News Archive

The snow is already melting in the Lake Tahoe region, and the end of winter gives way to a busy spring for wildlife in the area. Bears that have been in winter dens are emerging, and they are hungry!

The Tahoe Interagency Bear Team (TIBT) is a collective of bear experts across federal, state and local agencies who study and understand bears and have devoted much of their professional lives to ensure the health and well-being of the Lake Tahoe Basin’s black bears. TIBT provides proven and scientifically backed information about the real issues and solutions for living and recreating in bear country.

Autumn is here, and black bears are entering a temporary physiological state known as “hyperphagia.” During hyperphagia, also known as the fall feeding frenzy, bears consume as much as they can to bring their fat stores to a level where they can survive the quickly approaching winter months.

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.

CDFW was informed by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) that divers monitoring for aquatic invasive species in Lake Tahoe detected invasive New Zealand mudsnails (Potamopyrgus antipodarum) in areas off the South Shore of Lake Tahoe. New Zealand mudsnail samples were subsequently positively identified by experts within CDFW and an outside genetics lab. This is the first time the species has been detected in Lake Tahoe.