HELENA – Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks celebrated Bear Aware Month in September with many bear awareness events and a one-month opportunity to drop off expired bear spray at 10 locations across the state. Staff provided bear safety information at more than 15 events and reached over 1,000 Montanans.
During the month, FWP collected over 3,000 cans of bear spray. Regions 1 and 2 each collected over 1,000 cans of bear spray. The bear spray collected in this effort will be disposed of safely. The collection opportunity helps keep waste management workers safe by removing bear spray from the household waste stream.
"This is our fourth year celebrating Bear Aware Month with expanded opportunities to learn about bears, bear safety and practice with bear spray. We were impressed with how much bear spray was collected in September," said Danielle Oyler, wildlife stewardship outreach specialist. "It really shows how important it is for our public to have a safe place to take their old bear spray. I hope this effort also helps remind people to check their cans and replace expired bear spray."
Bear spray expires after about three to five years. The expiration date is printed on the can. It's important to replace your bear spray when it expires because the propellent cannot be guaranteed to perform properly after the specified time.
Bear spray has been commercially available since the late 1980s but wasn't widespread in the early days. The oldest cans we received during our collection effort had an expiration date of 1994. Some cans appeared older but didn't have a visible expiration date printed on the can.
Most of our offices offered this disposal opportunity for a limited time. If you missed the opportunity, you can dispose of your can by following your bear spray manufacturers' recommendations.
Remember to keep your bear spray out of extreme cold this winter. Do not store below freezing, and do not expose bear spray to high temperatures, as it is a pressurized aerosol.
Stay tuned for more info on bear spray collection opportunities next year.