bears

Is a bear invasion in Lake Tahoe's near future?

If you listen to veteran Bear League director Ann Bryant, you might want to start taking some serious precautions if you have a place in the Tahoe area.

"We are expecting not only the town bears around Tahoe, but the backwoods bears to start heading in this summer, in record numbers," Bryant said.

The reason: four years of drought have taken their toll on the bears' natural food source. Bryant said she's seeing a warm and relatively snow-free spring that is bringing bears out of hibernation early.

The City of South Lake Tahoe looked into charging fees for mandated stormwater inspections of commercial businesses during Tuesday's Council meeting.

Since the City operates under a stormwater permit issued by the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board they must abide by their requirements which "include conducting commercial, industrial and municipal inspections in order to ensure commercial facilities are not discharging waste or pollutants into the City storm drain system."

The Tahoe Area Sierra Club will host Tom and Cheryl Milham of Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care at the their next community outreach meeting on January 29th.

Location

The anticipation from youngsters was contagious on Friday night during Barton's Festival of the Trees. Not only did they have hot chocolate and popcorn, but kids were making ornaments, writing letters to santa, watching the performers from Marcia Sarosik Dance and South Tahoe high, but the jolly guy himself was there, listening to all of the wish lists.

Teddy bears of all shapes, sizes and conditions were taken to the Teddy Bear Hospital where doctors and nurses from Barton Health examined, x-rayed and bandaged the bears who weren't feeling too well.

It didn't look good for a 39 pound bear cub after being caught in a 400 square mile fire in the state of Washington. Suffering from 3rd degree burns, the cub was found under a horse trailer in Methow Valley, WA.

A state Department of Fish and Wildlife officer captured her, and a volunteer pilot flew Cinder to California. When she arrived at Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care (LTWC) on Aug. 4.

The following is a recap of activity the South Lake Tahoe Police Department responded to for October 31 through November 5, 2014. They responded to 153 calls during the 6 day period.

Calls Resulting in Arrests:

10/31
Domestic Violence Battery in the 2600 block of Lake Tahoe Blvd
Petty Theft in the 2100 block of South Ave

11/1
DUI in the 3100 block of Pioneer Trail
Under the Influence of Drugs in the 2200 block of Idaho Ave
DUI at Pioneer Trail and Markofer Way
Warrant in the 4000 block of Lake Tahoe Blvd

In what has become a very busy year at Lake Tahoe wildlife Care, another bear was added to their den on Friday after his mother was hit and killed on Hwy 89 near The Cantina on October 4.

Tom Milham, LTWC co-founder and Secretary/Treasurer, went on the air at all of the local radio stations on October 16, asking for the public's help in finding Gardner after several sightings in the Y area. When he got the call that someone saw Gardner near Anderson Bike Rentals, Milham and Fish & Wildlife showed up with a cage full of food. They safely got Gardner into the cage.

Bears apparently found the food pantry at Christmas Cheer All Year too good to pass up on Monday night. Board Member Tom Davis reported that bears broke into the food pantry and helped themselves to the food used to feed those community members in need.

Christmas Cheer All Year is asking for the community’s support with food and monetary donations as they begin to restock their shelves.

The following is a recap of activity the South Lake Tahoe Police Department responded to between September 26 and October 2, 2014. They responded to 178 calls during the 7 day period.

Calls Resulting in Arrests:

9/26
DUI in the 1000 block of Emerald Bay Rd
DUI in the 3700 block of Woodbine Rd

9/27
Drunk in Public in the 1000 block of William Ave
DUI-Felony at O'Malley and Carson
Drunk in Public in the 3700 block of Forest Ave
Drunk in Public in the 4100 block of Lake Tahoe Blvd

9/28

Improper storage of human food and other scented items, and improper disposal of refuse is a leading cause of human-bear conflict. Due to the fact that bears are attracted to food and things that smell good, proper handing of these items is required at Fallen Leaf and Meeks Bay campgrounds starting October 1.

The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit has issued the final decision for Forest Order No. 19-14-14 that requires the proper storage of food and refuse.

The following is a recap of activity the South Lake Tahoe Police Department responded to for the week of September to September 11, 2014. They responded to 144 calls during the 7 day period.

Calls Resulting in Arrests:

9/5
DUI at the corner of Lodi and Lake Tahoe Blvd
Battery in the 2900 block of Lake Tahoe Blvd
Warrant in the 2400 block of Lake Tahoe Blvd
Warrrant in the 3600 block of Primrose Rd
Felony - other in the 1300 block of Johnson Blvd
DUI in the 2600 block of Lake Tahoe Blvd

9/6

The following is a recap of activity the South Lake Tahoe Police Department responded to between July 31 and August 10, 2014. They responded to 412 calls during the 11 day period.

Calls Resulting in Arrests:

7/31
Unlicensed Driver in the 3700 block of Lake Tahoe Blvd
Drunk in Public in the 4000 block of Lake Tahoe Blvd
Spousal Abuse in the 4100 block of Cedar Ave at 12:53 a.m.
Domestic Violence Battery in the 4100 block of Cedar Ave at 1:37 p.m.
Burglary in the 1000 block of Emerald Bay Rd
Drunk in Public in the 2100 block of South Ave

It's not very often that the public is invited behind the doors at Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care. This Sunday, August 3rd, you can wander through the grounds and see their current residents.

