SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – City council decided on Tuesday to continue collaborations with the bear process and protocols after a presentation and lengthy discussion of the potential actions to take.
Two collaborative meetings between stakeholders took place in January and March of this year, identifying priorities and concerns of the groups, including human life, bear life, property damage and attractant management.
According to police chief Jeff Roberson’s report, the largest point of agreement was in attractant management—primarily trash. “Participants agreed that long-term success depends on reducing bear access to human food sources. There was broad support for stronger education, better compliance and more focused prevention coupled by enforcement.” This resulted in suggestions for better education and higher fines for violations.
One of the major points of contention, however, was how to handle habituated bears. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) may decide to euthanize bears, which the BEAR League took issue with. This difference was also the BEAR League’s provided reason for denying bear call data to the CDFW and denying a non-supervised protocol review to the police department.
Another difference between the BEAR League and CDFW was the idea of a bear sanctuary versus a Bear Wise community. Currently, California does not have any “Bear Wise communities” and the concept for what constitutes the title seemed vague to council. The “bear sanctuary city” title was staunchly advocated for by the BEAR League, but was reportedly “not offering a clear understanding how this would differ from other approaches.” No consensus was built on this idea.
The BEAR League also suggested a sterilization program that the CDFW and city of South Lake Tahoe staff objected to, on the basis that they did not review the letter proposal before it was submitted.
Leona Allen advocated for the involvement of the Tahoe Interagency Bear Team in the conversations. Toogee Sielsch also expressed that he was not asked to be involved with the situation, and said, “Those who are not willing to provide data should not be part of the collaborative process.”
Other public comments expressed a need to teach both visitors and residents to better manage attractants. Some supported the BEAR League’s desire for nonlethal solutions for habituated bears, while other criticized the current handling of these issues.
Ultimately, the council decided on several items for a motion:
- Increasing fines for violations related to trash management
- Investigating the likelihood of establishing the city as a Bear Wise community
- Working internally and with community partners rather than establishing a bear liaison position
- Formally corresponding to the CDFW and BEAR League requesting actions in the staff report
- Continuing collaboration for bear process and protocol
The motion unanimously carried.
