© 2025 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

After bear break-ins Great Barrington approves ban on feeding wildlife; fines up to $200

 Great Barrington, Massachusetts
Nancy Eve Cohen
/
NEPM
Great Barrington, Massachusetts

The Board of Health in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, has adopted a regulation against feeding wildlife, whether it's on purpose or unintentional.

The idea is to stop human behavior that draws wildlife, especially bears, into neighborhoods.

Bears will eat out of unsecured trash cans, or plastic dumpsters, which they can break by jumping on top. At times people leave food out on purpose so they can see wildlife.

The regulation is not a ban on bird feeders, unless they attract wildlife that threatens public safety.

State wildlife biologist Dave Wattles said bears will show up when they smell birdseed or garbage on a screened porch and break in. He suspects that might be what led to incidents in Great Barrington this summer.

"On multiple occasions a bear or bears entered homes," Wattle said. "Going through a screen and into the living space of the home. So, into the kitchen, getting into the fridge."

Great Barrington Police Chief Paul Storti said bears also broke into sheds and garages this summer. He said people have to change their behavior.

"When we create a situation for bears to have that food source or get comfortable in a residential area, it puts people at risk," Storti said.

Under the new regulation, the first time there's a violation police can issue a written warning. After the second incident there's a $50 fine. If there are subsequent violations, the fine is $200.

Stockbridge adopted a bylaw against wildlife feeding a few years ago.

Stockbridge Police Chief Darrell Fennelly said before the bylaw bears were walking downtown at all times of day.

"We were seeing them daily, nightly," Fennelly said. " I mean three or four different bears, but we were seeing them constantly."

Fennelly said since the bylaw was passed, restaurants secured their dumpsters and for the most part bears stopped coming.

Northampton and West Springfield also have wildlife feeding bans.

Nancy Eve Cohen is a former NEPM senior reporter whose investigative reporting has been recognized with an Edward R. Murrow Regional Award for Hard News, along with awards for features and spot news from the Public Media Journalists Association (PMJA), American Women in Radio & Television and the Society of Professional Journalists.

She has reported on repatriation to Native nations, criminal justice for survivors of child sexual abuse, linguistic and digital barriers to employment, fatal police shootings and efforts to address climate change and protect the environment. She has done extensive reporting on the EPA's Superfund cleanup of the Housatonic River.

Previously, she served as an editor at NPR in Washington D.C., as well as the managing editor of the Northeast Environmental Hub, a collaboration of public radio stations in New York and New England.

Before working in radio, she produced environmental public television documentaries. As part of a camera crew, she also recorded sound for network television news with assignments in Russia, Guatemala, Mexico, Cuba and in Sarajevo during the war in Bosnia.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

Related Content