It’s springtime, and bears are coming out of their dens, but are New Jersey residents prepared? While the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection is taking a small step forward to reduce nuisance cases by providing some bear-proof containers, it will not completely solve the human-bear conflicts that can be easily avoided. New Jersey needs to adequately fund and enforce bear-proof containers in counties with a high population of bears, not just a few municipalities. Without this critical component, we will continue to have nuisance cases, even with a needless bear hunt.

Bears show up in human spaces because we’ve cut them off from access to their spaces. The bears of New Jersey need connected natural habitats, so bears and other wildlife can migrate and thrive without approaching human spaces. With our being one of the country's most overdeveloped and densest states, the coexistence of bears and humans will continue to get more difficult unless we effectively manage our trash.

Gov. Phil Murphy campaigned to end the bear hunt but has flipped on his promise. He gave up on non-lethal management efforts before they started. New Jersey must invest in practical, non-lethal management efforts so that humans and bears can coexist. The New Jersey Legislature also needs to move forward with legislation that supports effective non-lethal bear management solutions such as S765(Johnson/Zwicker). Spring is here, and so are the bears. New Jersey must be prepared, or bears and people will continue to pay the price.

The writer is the New Jersey Sierra Club conservation program manager.