There are now nine bears housed at the agency. While you can't see them face to face (it would hinder their ability to live away from humans), you can see them on their exclusive closed circuit televisions. The cages with the other animals inside are all part of the tour.

Learn first hand what it takes to rehabilitate an injured or displaced animal.

When: August 3, 2014 from 10am until 4pm.

On July 18th 15 of some of the world’s most legendary athletes and entertainers competed in Lake Tahoe for the Korbel Closest-to-the-Pin Challenge as part of the American Century Championship, currently being played at the Edgewood Golf Course. NFL Former Pro Bowl Quarterback Mark Rypien who was the inaugural tournament champion took home the title after teeing off from Hole 17 and placing his ball just seven feet away from the pin winning a $5,000 donation for The Tahoe Fund from the Korbel Toast Life® Foundation.

It's not a record breaking year for bear cubs at Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care, yet. Two more cubs were brought to the care facility on July 9 from the Paradise, California area, bringing the total of cubs now at LTWC to eight.

The new cubs are named Paradise 1 and Paradise 2, as with all of the other cubs they take on the names from the area they were living. As of today they have these two, along with Bieber 1 and 2, Conway 1 and 2, Meyers and Tahoe who was named before knowing that she came from the Northern California coastal area.

It's getting to be quite the full house at Lake Tahoe Wildlife care, especially now with the addition of two cubs over the weekend.

The cubs came from the town of Bieber, CA, a community 55 miles northwest of Susanville. The brothers saw their mother hit and killed by a car and arrived at LTWC on Sunday. They are in good health, about 5 months old and weigh 22.3 lbs (Bieber 1) and 20 lbs (Bieber 2). They were named after the area they came from, just like the two cubs that arrived last week, Conway 1 and Conway 2 (they arrived from Conway Summit near Lee Vining, CA).

For the 13 day period of May 16 to May 28, 2014, the South Lake Tahoe Police Department responded to 325 calls.

Calls Resulting in Arrests:

5/16
Warrant in the 3900 block of Lake Tahoe Blvd
Warrant in the 1300 block of Johnson Blvd
Assault with a deadly weapon in the 1799 block of Lake Tahoe Blvd
DUI at Pioneer Trail & Al Tahoe Blvd

5/17
DUI at Glen Rd & Pioneer Trailrbance
Spousal Abuse in the 1000 block of Glen Rd
Auto Theft in the 1100 block of Bowers Ave
Drunk in Public in the 900 block of San Francisco Ave

Gene Upshaw’s legacy has reached far beyond his stellar NFL playing career and his years as the leader of the NFL Players Association. It has touched a community in Truckee/North Lake Tahoe where a state of the art cancer center bears his name.

During the week of February 7 to February 13, the South Lake Tahoe Police Department responded to 164 calls.

Calls Resulting in Arrests:

2/7
Violation of Domestic Violence Court Order in the 3400 block of Spruce Ave
"Other" Misdemeanor in the 1100 block of Heavenly Village Way
Driving on a Suspended or Revoked License at Rufus Allen and Lake Tahoe Blvd

2/8
Burglary in the 1000 block of Winnemucca
Drunk in Public in the 3800 block of Pentagon
Domestic Violence Battery in the 3500 block of Lake Tahoe Blvd

2/9
Hit & Run in the 3700 block of Ruby Way

The South Lake Tahoe Police Department responded to 214 calls between October 31 and November 8.

Calls resulting in no arrests:

Auto theft on the 1300 block of Dick Lake Road
Auto burglary on the 1000 block of Moss Road
Burglary on the 3700 block of Larch
Battery on the 1000 block of Heavenly Village Road
Battery on the 3900 block of Pioneer Trail
Petty theft on the 3700 block of Tamarack
Petty theft on the 1700 block of Lake Tahoe Blvd
Vandalism on the 2100 block of Eloise
Vandalism on the 900 block of Emerald Bay Road
Vandalism on the 700 block of Merced

The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit and the Tahoe Heritage Foundation will host the Fall Fish Festival Oct. 5-6, offering a variety of free, fun events with the beautiful backdrop of Taylor Creek in the fall.

Formerly the Kokanee Salmon Festival, the Fall Fish Festival will focus on the variety of fish species that live in Lake Tahoe and its rivers. In addition to the Kokanee, these species include the federally threatened Lahontan cutthroat trout and little-known smaller fish, such as speckled dace.

Jack Durst of Fabulous Lake Tahoe takes viewers on a 3-mile walking tour of public art in South Lake Tahoe from Stateline to the American Legion Hall. If you're interested in: art, street art, murals, sculptures, chainsaw bears, this is the place for you. Interactive map, directions, and galleries can be found here.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Gary Ramey and his adult daughter traveled 2,500 miles to hunt California bears with hounds last month, eager to take part in what he calls a time-honored tradition.It'...