TONGASS
NATIONAL FOREST UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE-FOREST SERVICE
News Release
Contact: Julie Speegle
E-mail: jspeegle@xxxxxxxxx
Phone: 907-723-3304
Date: Sept. 19, 2009
Closure of Glacier Spur Road extended until Monday
Juneau, AK – The U.S. Forest Service has extended the closure of Glacier Spur Road overnights until Monday morning as a safety measure following a bear encounter Friday afternoon.
Forest Service officials initially issued a road closure order for Friday evening to allow a bear sow a cooling off period after she was sprayed with pepper spray.
The road will now be closed from the bus parking lot to the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center, 8 p.m. to 8 a.m., both Saturday and Sunday evenings as well. Trails in the area will also be closed overnight both nights.
Acting District Ranger Barbara Adams said there have been no further encounters with the bear, and the road closure has been extended as a safety measure.
The sow and her cubs encountered a group of tourists at about 2 p.m. Friday on the Trail of Time. Tourists alerted Forest Service employees after the sow popped her jaws—behavior that indicates a bear feels threatened.
Forest Service employees acted swiftly to ensure the tourists and bears were separated, using blasts from a horn as a deterrent. When the bear lunged at one employee, he sprayed it with pepper spray. The bear and her cubs retreated from the area at that time. There were no injuries.
Information on bear safety is available at http://www.fs.fed.us/r10/ro/naturewatch/miscpages/bearsafety.html
For more information, contact Public Affairs Officer Julie Speegle at 907-723-3304.
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090919_rd_closure_extended.doc
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