Black Bear Damages in Virginia
Dec 17, 2015
Executive Summary
Analyze incidents of damage performed by black bears based upon county of incidence and type of occurrence.
POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS: providing more resources for counties
that are shown to have an increased likelihood for bear damage and conflict
changes in land use and zoning for those counties with a higher incident rate.
Goals
Determine which Virginia counties have the most incidents of black bear damage and sightings, as well as the various types
Obtain an accurate portrayal of black bear confrontations within Virginia
Objectives
Create map of Virginia counties
Convert data from raw data into .dbf table
Join data to county shapefile and analyze
Data
County shapefile VDGIF raw data for 2006-2007
PROBLEMS scattered reporting 2 different codes used on forms
Virginia Counties with Black Bear Damage Incidents
Vir
gin
ia C
ou
nti
es
wit
h B
lac
k B
ea
r In
cid
en
ts
Kayle Severin
0 25 50 75 10012.5
Miles
Counties with Black Bear Incidents
Black Bear Incidents
Counties
Public Safety Concerns
Wythe
CarrollSmyth
Albemarle
TazewellCampbell
Grayson
Bla
ck
Be
ar
Pu
bli
c S
afe
ty C
on
ce
rns
by
Co
un
ty
Kayle Severin
Number of IncidentsPublic_Safety
SAFETY
1
3
5
17
22
Counties
0 25 50 75 10012.5
Miles
Trash Disturbances
Lee
Bath
Wythe
Carroll
DinwiddieWise
Albemarle
Giles
Page
TazewellCampbell
Grayson
Buchanan
Pulaski
Madison
Clarke
Lancaster
Bla
ck
Be
ar
Da
ma
ge
by
Vir
gin
ia C
ou
nty
- T
ras
h
Kayle Severin
Number of IncidentsTrash
TRASH
1
2
3
4
8
15
16
75
Counties
0 25 50 75 10012.5
Miles
Property Damage
Dinwiddie
Fauquier
Albemarle
Page
TazewellCampbell
Grayson
Pulaski
Clarke
Bla
ck
Be
ar
Pro
pe
rty
Da
ma
ge
by
VA
Co
un
ty
Kayle Severin
Number of IncidentsProperty
PROPERTY
1
2
3
Counties
0 25 50 75 10012.5
Miles
Birdfeeder Damage
Bath
CarrollSmyth
Fauquier
Albemarle
TazewellCampbell
Charlotte
Buchanan
Pulaski
Warren
Clarke
Greene
Lancaster
Bla
ck
Be
ar
Da
mag
e b
y V
A C
ou
nty
Bir
dfe
ed
ers
Kayle Severin
Number of IncidentsBirdfeeders
BIRDFEEDER
1
2
3
14
61
Counties
0 25 50 75 10012.5
Miles
Crop Damage
Albemarle
Greene
Bla
ck
Be
ar
Da
mag
e b
y V
irg
inia
Co
un
ty -
Cro
ps
Kayle Severin
Number of Incidents
1
Counties
0 25 50 75 10012.5
Miles
Livestock Damage
Carroll
Wise
Fauquier
Albemarle
Giles
Tazewell
Bla
ck
Be
ar
Da
mag
e b
y V
A C
ou
nty
- L
ive
sto
ck
Kayle Severin
Number of IncidentsLivestock
LIVESTOCK
1
6
Counties
0 25 50 75 10012.5
Miles
Livestock Feed Damage
Albemarle
TazewellCampbell
Clarke
Greene
Bla
ck
Be
ar
Da
mag
e b
y V
irg
inia
Co
un
ty -
Fe
ed
Kayle Severin
Number of IncidentsFeed
FEED
1
2
4
Counties
0 25 50 75 10012.5
Miles
Other Damage
CarrollSmyth
Bland Dinwiddie
Albemarle
Giles
TazewellCampbellBuchanan
Pulaski
Bla
ck
Be
ar
Da
mag
e b
y V
irg
inia
Co
un
ty -
Oth
er
Kayle Severin
Number of IncidentsOther
OTHER_1
1
3
5
Counties
0 25 50 75 10012.5
Miles
Multiple Incidents
Bath
Wythe
CarrollSmyth
Dinwiddie
Fauquier
Albemarle
Giles
TazewellCampbell
Grayson
Buchanan
Greene
Bla
ck
Be
ar
Da
mag
e b
y V
A C
ou
nty
- M
ult
iple
Kayle Severin
Number of IncidentsMultiple
MULTIPLE
1
2
3
6
17
44
Counties
0 25 50 75 10012.5
Miles
Black Bear Sightings with no Damage
Smyth
DinwiddieWise
Fauquier
Hanover
Campbell
Orange
Pulaski
Fluvanna
Warren
Bla
ck
Be
ar
Sig
hti
ng
s b
y V
irg
inia
Co
un
ty
Kayle Severin
Number of IncidentsSightings
SIGHTINGS
1
2
3
5
Counties
0 25 50 75 10012.5
Miles
Relocation
DinwiddieTazewell
Bla
ck
Be
ar
Re
loc
ati
n b
y V
irg
inia
Co
un
ty
Kayle Severin
Number of IncidentsRelocate
TRANQUILIZ
1
Counties
0 25 50 75 10012.5
Miles
Kill Permits Issued
Albemarle
Bla
ck
Be
ar
Eu
tha
na
sia
by
Vir
gin
ia C
ou
nty
Kayle Severin
Number of Incidents
EUTHANIZE
13
Counties
0 25 50 75 10012.5
Miles
Analysis
Simple chloropleth maps Import data as .dbf table Join damage info with VDGIF
county table Join combined tables to county
shapefile
Analysis 2
Create new layers for various types of incidents
Select by attribute for each element and export selected features
Convert each new layer into individual chloropleth map based on number of incidents
Conclusions – Recommended Solution Stringent monitoring and
increased resources for counties with significant damage incidents
Include educational materials and trained personnel
Conclusions - Counties
SIGNIFICANT ACTIVITY Albemarle – 233 incidents Tazewell – 61 incidents Campbell – 42 incidents LOWER ACTIVITY Clarke, Page, Madison, Lancaster,
Bath, Giles, Pulaski, Wythe, Carroll, Grayson, Buchanan, Wise, and Lee
Conclusion - Problems
Problems importing tables Geodatabase would not work Editing tools would not work Data problems - confusing
Future Suggestions
Compare county population vs. number of incidents
Potential population growth Types of land use – i.e. farming
vs. urban Pinpoint more precise location
within counties for each incident Use more years in data
References
Jamie Sajecki – Black Bear Project Leader, Wildlife Division, Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries
Dr. Michael Vaughan, professor of Wildlife Sciences, Virginia Tech,
GISTutorial