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http://www.omniture.com --> Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Advertisement Email Story to a Friend May 27, 2006 Only trash cans in lower Lithia Park will remain through Memorial Day weekend after a cinnamon-colored black bear was spotted raiding park cans in daylight. (Mail Tribune / Jim Craven) Bear raids Lithia Park By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune ASHLAND — Lithia Park picnickers will have to pack out their own garbage this weekend as part of an effort to shoo away a hungry black bear raiding park garbage cans. Parks and Recreation Department officials on Friday removed more than 50 trash cans from the park in the latest reaction to what wildlife biologists believe is a preventable problem of accidentally luring bears to town. City Parks and Recreation Director Don Robertson said the cinnamon-colored bear was seen Thursday and Friday rummaging through the trash cans during daylight and apparently with little fear of humans. So it may take more than a whiff of Lithia water to coax this bruin away. "Our hope is, without the trash there, he'll get hungry and move back to the woods where he belongs," Robertson said. Parks crews Friday posted signs warning visitors about the bear. A few trash cans will be replaced this morning in the park's lower end, but they will be cleaned every 90 minutes, Robertson said. Plans are to continue the practice through Memorial Day weekend, then re-assess the situation next week, Robertson said. "The park's still open," Robertson said. "We're just asking people to take their trash with them." Talking trash is something state wildlife biologist Rosemary Stussy does each spring, when black bears seek out a quick meal while they await deer fawns, berries and other natural food sources to return. Everything from dog food to bird feeders and even scented candles burned on a windowsill can attract hungry bears, said Stussy, who handles damage complaints for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife's Central Point office. Overflowing garbage cans and even closed cans left overnight for next-day pickup become the most common smorgasbords for hungry bruins that otherwise would not come to town. "Bears are about food and right now, they're in everybody's trash," Stussy said. "If you don't stop them right off the bat, they can become a safety issue. "The frustrating part is that this is all preventable," she said. "You can do something about your trash." Lithia Park managers are not alone in Ashland bear woes. Bruce Johnson recently installed bird feeders to attract neighborhood finches along the upper end of Wimer Street. Last week, it attracted something far larger and hairier. A bear destroyed the feeders and a pole in its quest for seeds, Johnson said. He didn't bother putting the feeders back. "I'm not going to fight that battle," Johnson said. Someone else may have fought the bear battle for Gloria Bounds, whose shed off Emigrant Creek Road was raided twice by a bear because of old dog food stashed inside. "There's no reason for him to be down here," Bounds said. Bounds said she believes the bear met its demise last week at an unknown neighbor's residence. "I heard a couple booms one night and I figured, whoops, that was it," she said. The spring bear season is currently under way outside of city limits within the Rogue Valley. Also, bears that cause damage or create human-safety threats can be killed by residents without a permit, but the shooting must be reported to wildlife officials, ODFW wildlife biologist Steve Niemela said. About half of the three dozen local bear complaints Stussy has logged this year have come in May, with many coming from residents along Ashland's fringe. Stussy said garbage-eating bears can learn the tricks of the trade from their mothers and can easily become unafraid of pan-banging humans. "Not everybody's made up of the stuff to run a bear off," Stussy said. "Instead, you just don't do anything to attract them in the first place." Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] . Advertisement s Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker Custom Build Computers Discount Hotel Reservations online casinos news Ashley Furniture HomeStore Send Flowers Southern Oregon Loans California Casinos GMAT Prep Windermere Van Vleet Sports Equipment Online Casino Reviews Online Bingo Entertainment Guide Online Casino Fundraisers Sudoku Online Casinos Canada Online Pharmacy