CDFW News

Bear Experts Offer Tips for Camping in the Lake Tahoe Basin. Keep Tahoe Bears Wild!

Thu, 11 Jul 2024 16:12:16 GMT

Headed to the Lake Tahoe Basin for a summer camping trip? Black bear biologists who work in the Tahoe Basin every day have some advice and thoughts to share to help keep Tahoe bears wild.

The Lake Tahoe Basin is the heart of bear country and bears in the basin are especially active and persistent in their search for food. Sometimes, the easiest food for them to find is human food and garbage.

“Anyone coming to the Tahoe area should educate themselves on bear behavior and general bear ecology. There are a lot of bears here and those bears have an incredibly strong sense of smell and a strong desire for food that intensifies at different times of the year, particularly in the fall with the onset of hyperphagia,” said Alexia Ronning, an environmental scientist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) and one of CDFW’s human-wildlife conflict specialists assigned full-time to the Tahoe Basin.

Hyperphagia is the biological instinct for bears to fatten up for the winter, which drives them to consistently feed and search for food.

“Read and follow all the camp rules about bears when you arrive and take them seriously,” Ronning said. “If you do have an incident – whether it’s a bear getting into your car or getting into food at your campground – report it to your camp host or the proper government agency.”

Ronning encourages Tahoe Basin campers and visitors to pack a few specialty items to keep them safe while enjoying the outdoors and to help keep the Tahoe Basin’s bears from getting too close and comfortable around people, which is often the source of escalating human-bear conflicts. Conflicts are most likely to occur in settings where human food and garbage are present, such as campgrounds and neighborhoods.

“Consider carrying bear spray and read the product instructions carefully before going camping. Remember to spray bear spray downwind,” Ronning explained. “Bring an air horn and a whistle or bang pots and pans. Those noises will help scare a bear away to a safer distance and the noise will also warn fellow campers and hikers that a bear is nearby.”

Bear-proof ice chests are another essential component to any Tahoe Basin stay.

People assume their ice chests are bear-proof, but in most cases they are not. If they can’t be locked or latched securely with no way to pry a gap between the lid and the cooler, the ice chests need to go into a bear box. Campers need to have all the equipment to store food properly whether that’s a bear-proof canister for the backcountry or a bear-resistant ice chest for the campsite.

Once a bear gets a food reward it is more likely to come back so taking those preventative measures is the best way to keep campers and bears safe.

Toothpaste, deodorant, body spray, lip balm and similar scented items also attract bears and shouldn’t be left in vehicles, tents or loose around a campsite. These items should also go into a bear box or bear-resistant canister.

In the Tahoe Basin, bear encounters aren’t limited to campgrounds or backcountry destinations. Encounters can occur in neighborhoods, business districts and at any time, day or night.

One common problem Tahoe Basin bear experts see is conscientious campers using bear boxes for food storage and bear-proof dumpsters for garbage but not closing them securely. Those must be latched properly to be functional and effective.

Visitors to the Lake Tahoe Basin can play a key role in helping keep bears wild by practicing these strategies and being extra vigilant as bears approach the hyperphagia period.

For more tips and information about bear-safe camping, please see the following video from California State Parks and visit CDFW’s Human-Wildlife Conflicts webpage.

Use the following phone numbers and online resources to report a bear incident or conflict while camping or visiting the Tahoe Basin:

• In California, contact CDFW at 916-358-2917 or report online using the Wildlife Incident Reporting (WIR) system at apps.wildlife.ca.gov/.

• Non-emergency bear collisions in California State Parks can be reported to its public dispatch at 916-358-1300

• In Nevada, contact NDOW at 775-688-BEAR (2327)

• If the issue is an emergency, call the local sheriff’s department or 911.

Learn more about keeping Tahoe bears wild at TahoeBears.org and BearWise.org.

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Media Contact:
Peter Tira, CDFW Communications, (916) 215-3858

CDFW Expanding Wolf-Livestock Compensation Pilot Program to Include Indirect Costs Associated with Wolves

Wed, 31 May 2023 11:57:40 GMT

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is pleased to announce the expansion of its Wolf-Livestock Compensation Pilot Program.

