Bearing with bears and other wild critters is all a part of living in the mountains of East Tennessee. With the Cherokee National Forest all around us, encounters with animals are expected. But what I didn’t expect was a bear in my garage.
Yes, just a few days ago we found evidence that a bear was indeed in our garage. We didn’t actually see the bear but no doubt he was there. He ate all the cat food in the automatic feeder then tossed the container about 15 feet away. Next, he opened one of the garbage bags and left a trail of trash up the mountain behind our house. His giant footprints smashed down the tall grass on the way up.
In full confession, it was our fault that the bear entered the garage since we forgot to close the entry door overnight. Not so smart, I know. Now the bear is aware that we keep trash in the garage until we can take it to the Waste Convenience Station. Our neighbor told us, “He’ll be back” and I’m sure he’s correct. Our garage cats are still traumatized from the first visit. Last time we’ll invite a wild animal in by leaving the door open!
Life in the mountains is quite different than the flat lands of Indiana. There we could deal with the occasional raccoon, opossum or coyote. Barks from our dogs usually kept them away. But here we must learn to cohabitate with nature in our own backyard. I relish watching the deer feast on apples from the trees along the creek and rabbits scurrying across the yard. Snakes and snapping turtles, I try to avoid. But all these critters are a part of a unique ecosystem we’re entrusted to preserve and I take this assignment seriously.
For in the beginning, God made human being stewards over all the earth and everything in it. I love the Message Bible’s version of this verse from Genesis.
God spoke, “Let us make human beings in our image, make them reflecting our nature so they can be responsible for the fish in the sea, the birds in the air, the cattle, and yes, Earth itself, and every animal that moves on the face of the Earth.”
Genesis 26-27 Message Bible
Some translations use words like rule, have dominion or take charge over the Earth instead of using the word responsibility. These terms tend to make us think that nature is here only to serve us when in reality, God put us in charge to care for nature. Historically, we haven’t done a good job.
As a way to help protect the natural beauty of Tennessee, the state has designated around 75% of our property as a “Greenbelt” space. To qualify for this classification, we must commit to preserving our wooded areas from development in exchange for a lower property tax assessment. This “Greenbelt” designation started back in 1976 when the Tennessee General Assembly enacted the Agriculture, Forest and Open Space Land Act. Other states have similar laws to encourage individual landowners to set aside some of their property to responsibly care for nature.
So, our bear visitor has all the forest behind our house and more to roam free. Hopefully, if we keep the trash and cat food locked up, he’ll be happy to forage elsewhere. In the meantime, we’ll continue bearing with bears and other wild critters as best we can.
However, don’t think you must own a piece of the forest to help protect wildlife. All you need is a space in your yard to plant wildflowers for the pollinators. Less grass means less mowing and more time to relish nature in your own backyard.
Good stewardship of the earth isn’t simply our responsibility but caring for God’s creation is also our joy.
