After tonight’s Jackson Town Council meeting the town will have some new rules about wildlife feeding.
After passing the final reading of an ordinance tonight it will be against the law to provide supplemental feed to wildlife.
Bird feeding will still be allowed but bird feeders must be inaccessible to any wildlife other than birds and the area below the feeder is kept free of the accumulation of seed.
Wildlife attractants like trash, food products, pet food, feed, fruit, compost, or any other material attractive to or edible by wildlife shall be stored in a bear-resistant container or inside a bear-resistant building, fencing, or enclosure.
Ornamental fruit bearing trees, which are not harvested for food like crabapple and cherry trees, will no longer be allowed to be planted.
Existing ornamental fruit trees must be managed to prohibit wildlife from feeding on fruit by fencing or pruning branches at least 10 feet from the ground and by keeping the area below the tree free of any fruit.
Native fruit bearing trees are not prohibited. These are mostly berry producing shrubs such as huckleberries, serviceberries, raspberries, thimble berries, strawberries, and hawthorns.
In general, if a tree or shrub grows naturally on our public lands, it is not prohibited.
