Tahoe festival aims to reduce human-bear conflicts

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE - The U.S. Forest Service and other groups are staging a two-day festival this weekend aimed at improving human-bear relations at Lake Tahoe.

Bear Fest 2000: The Bear Facts will be held Saturday at Lake Tahoe Community College here and Sunday at a site near the Hyatt Regency in Incline Village, Nev. The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days.

''It'll be two days of education about black bears and learning how to live in the forest safely with them, '' said Ann Bryant of the local Bear Preservation League, another event sponsor.

''It's for anybody who has any questions or problems concerning bears or who just wants to learn more about them.''

The festival will feature demonstrations of various bear-proof products and appearances by top bear experts from across the West.

Among those appearing will be Steve Searles of Mammoth Lakes, who invented a new non-lethal bear aversion program, and Kate McCurdy, a Yosemite National Park wildlife biologist.

McCurdy will attend with her 3-year-old dog, Logan, known for his ability to track and chase bears from Yosemite campgrounds.

Human-bear conflicts have been on the rise at Lake Tahoe over the last decade because of the region's rapid growth.

The Bear Preservation League formed after California Department of Fish and Game agents' controversial killing of a mother bear and her cub on Tahoe's west shore in August 1998.

The state agency has lacked the manpower to respond to bear complaints unless it was to kill problem animals.

But under an agreement reached after the 1998 killings, the agency now sends league volunteers to problem areas to educate residents about ways to reduce bear conflicts.

''Now it's time to educate people on what bears are really like and how to keep food smells away,'' Bryant said. ''If you live in the forest, you have to live responsibly or go back to the city.''

The group also is trying to dispel myths that black bears are vicious predators.

''There's an unsubstantiated fear of black bears and we're trying to eliminate that,'' Bryant said.