DNR launches app to track bear sightings in southern, western Minnesota

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources wants the public's help to track an expanding black bear population across the state.

Minnesota's black bear range has been slowly expanding southward and westward, according to the DNR. To better understand and document those changes, the DNR has launched a new app on its website to gather information about bear sightings in southern and western parts of the state.

DNR officials said the purpose of the new app is not to report a nuisance bear, but rather to mark areas outside the primary range where bears — in particular female bears and cubs — have traveled.

"Nearly all of these far-roaming bears are presumed to be wandering male bears, but one purpose of gathering sightings on the website is to find out how far from the primary range the females have expanded," Dave Garshelis, the Minnesota DNR's bear project leader, said in a news release. "The reporting tool enables sightings of bears with cubs to be logged."

While Minnesota's primary bear range covers about 40 percent of the state — mostly in the northern forests — the DNR reports a few bears have been seen near the North Dakota and Iowa borders as well as in the Twin Cities metro area. The DNR is only looking for sightings from outside the primary range.

The new web app also allows residents to record information about whether bears are feeding on natural foods, or non-natural foods such as birdfeeders or crops. The app will be disabled for several weeks each year prior to and during hunting seasons, the DNR said.

To report a bear sighting outside the primary range, an observer can zoom in on the map provided and mark the location. There's no need to enter a specific address.

"All information about the identity of people registering a sighting is considered private data and will only be used by DNR staff when it is necessary to verify an unusual sighting," the DNR reported.

"Hunters have long contributed information about bears to assist our management program," Garshelis said. "This is the first time we're asking all of the 'citizen scientists' in the public to help."