8 A
SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2018
Bears
from 1A
ODFW, in conjunction with
Oregon State Police (OSP),
responded by setting up cam-
eras and a live trap — meaning
a type of trap that does not kill
or injure the animal — in late
January and quickly caught and
euthanized two of the three
yearling bears.
“After the first two bears
were trapped, the remaining
sow and yearling would not
enter the live trap over the next
week, so we removed the trap
and asked for assistance from
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Wildlife Services, an agency
with expertise in predator con-
trol,” said Dennehy. “When
they went to the gazebo, a year-
ling bear was on site and
popped its jaw and bluff
charged the responder, which
were signs of aggression.”
The responder then shot the
bear, killing it on site.
The mother bear has not yet
been caught or killed and
ODFW has heard no reports of
her as of Tuesday.
Dennehy suggested the sow
was still living at Greentrees or
in the surrounding area, most
likely due to the availability of
food.
“Once bears become habitu-
ated, they tend to stay that way
— which is why we are always
telling people not to feed bears
and to secure their garbage, so
this behavior never has a
chance to start,” said Dennehy,
who points out that Oregon
Revised Statue (ORS) 498.012
authorizes the use of lethal
force to address damage, public
nuisance or public safety
issues, and she believes the sit-
uation at Greentrees met those
guidelines.
“We’ve been trying for
months to get this situation
under control, but it’s been get-
ting worse not better, with bear
behavior escalating. It’s our
responsibility to manage bears
so they don’t threaten public
safety,” Dennehy said. “As
Greentrees is a community with
ing in close proximity to bears
that it is illegal to provide food
to bears. The improper disposal
of food waste is one of the most
common reasons that bears
venture onto private property.
“When people do call us, we
talk to them about why secur-
ing garbage, cleaning up under
bird feeders and taking other
steps to keep bears wild — and
not habituated — is so impor-
tant,” Dennehy said. “We also
do this through our ‘Living
with Bears’ webpage, provid-
ing a brochure of this informa-
tion, and sometimes sending
out statewide reminders via
news release.
“We are also hoping to do a
presentation at Greentrees soon
about our bear management
policies.”
MARK BRENNAN/SIUSLAW NEWS
ODFW reports only four
Three young bears were killed at Greentrees Village between Jan. 25 and Feb. 1.
cases
of bear and human inter-
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has been dealing with the “habituated” bears
actions
have ever resulted in
who no longer showed fear around people and felt the situation warranted the lethal
human
injuries
and there have
action. At least one more bear remains in or near Greentrees Village.
been no documented human
residences in close proximity, are. Having at least four habitu- and one that needed responding mortalities in Oregon as the
it’s unacceptable for bears to be ated bears in one small commu- to.”
result of black bears.
in this area behaving like they nity is a dangerous situation
Dennehy reminds those liv-
L ANE C OUNTY S HERIFF ’ S O FFICE
On Feb, 3, the Lane County
Sheriff’s Office added 50 jail
beds for local defendants and
offenders, increasing the
number of local jail beds to
367 from 317.
“This is the fourth increase
in capacity since the passage
of the Public Safety levy to
fund jail beds and youth
detention and treatment serv-
ices in Lane County,” said
Sgt. Carrie Carver of the
Lane
County
Sheriff’s
Office.
Prior to the levy, the jail
had 125 local jail beds, and
contracted out several other
beds to outside agencies.
After the passage of the levy
in 2013, the jail doubled local
capacity to 256 beds, and
then to 297 beds in
September 2015.
In February 2016, enough
additional staff had been
hired and trained to increase
the number of local jail beds
again to 317, which is where
the capacity remained until
this most recent increase.
The number of capacity
based releases (CBRs, or
early releases) has reduced
by 61.34 percent compared to
CBRs prior to the levy, and
the jail has not released any
pre-trial inmates being held
on Measure 11, violent felony
charges, due to capacity
Free Native
Plants
Available
Saturday
MAPLETON—Those
who live near a river, creek
or lake can receive free
native plants from the
Siuslaw
Watershed
Council’s annual Native
Plant Distribution program.
Trees and shrubs planted
along streams help reduce
erosion, filter nutrients, and
keep the water cool for
salmon and trout.
The distribution is 10
a.m. to noon on Saturday,
Feb.10.
For more information,
visit siuslaw.org and follow
the
Native
Plant
Distribution link.
Information is also avail-
able by phone at 541-
268-3044,
or
e-mail
nativeplants@siuslaw.org.
This project is made pos-
sible through a grant from
the U.S. Forest Service’s
Coast Range Stewardship
Fund.
Visit the Siuslaw
News online at
WWW.THESIUSLAW
NEWS.COM
(which was not the case prior
to the levy).
In addition to the decrease
in CBRs, the jail has strength-
ened its focus on treatment
services for inmates suffering
from severe and persistent
mental illness, including
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
treatment through a partner-
ship with Sponsor’s, Inc., a
local reentry program.
“The jail also offers contin-
uing education to help
inmates get their GED, as
well as socialization classes
focusing on practicing appro-
priate behaviors, communica-
ADDS
50
tion and coping skills,” said
Carver.
Three additional mental
health specialists have also
joined the team at the Lane
County Jail (through a collab-
oration with Lane County
Behavioral Health) to work on
discharge planning with
LOCAL JAIL BEDS
inmates to help ensure a
smooth, uninterrupted transi-
tion of services and treatment
from the jail to the communi-
ty.
This new program is geared
towards
decreasing
an
inmate’s risk of reoffending
by addressing the factors that
contributed to their initial
offense.
“The Lane County Jail is
thrilled to be able to offer
these services to inmates both
within the facility and as part
of multiple partnerships with
reentry services out in the
community,” Carver said.
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