UPDATE, 7/31/2008, Black Bear sighting in Hartman wetlands

UPDATE, 8/11/2008: LIVING WITH WILDLIFE IN WASHINGTON STATE -- This LINK is the best resource for helping us deal with Bears, Bobcats, Racoons, and on.. The Washington Dept. of Fish & Wildlife released this Safety Guide as a result of multiple wildlife sightings this year!

UPDATE, 7/31/08 - Precautionary steps here to keep bears out of our neighborhoods. Department of Fish & Wildlife office in Mill Creek is getting a dozen calls a day of sightings from neighborhoods.

UPDATE, 7/29/08 - 3rd Sighting: " The friend I ride with said her neighbour saw a bear in her townhouse outside, on Avondale , the one next to the Starbucks by PCC. That is just down our hill [from the Camwest clear-cut]. He came out of the trees and was just eating and went back again. She said he was really big! - Sigmunde


UPDATE, 7/29/08
Quote from Eric O'Neal, City Parks Department:
"We had a staff member see a relatively small black bear coming through the park (by fields 3 & 4) and move south towards the wooded area. We put up about twenty paper notices throughout the park about the sighting, and had our Recreation Department contact the baseball user groups to let them know what we saw. We are currently working on a standard wildlife sign that will be posted at locations where cougar and bear have been spotted."
Opinion: It was excellent the Parks Department would go out of the way to extensively notice and inform the baseball user groups "to let them know what we saw". While informing the public of the sighting, if would have been beneficial had Parks described the basics of how to respond to an unlikely encounter. Perhaps, disclosure is a liability issue for the city? b.y.
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When back from vacation my daughter heard that a black bear was seen on June 25 by some baseball players from field #6 of Hartman Park. It was a smaller bear and was foraging in the forested wetlands of Hartman Park near the Perrigo Woods Trail, at the end of 100th St. NE. Councilman Hank Margeson reported another bear sighting made by a fellow baseball umpire, saying it strolled up a trail next to the High School football field; probably the same bear.

The Department of Fish and Wildlife and police didn't have much to say about it and gave little if any precautionary advice, according neighbors. Two years ago when a "cougar" was spotted near Horace Mann Elementary near Hartman wetlands the Parks Dept. posted a warning sign at Perrigo Woods Trailhead. It's been a month and I haven't seen a sign posted. about the bear.

I'm not an expert, but black bears are pretty shy around people and you can usually "loudly talk them away" while slowly backing away and avoiding eye contact. But, still, I think the city owes it to the public to give some very **basic advice on how to deal with the black bear if you walk into it. (Read this article). Do you think the city should advise neighborhoods about containing garbage and pet food, to keep away critters like rats, squirrels, coons, and....?

Critters who have lost their home and food supply will occasionally forage in residential areas. Ever since the Perrigo Heights clear-cut we've had a pileated woodpecker visit our cherry tree. Some of my neighbors have attributed loss of their small pets to coyotes. Would a black bear be any different? Probably few, if any, Redmond bears have a taste for garbage.

Where did this "big guy" come from? My guess is was driven out of an 18 acre forest by Avondale and 116thst. Camwest recently clear-cut much of this open space to make room for a 76-home "Pearce PRD" development. Black bears had been sighted here before. As per linked article, black bears prefer forested wetlands, dense vegetation, and riparian habitat. "Pearce PRD" open space had 9 wetlands, a stream and over 500 trees and is close to the Power Line Trail. Hmmmm.

Hartman Park is a forested wetland. My guess is the "big guy" is holing up in Hartman Wetlands and the adjacent 10 acre forested easement that runs all the way to Nike Park. It would have to cross Avondale Rd. to get into the Bear Creek corridor. Greater Woodinville may be it's ultimate destination, but anyone knows. The Dept. of Fish and Wildlife probably knows it's whereabouts. I hope they don't have to put the "big guy" down.

I'm going to be careful (and noisy!) when I hike for a while. Recently, I hiked across the Hartman wetlands from the row of cedar trees on Perrigo Woods Trail due north. I won't be doing that for a while.....lots of salmonberry and blackberry. Even the network of soft trails between Perrigo Woods Trail and the Hartman baseball fields is an area to be wary. I hope the city and WDFW keeps us informed of the whereabouts of the bear.

The bear in the photo is not from Redmond, WA.