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Bear rambles through Lithia Park This still from a video posted on the Tree House Ashland Facebook page shows a bear in a portion of Lithia Park not far from downtown. A policeman in the foreground keeps an eye on the bear as strollers on a path to right rear also look on. [Video by Donna and Liam Hokama] Wednesday May 24, 2017 at 2:00 AM By Julie Akins For the Tidings “We don’t do anything with bears, cougars or other wildlife,” says Ashland Police Chief Tighe O’Meara. “We leave it alone and give them a wide berth, given that Ashland is in a wildlife interface.” Ultimately it is up to local law enforcement regarding what to do about a recently spotted juvenile black bear near the playground at Lithia Park. They are the ones to determine if the bear is aggressive or a threat. So far there is no evidence presented that would label this bear, likely 2 to 3 years old, as a threat. The bear, spotted in the park Sunday, eventually left on Monday without incident. “There’s never been a single case of a black bear attacking a human in the state of Oregon. Black bears really are more afraid of us than we are of them,” said O’Meara. His view is shared by Department of Fish and Game Wildlife Biologist Sam Dodenhoff. “When a bear is spotted within city limits, we offer advice like, 'don’t run or approach bears,' but we don’t do anything about wildlife within city limits,” says Dodenhoff, who asserts a bear will not harm people unless it’s threatened and even then, most often they just try to escape. There have not been a greater number of black bears than usual seen within any of the cities within the wildlife district, including Ashland, according to Dodenhoff. He says he’s received no phone calls and heard of few incidents. “We won’t trap or relocate. It’s very ineffective. They just come right back to the same area,” he said. Dodenhoff recommends removing the things that attract bears, such as easily accessed trash cans or food left laying around. “They’ll keep returning if they can get a free meal.” Ashland Parks and Recreation Director Michael Black and his team will be meeting next week to consider options for making the park less attractive for bears and wildlife. They’ve put together a small team of staff to see if they can put recommendations together for the Parks Commissioners to consider, including more bear-proof trash cans. “What scares me is the comfort level people feel to take pictures and gather around,” says Black, who says it’s not the behavior of bears that are the problem, but more how people interact with them, which causes the problems. “Treat the animal with respect. It’s not there to be entertainment for people. They’re in a game of life and death to sustain themselves,” says Black, who urges people not to crowd around, make loud noises or take pictures with bears. “That could be intimidating to bears. It’s not smart. Leave them alone.” Black encourages citizens to call in the sighting to police, but that’s the only interaction needed. The Facebook social media group “Ashland Peeps” is leading a discussion about the issue and among the comments are concerns the bear will be shot. But no one but the police would have that authority to do that, according to the Ashland Parks Department and Fish and Game. The police say they have no intention of shooting the bear as it has not been aggressive about anything but getting food out of trash cans, and even that has not been especially aggressive. “It’s a bear doing bear business,” says Chief O’Meara. Black says harming the bear has never been discussed and relocation does not work; it would more likely end up harming or killing the animal. “It’s not clear if the animal could even survive that,” he said. Additionally, Fish and Wildlife has discovered that these relocations do not work. The only effective tool, according to Dodenhoff, is removing the food source. Ashland resident Maureen Claire agrees, posting on Facebook that people can solve the issue by being more careful with how they deal with food and food waste. “I have lived in and around Ashland for 40 + years. We have always had bears in any location that interfaces with the wilder natural areas. The open trash cans are a free lunch for the bears,” she wrote. Claire continues by saying the real issue is the open trash cans. “Humans created the problem, humans can fix it.” The Parks and Recreation Department plans to meet and consider recommendations next Monday or Tuesday as the team is still being formed. — Email Ashland freelance writer Julie Akins at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/@julieakins.