Today the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) Board of Commissioners approved an emergency rule that prohibits both intentional and passive feeding of black bears in Buncombe County, in efforts to reduce repeated incidents involving humans and bears. The language is not intended to prohibit bird feeding nor is it intended to prohibit the use of legal bait for the purposes of regulated hunting, unless those actions pose a threat to human safety or result in property damage. The rule will now go to the Office of Administrative Hearings for final approval, a required step for an emergency rule.
Statewide, over 40% of human-bear interactions reported to NCWRC occur in Buncombe County and are primarily in Asheville, Black Mountain and Swannanoa. Between May 1, 2026 and Sept. 30, 2026, NCWRC received 836 reports of bear activity in Buncombe County including 71 reports of a bear inside a home. Within those reports, five pets were killed by bears, two pets were injured, and there were two reports of residents injured.
“These incidents are primarily due to people feeding bears or leaving unsecured food attractants, such as outdoor pet food, trash cans and bird feeders, which causes bears to lose their natural fear of humans and associate humans and their property with an easy source of food” said NCWRC Black Bear Biologist Jenna Malzahn.
“We are hopeful this emergency rule will discourage residents from continuing to intentionally feed bears and perhaps make them realize that their actions are causing harm to both the bears and other residents,” said Wildlife Management Division Chief Brad Howard.
“Emergency rules are reserved for serious and unforeseen threats to public health or safety,” said NCWRC Policy Manager Carrie Ruhlman. “Considering all of the rulemaking that the agency does, emergency rules are not a tool the agency uses often.”
NCWRC says attempted and successful forced home entries by bears are increasingly common for certain neighborhoods in Buncombe County (see attached heatmap). Of the reported forced home entries statewide, 72% of those in the last three years occurred in Buncombe County.
In August, a North Asheville woman was injured inside her home by a black bear that entered the house while the resident was sleeping, through an unlocked, closed door. Since then, the same bear has forcibly accessed nine other homes, as well as several additional attempted home entries.
NCWRC staff say the act of leaving unsecured trash and pet food outside, and installing bird feeders in bear-prone areas, is a magnet for this opportunistic species. This learned behavior becomes a generational challenge as female bears teach their cubs that homes and businesses are food sources. Recommendations by staff to communities and residents about how to prevent conflicts with bears continue to be met with noncompliance by some individuals.
“Bears are highly intelligent animals that tend to follow their nose to food sources,” said Statewide BearWise® Coordinator Ashley Hobbs. “When a bear is successful at finding easy, high-calorie foods, such as garbage, pet food, and birdseed, in a community, they are likely to return there to seek out that unnatural food source over and over again. Both people and bears are at risk when this happens because bears often escalate their behavior to seeking food inside of homes and directly from humans. Because this learned behavior endangers the community, bears that display this behavior may be euthanized by NCWRC staff to protect human safety.”
In 2023, Hobbs was hired to a newly created position to address human-wildlife interactions in western North Carolina with a focus on BearWise® and Buncombe County’s escalating human-bear conflicts.
“My position is a resource that other counties don't have,” said Hobbs. “The agency has allocated special time, attention and resources to human-bear interactions in Buncombe. I handle only bear-related calls within the county.”
As the state’s BearWise Coordinator, Hobbs is currently expanding the program with an awareness campaign to the state’s Piedmont and Coastal Regions. BearWise® is a national resource that provides consistent, science-based information for living responsibly with black bears. She provides one-on-one and community-level technical guidance to Buncombe residents on how to safely coexist with black bears, including the use of unwelcome mats. Her efforts in Buncombe are supported by one district biologist who covers 12 counties, the state’s black bear biologist, as well as a regional state leadership.
“We are using every available avenue within the scope of this agency to educate the public, both proactively and reactively, to reduce human-bear interactions,” Hobbs said. “But noncompliance continues to be our biggest challenge.”
Buncombe County and the city of Asheville have ordinances prohibiting bear feeding that were developed with NCWRC’s support.
NCWRC’s emergency rule will have criminal consequences and, for the first time, allow the state’s wildlife enforcement jurisdiction when needed.
“Our priority is helping residents of Buncombe County understand how intentional feeding of black bears can create dangerous situations for both humans and bears,” said Major Chad Arnold. “When officers detect violations they will take appropriate action, which may include issuing warnings or citations, depending on the circumstances. The goal is not punishment, but prevention: reducing conflict, protecting public safety and ensuring that bears remain wild.”
An identical temporary rule is concurrently being noticed as required for emergency rulemaking. While there is no public input for emergency rules, the temporary rulemaking process does provide for a public comment period and public hearing. NCWRC will file the temporary rule today and announce opportunities to comment, along with information on the upcoming public hearing early next week. The information will be posted at ncwildlife.gov/proposedregulations.
Contact N.C. Wildlife Helpline for concerning or threatening bear behavior and 911 in the event of an emergency.
The N.C. Wildlife Helpline is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Call: 866-318-2401or email at HWI@ncwildlife.gov. For emergencies after business hours, call: 800-662-7137.
Additional NCWRC efforts toward bear-human coexistence:
- Research on Urban Bears in Asheville
- Black Bear-Resistant Product Testing
- Orphaned Black Bear Cub Rehabilitation Program
Resources: