bear.jpg
Bears being attracted to unsecured trash is not an unusual problem for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, says Sgt. Kim Chandler. (AP Photo/file)

WDFW says garbage, not bear, is the problem

BY Jamie Skorheim  on October 29, 2012 @ 12:06 pm (Updated: 3:31 pm - 10/29/12 )

Residents in a Maple Valley neighborhood say it's time for state wildlife officials to remove a troublesome bear in the area, but the department is refusing, saying the bear isn't the problem.

"This is a people problem. This is not a bear problem," says Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Sgt. Kim Chandler. "The place is a mess to be quite honest with you. There is garbage everywhere. This is what is attracting the bears."

Neighbor Mike Dotson tells KOMO News the bear has been clawing at doors and charged at him.

But Chandler tells Ross and Burbank the bear isn't acting aggressively.

"This is not an aggressive bear. He is looking for food."

Chandler says three WDFW officers have been out to the scene and it's residents' failure to properly secure trash that is drawing the bears in.

Garbage attracting bears is not an unusual problem for the department.

"We have a law now," says Chandler. "The Legislature found this was enough of a problem that they passed a law that enables us now to cite folks who are not cleaning up their garbage and who are feeding, intentionally or unintentionally, dangerous wildlife."

Chandler says everyone thinks tranquilizing bears is the answer in these types of cases, but he says it's not. Tranquilizing a bear is a very intensive operation and he says ultimately, it won't solve the problem.

"If you remove a bear, if the garbage and everything is still there, another bear is just going to come right in and take his place," says Chandler. "Once the food source is gone, end of problem. They're going to go elsewhere."

At last check, Chandler says efforts had been made by the Maple Valley neighbors to keep trash contained.

After all the proper work is done to clear the area of trash - Chandler recommends further cleaning with a bleach solution to remove any scent - he says the bear should not return.

If a bear does continue coming back in those cases where all necessary steps have been taken to appropriately contain items food and garbage, he says then the department will consider taking more extraordinary steps to remove the animal.

Jamie Skorheim, MyNorthwest.com Editor
Whether it's floating on Green Lake, eating shrimp tacos at Agua Verde, or taking weekend drives out to the Cascades, she loves to enjoy the Pacific Northwest lifestyle as much as humanly possible.
More Local News
Top Stories
MyNorthwest.com - Purpose of Comments statement
Bonneville Media encourages site users to express their opinions by posting comments. Our goal is to maintain a civil dialogue in which readers feel comfortable. At times, the comments can descend to personal attacks. Please do not engage in such behavior. We encourage your thoughtful comments which: have a positive and constructive tone, are on topic, are respectful toward others and their opinions. Bonneville reserves the right to remove comments which do not conform to these criteria.

Comments (8)


  • Add A Comment

  • Wild Bill wrote...
    SO,
    October 29, 2012 1:08 pm
    we'll wait for the tragedy of the animal bear hurting or killing somebody, and then you sue the State of WA up the hiney and rightfully so. You know, them muggers and ribbers ain't aggressive, why they're just looking for money. State paid animal dude, go work for PAWS and give our tax dollars to somebody willing to portect CHILDREN!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • cheech312 wrote...
    mmmmmm,
    October 29, 2012 1:12 pm
    ...ever had bear stew? mmmmmm. Problem solved.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Stevebo wrote...
    Wild Bill, did you even read the article?
    October 29, 2012 1:30 pm
    Seems pretty cut and dry to me. People are the problem here.

    Any "tragedy" befalls the people in question not taking steps to curb the problem of the bear coming to seek out garbage.

    It's not always government's responsibility to "take care of you." People need to take their own responsibility too.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • artimus wrote...
    If the bear would eat the dimwit that
    October 29, 2012 1:51 pm
    refuses to clean up his trash the problem would be elegantly solved.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Wild Bill wrote...
    Stevebo
    October 29, 2012 2:31 pm
    the little kids that live at the house, from KING TV story, are the ones being put at risk. It's not the kids' fault that the grown ups are slobs. The state should prtect the kids and kill the animal, who is already "spoiled" by eating human trash. Kill the dang bear and move on.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • The Dude Abides wrote...
    Let's seeee, who to listen to....
    October 29, 2012 3:35 pm
    The F&W officer who has proper training on dealing with dangerous animals and situations like these, or someone who sounds like he's writing this on the back "porch" of his trailer, in his overalls and straw hat, empty jug of whiskey in one hand, cocked 12-gauge in the other? Wild Bill, ignorant people like you are the reason why so many animals are now extinct, and why so many more animals are on the brink of extinction. You'd rather shoot now, and ask questions later. Shooting the bear is not going to make the problem go away if the people who choose to live in that area continue to give bears incentive to tromp through the neighborhood. If the people out there are really worried about keeping their children out of harm's way, they can either A) move away, or B) do what the F&W guy says and properly dispose of their trash. An electric fence around their regular backyard fence would also work well as a deterrent and give the kids a safe place to play. If that's not enough, then have everyone, adults and kids alike, take safety courses (I'm sure there are some offered up there) on how to handle encounters with dangerous indigenous wildlife. Knowledge, not firepower, is the key to solving this problem without wiping another species off the map.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Wild Bill wrote...
    artimus
    October 29, 2012 2:52 pm
    oh yeah, a human being being mauled by a bear, how elegant, you sick SOB
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Wild Bill wrote...
    The Dude Abides
    October 29, 2012 4:26 pm
    quite a diatribe, BUT, reality is that these are North American Brown Bears, listed as a species of least concern by the IUCN. In other words, killing this one bear in Maple Valley to make sure a couple of human kids don't get harmed ain't going to collapse the friggin planet.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }