Sign Fail

During my August trip to Arizona's Tonto National Forest, I encountered the sign pictured below near a trailhead. I found it notable for two reasons.

First, while Tonto visitors should certainly be informed of the simple precautions they can take to avoid antagonistic American black bear encounters, the sign seems to play up the threat posed, an approach better reserved for regions that are home to grizzly or brown bears.

I also tripped over the sign's closing quip, "A Fed bear is a dead bear." Is the Forest Service threatening stout, hirsute homosexual men employed by the federal government? Careless copyediting strikes again!

Forest Service sign; East Verde River; Tonto National Forest; Arizona
August 2013

Image credit: sign snapshot, Christopher Reiger, 2013