Education key to reducing bear-human encounters

As black bear populations across North America expand, so too are incidents of human-bear conflicts. But experts agreed on Tuesday that public education campaigns on living in bear country are key to avoiding problems. "An informed public is the most effective solution to most problems related to bears," said Jason Holley, a wildlife biologist with California Department of Fish and Game. Biologists from 25 states, Canada, Mexico and Germany shared status reports on bear populations and discussed challenges of managing bruins to coincide with people and public safety at the 10th Western Black Bear Workshop in Reno. The workshop, which runs through Thursday, kicked off the same day a 350-pound male bear was captured in Carson City. Wildlife officials said it was the second time in 11 days the bear was captured, but the animal was not considered a nuisance because it was not rummaging through trash or breaking into homes. The animal was tranquilized and will be released back to the wild today...AP

Name a problem, any problem or issue, and the politicos will tell you "education is the key" to fixin' it. I'm tired of hearing it. Notice how the "education" is always aimed at the public, shifting the burden away from the politicos and their misguided programs. It's a nice dodge they are still plying.

I wonder how much money is spent annually to "educate" us poor ignorant folks.