California’s 2021-22 state budget allocated $3 million to fund CDFW’s Wolf-Livestock Compensation Pilot Program, which identifies three areas of needed assistance (called “prongs” within the program). Ranchers have since been able to apply for two prongs of the program: fair market value compensation for confirmed and probable livestock loss due to wolf attacks (prong 1) as well as funding for deploying non-lethal deterrents to reduce wolf presence near livestock (prong 2).

To date, CDFW has processed 41 applications seeking $750,509.02 in compensation under both prongs of the program. CDFW has approved all 41 applications and they are in the process of being paid by the California State Controller’s Office.

Ranchers with livestock operations in known wolf pack territories in northern California may also suffer indirect economic impacts beyond the direct economic impacts of livestock killed or injured by wolves. Livestock production losses associated with wolf-induced stress may include reduced calf weight gains and lower pregnancy rates. Today, CDFW is announcing the availability of the third and final prong of the program. This indirect loss compensation component (prong 3) is now available to ranchers with livestock herds impacted by wolves. Ranchers can apply for compensation for indirect losses incurred on or after Sept. 23, 2021.

“Through our own growing management experience and learning from other states, we recognize that wolves may have both direct and indirect economic impacts on ranchers in areas where resident wolf packs are present in California,” said CDFW Director Charlton H. Bonham. “Our Wolf-Livestock Compensation Pilot Program reflects this reality and appropriately reimburses ranchers for this potential loss of income. We’re grateful to the ranching community and agricultural groups for their continued partnership on wolf management issues. We will continue working together to better understand wolf-livestock interactions.”

Ranchers seeking assistance in applying for these state funds may contact CDFW at wolfprogram@wildlife.ca.gov. This spring, CDFW conducted three technical assistance workshops in northern California to help ranchers navigate the application process for this program. Additional workshops are planned in the coming months. More information is available on CDFW’s Wolf-Livestock Compensation Program web page.

CDFW’s Wolf-Livestock Compensation Program is one of several evolving strategies to mitigate wolf-livestock conflict in California. Other CDFW wolf management tools include capture/satellite collar efforts to monitor wolves, deploying proactive non-lethal deterrents to minimize livestock depredation and ongoing collaboration with ranchers, agricultural groups, conservation groups and researchers. Gray wolves are protected under both the California Endangered Species Act and the federal Endangered Species Act. Learn more by visiting the CDFW Gray Wolf Program web page.

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Media Contacts:
Victoria Monroe, CDFW Wildlife Branch, (916) 856-8335
Peter Tira, CDFW Communications, (916) 215-3858

CDFW Warns Dog Owners to be Mindful of Salmon Poisoning Disease

Fri, 08 Apr 2022 13:51:49 GMT

Dog owners in northern California are reminded to take precautions to protect their pets from Salmon Poisoning Disease. Salmon Poisoning Disease is a potentially fatal condition seen only in dogs after they eat certain types of raw or cold smoked fish like trout and salmon that are infected with a bacteria-like organism, Neorickettsia helminthoeca, which is transmitted by the parasitic flatworm (or “fluke”) Nanophyetes salmincola.

Nanophyetes salmincola occurs naturally in waters of northern California and most of the north state can be considered the native range for the fluke. Dog owners are advised to be cautious and to keep their dogs away from salmon, steelhead, trout and other freshwater fish carcasses. The parasite cannot survive in cooked fish, is not harmful to humans and does not affect pets other than dogs.

If your dog has eaten or is suspected of eating raw fish, watch for signs of the disease. Symptoms are similar to distemper and may include some or all of the following: a rise in body temperature, loss of appetite, vomiting, diarrhea, listlessness and/or rapid weight loss. If signs of the disease appear, promptly take your dog to a veterinarian. Salmon Poisoning Disease is treatable if caught in time. If untreated, death usually occurs within two weeks of eating the infected fish. Without treatment, ninety percent of dogs showing symptoms die.

While all fish caught or originating from streams in northern California could potentially be infected, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) cautions that trout stocked in some waters in CDFW’s North Central Region are more likely to be infected with the flukes that cause Salmon Poisoning Disease. Weekly fish stocking information is publicly available at CDFW’s Fish Planting Schedule web page.

Media Contacts:
Peter Tira, CDFW Communications, (916) 215-3858
Jason Julienne, CDFW North Central Region, (916) 496-4985