Snoqualmie Bears in the News Again; Possible Ticket For Feeding Bears, Even Unintentionally With an Unsecured Garbage Can?

Komo News covered Snoqualmie’s Community Bear Meeting at the fire station last night.  Many concerned residents attended; some who have had their own run-ins with Snoqualmie black bears recently.

According to news story, Fish and Wildlife Officials said a new state law allows tickets and fines for people who feed certain types of wildlife, even unintentionally.  That doesn’t mean it will happen, but officials let residents know it’s a possibility because of the new law.

Basically, that means if you continually put out  your garbage, unsecured, and bears keep coming back for a snack, you could get an $87 ticket.  Yes, if you know the bears feed on your garbage can and you continually put it out unsecured (when you’ve been warned and bear-resistant containers are an option) you can be ticketed.

A new Washington state law prohibits the intentional feeding of wildlife, bears included.  The Humane Society website says, “People who feed wildlife run a high risk of habituating these wild animals, where they become completely reliant on humans for subsistence and the likelihood of a harmful or deadly encounter rises exponentially for both humans and animals.”

Waste Management offers Snoqualmie residents bear-resistant containers which were on hand at last night’s meeting.  The containers come complete with a lock and key and cost $3 extra per month.  For information visit Waste Management’s Snoqualmie website.

Click the picture HERE to see Komo’s story from Snoqualmie’s Community Bear Meeting last night.

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