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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