Tahoe homeowners association recognized by wildlife agency for 'Bear Logic' efforts
Submitted by editor on Tue, 06/28/2016 - 10:01am
When Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval proclaimed July as Bear Logic Month he challenged Nevadans to think like a bear.
“That is what Bear Logic is all about, thinking like a bear,” said Nevada Department of Wildlife black bear biologist Carl Lackey.
Homeowners, vacationers and even day visitors need to think about their property and even their campsites as a bear would think about those things. Two homeowners associations, the Tahoe Village Homeowners Association in the Kingsbury area of Douglas County and the Caughlin Ranch Homeowners Association on the west side of Reno have been recognized by the wildlife agency for their bear logic awareness efforts.
The battle to keep bears alive and wild is highlighted in July but is actually a yearlong challenge. Lackey has worked with homeowners associations and other property management concerns in the Lake Tahoe Basin and across the rest of western Nevada to educate the residents about the advantage of using Bear Logic in their neighborhoods. To reward those neighborhoods that do their best to avoid attracting bears, NDOW has started recognizing some of these communities as “Bear Logic Communities.”
Lackey says that a number of items can peak a bears “culinary curiosity” including bird feeders, pet food, barbeque grills and of course, trash. You cannot leave these things out in bear country and expect the bears and other animals to ignore them.”
The Caughlin Ranch Homeowners Association and the Tahoe Village Homeowners Association are the first two communities recognized under the program.
“These two neighborhoods have stood out in their ongoing efforts to educate their property owners on the importance of following Bear Logic practices. They have taken a consistent proactive approach to removing garbage and other food sources that attract bears to their neighborhoods,” emphasized Lackey.
The Tahoe Village Homeowners Association located atop Kingsbury Grade on Lake Tahoe’s south shore was one of the first neighborhoods on the Nevada side of Tahoe to recognize the emerging bear/garbage problem in the early 2000s and work towards solutions. Bear proof garbage containers were installed and continuously improved and residents are continually reminded of their duty to protect the bears by removing attractants.
“The bears were here first,” says TVHA Maintenance Supervisor Mike Paulson. “We owe it to the bears to manage our trash properly.”
The challenge at Tahoe Village is a big one. There are over a thousand units and 29 garbage receptacles that Paulson and his crew are responsible for. To complicate matters, many of the condominium units are rentals and during the summer the population of those units “turns over” bringing a whole new group of people each week. “We will hang that Bear Logic Community sign with pride and continue to work to earn it,” said Paulson.
Caughlin Ranch is proud to be recognized by NDOW for the Bear Logic campaign, said Lorrie Olson, General Manager of the homeowners association.
“NDOW has recognized our efforts to educate our residents on bear awareness and safety in dealing with this important issue. We will proudly display the 'Bear Logic Community' signs that NDOW has provided to us and continue to earn the 'Bear Logic' designation.”
The work of protecting the bears is ongoing for Lackey and others who care about the bears.
“The key to success with any of these efforts is consistency,” said Lackey. “The bears will take advantage of any slip up by residents and communities so being vigilant is important in these Bear Logic efforts.”
Lackey is excited to add more communities to the list and wants residents or homeowners who want to know more to contact ndowinfo@ndow.org with the subject line of “Our Bear Logic Community.” “It would be great to add more neighborhoods to the list. We’d like to see these signs in every community that deals with bear conflicts.”
- bears
- Brian Sandoval
- agency
- animals
- associations
- Awareness
- campaign
- Carl Lackey
- community
- Community,
- country
- county
- day
- Department of Wildlife
- Display
- Douglas
- Douglas County
- Food
- Homeowners
- July
- Lake
- maintenance
- need
- Nevada
- Nevada Department of Wildlife
- new
- News
- Pet
- pet food
- program
- Program:
- Rentals
- Safety
- south
- summer
- tahoe
- Trash
- western
- Lake Tahoe
- reno
- wildlife
