Kodiak College students hosted a public forum Wednesday afternoon on the proposed re-introduction of bear viewing in the O’Malley River area of the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge (KNWR).

The afternoon discussion brought together some 30 participants and guest presenters Brian Glaspell and Larry Van Daele. Glaspell is the KNWR vistitor service manager and VanDaele is an Alaska Department of Fish and Game wildlife biologist who spoke as a member of the Brown Bear Trust.

The proposed change would allow a single commercial operator to take groups of tourists on four-day trips to the O’Malley River in South western Kodiak. The area has been closed to the public during the summer months since 1995 to protect bears.

Van Daele said the decision to partially re-open the area is based on research showing minimal impact to bears from structured viewing trips.

“When you have people going willy-nilly wherever they want to, it really disturbs the bears,” he said. “It disturbs them to the point where they can’t get the food that they need. But structured bear viewing — where it’s controlled — has about the same impact as a total closure. The bears can get used to people when people act consistently.”

The refuge operated its own bear-viewing program before closing the area to public access. Glasbel said that last year the refuge drafted a prospectus that would have allowed for both public and private programs. But he said the half-and-half proposal was rejected

“Both our own internal analysis and the comments we got from the public said this is not tenable,” he said.

If a new, all-private enterprise prospectus is approved, bear-viewing businesses could begin lining up to make bids this winter. The permit would begin in the summer of 2011.

Several audience members at the forum asked for details about how the permit would be awarded. By refuge regulations, the business that wins the permit will have if for five years unless it violates the terms of the contract.

Glasbell said a KNWR panel would rank perspective businesses in categories including staff training and accessible prices. The refuge also would favor local businesses within 100 miles of the O’Malley River and the Native corporation most affected by the bear-viewing proposal. The 100-mile radius includes the City of Kodiak, but not Homer.

The O’Malley River area contains the largest concentration of brown bears on Kodiak Island, and is the only part off the refuge closed to the public during the summer. Nationwide, it is one of a small number of refuge areas closed to public access.

“Historically O’ Malley has been this kind of a magical area where bears congregate for long periods of the season in large numbers,” said Glaspell.

VanDaele said archipelago-wide, Kodiak bear populations are as high as they have ever been historically. He estimated the current population to be about 3,500.

Kodiak students Adria Acosta, Emily Hurney, Alden Carino and Geremy Clarion organized the forum. Planning the event was part of English professor Jared Griffin’s technical writing class.

Also up for public comment — and briefly mentioned at the forum — are two regulations that have been less controversial: a ban on camping within one-quarter mile of refuge cabins and administrative buildings, and a ban on snowmachines in the summit area of Den Mountain.

A public comment period for all three issues ends Dec. 7. Comments can be sent to Glaspell at brian_glaspell@fws.gov, or by searching “Kodiak” on www.regulations.gov.

Mirror writer Sam Friedman can be reached via e-mail at sfriedman@kodiakdailymirror.com.