The U.S. Forest Service and Sitka Tribe of Alaska are urging fishermen, subsistence harvesters, and visitors to practice bear safety at Redoubt Falls. Several brown bears, including two sows with cubs, are frequenting the lake’s weir.
Guidance from the Forest Service and the Tribe published late this week (7-30-26) comes after reports of several bear-human encounters and unsafe fishing practices in the popular sockeye salmon fishing area.
The announcements outline several fish handling and bear encounter best practices– never feed bears, avoid cleaning fish in the area, never leave caught fish or food on shore or unattended, and fish with a partner.
If you encounter a bear, speak calmly and loudly, stand together as a group, use an air horn if available, and be prepared with bear deterrent. There are often harvesters and workers in the area of the salmon weir, and both the Forest Service and the Tribe’s releases say firing warning shots as a defensive action should only be used as a last resort.
