You're not seeing too many bears out and about these days, but come summer – actually May thru October - they'll be out and about looking for food – and perhaps heading into the South Shore area. There have been several incidents over the years of bears getting into garbage cans and conflicts between bears and residents, and Chelan County Commissioner Tiffany Gering says the county is taking steps to reduce, if not eliminate them. She says enforcement will be stepped up:
Gering says she's working with various departments to come up with solutions that work for everyone involved; one possible solution involves bear-proof garbage cans, something Gering realizes not everyone agrees with:
The commissioner says everyone is on the same page, that they don't want to be attacked by a bear, nor do they want to see a bear shot and have to be euthanized, like what happened with a mama bear in Leavenworth recently; that mama bear had two cubs, one of which still hasn't been found, and will likely die as well.