I have lived all my life in Alaska, both urban and bush communities. I have only had two or three bear encounters. All ended safely for all of us. I can understand having a bear hunting season, but eradication is a bad idea. Hunting bear will need to be carefully controlled for the safety of other people and animals in urban and semi-urban areas.
If people are overly concerned about bears, perhaps living in Alaska is not a good fit. I'm not big on snakes, so when given a choice, I always avoid any chance of a snake encounter. Desert life sounds wonderful until a rattler enters the picture.