The excitement this week up in Sacramento is rippling down the state and it is about you, me and our close neighbors.

For the first time in the 10 years I’ve been working this Mountain Communities beat, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife is focused on our little neighborhoods, right here, surrounded by the Los Padres National Forest.

The excitement is about next Wednesday’s ‘Keep Me Wild’ Town Hall at the Frazier Park Library (7-8:30 p.m., with refreshments; bring the kids).

The black bear population is growing in this state, and too many have been killed here for bad behavior—behavior often caused because we humans don’t realize the consequences of being ‘friends’ with our wild neighbors.

Several wildlife biologists, local as well as from Sacramento, will be coming to answer questions and to provide information about how we can all live with wild neighbors without needlessly endangering their lives.

Information Officer Janice Mackey sent this update: “We have a Bear Aware presentation that we are finalizing (20 slides), [and we are] making a list of materials to bring and having weekly meetings to prepare for it.

“We will have wildlife officers, wildlife biologists and information officers on hand. We also invited the U.S. Forest Service to join us.

“Our Natural Resource Volunteers will be on the ground in Frazier Park and Lebec to pass out Bear Aware brochures to residents the day of the meeting.” Mackey says they view this as the pilot for the roll-out of a statewide education campaign. So come on over; join in the Town Hall.

This is part of the May 16, 2014 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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