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LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Amid growing concerns about public encounters with bears and other wildlife, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Tuesday will consider issuing a unified call for state officials to develop a regional plan and ensure adequate staffing of experts to respond to such interactions.
"It is critical that the state continue to provide and augment the expertise provided by (California Department of Fish and Wildlife) staff in order to protect the residents of Sierra Madre and numerous other communities in Los Angeles County that experience both the beauty and the threat of our wildlife neighbors," according to a motion by Supervisor Kathryn Barger.
Los Angeles County is home to diverse wildlife, including black bears, bobcats, mountain lions, elks and more, the motion notes. In communities near the Angeles National Forest and other mountainous regions, animals often explore neighborhoods in search of food and shelter, resulting in potentially dangerous human-wildlife interactions. Such conflicts have continued to increase, with Sierra Madre specifically seeing a surge of black bears, according to the motion.
Barger's motion calls for the county to send a letter signed by all five supervisors to Charlton H. Bonham, director of CDFW, calling for development of a regional approach to human-wildlife encounters in Sierra Madre and other areas.
The letter would also advocate for enhanced staffing of human-wildlife conflict specialists, ensuring timely responses to animal sightings and ensuring continued proactive engagement with communities to educate and increase awareness about the dangers of local wildlife encounters.