finally seemed like the right time with the recent spike in bear activity and people looking for outdoor afterschool programs that are responsible and safe (given COVID-19 concerns),” Wirak-Cassidy said.

Donahue said she thinks the program is also timely because the pandemic has increased interest in food security. “It makes use of a healthy, local food source that would go to waste otherwise,” she said.

Wirak-Cassidy, who is coordinating volunteers, said so far, she’s been focusing on finding residents who want fruit harvested. Several have volunteered. Next, she plans to shift to recruiting picking volunteers, and said she expects the program will be up and running in the next week or so.

Local cherries are starting to ripen, and apples will soon be ready as well. Donahue said the goal is to get fruit off trees before they are fully ripe.

“Bears are really interested in whatever has the most sugar at any given time. They want to get as many calories as possible with as little work as possible,” Donahue said. “Once bears start coming to a property, they’re harder to get rid of.”

The program will run “as long as there’s fruit growing on trees and people happy to have it harvested,” Wirak-Cassidy said. She said she would like to continue the program in future years if it proves successful.

Other aspects of the program are still in development. Wirak-Cassidy said she’s working with the Haines Farmers Market to access the organization’s cider press for apples, and she hopes to set up an afterschool program to teach children about bear safety, fruit harvesting and cider making.

Those interested in having fruit harvested or in harvesting fruit should contact Wirak-Cassidy at [email protected] or by calling the library’s main number, 766-6420.