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Officials: Bear encounters rising; state and local agencies expand outreach and nonlethal tools
Summary
At Good Morning Truckee in March, local and state wildlife officials discussed an increase in black bear encounters, new outreach and nonlethal tools such as EMAT mats, and differing views on use of hounds and proposed private hunting with dogs.
At the Good Morning Truckee community forum in March, Nevada County and California Department of Fish and Wildlife officials said black bear encounters in the Tahoe region have increased and outlined expanded education and nonlethal response tools. The agencies urged residents and visitors to adopt preventative measures while the Tahoe basin’s interagency managers roll out targeted outreach.
The issue matters because higher bear densities increase human–bear interactions, property damage and the workload for wildlife managers. Carly White, unit wildlife biologist for Placer and Nevada counties with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), said the Tahoe Basin is among the densest black-bear areas in the species’ range and described new mitigation tools being deployed.
“Human bear interaction has increased significantly in the last, 5 years or so,” White said, and noted state and local agencies now have a full-time Tahoe bear biologist assigned to outreach and conflict response. White described CDFW’s new EMAT lending program, which uses temporary electric mats intended to give bears an unpleasant but nonpermanent shock to discourage entry into doorways, windows or crawl spaces. “We have about 20 mats that are available for lending, statewide,” she said, adding most are currently used in the Tahoe Basin.
Nevada County Fish and Wildlife Commissioner Jim Dill and Nevada County Ag Department wildlife specialist Larry Lane described local patterns and tools. Dill said the bear population has grown rapidly in recent years: “We have a black bear population that has increased threefold since 2012,” and said that managing conflicts requires combined outreach and on-the-ground measures. Lane emphasized nonlethal prevention on private property — securing attractants, wiring or protecting trees, and community education — and described situations where agency hounds are used as a behavioral hazing tool.
“I can’t emphasize that enough because a lot of it has to do with... land owners and the property owners participate in the nonlethal practices,” Lane said. Both Lane and Dill described limited, targeted use of dogs by agencies for hazing or research; they distinguished that use from proposals allowing private hunters to use dogs to pursue bears. Dill acknowledged that lethal hunting remains one of the population-control options under discussion and said opinions differ about whether allowing private hunters to use dogs would be an effective or acceptable tool.
CDFW and local partners also pointed to Tahoe-area coordination through the Tahoe Interagency Bear Team (TIBT) and national programs such as BearWise for consistent outreach materials. White said the TIBT and CDFW will continue manager meetings, public outreach events and coordinated press releases.
Officials advised residents and visitors to secure garbage, remove attractants, and report conflicts through CDFW’s human–wildlife conflict contacts. White said the department’s human–wildlife conflict staff monitor a hotline and email address daily and are the best starting point for immediate advice or to request an EMAT placement.
