On June 8-9, 2011, the Defenders of Wildlife hosted an informal workshop on diversionary feeding of polar bears in Anchorage, Alaska. Because polar bears are facing environmental changes such as a reduction in sea ice habitat, an increasing use of coastal habitat has resulted along Alaska's Beaufort Sea coast, placing bears in close proximity to humans for extended periods of time, thus increasing the likelihood of human-bear conflicts. The purpose of the workshop was to share information on the use of diversionary feeding as a potential management tool for reducing human-polar bear conflicts in alaska. Diversionary feeding involves moving/placing food sources (such as marine mammal carcasses) away from human settlements to reduce human-bear conflicts.
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