Dear OWL Member, Ojai Valley resident, or other member of the public,
Please read the letter below. If you approve, reply with your first and last name, to suewill@roadrunner.com as soon as possible and we will add your name to the signatures. Please respond even if you have already sent an individual letter.
Response to Pedro Nava Memorandum on Ojai Bear Incident
To: Ben Turner, Legislative Aide, Assemblymember Nava’s Capitol Office, ben.turner@asm.ca.gov
From: the Ojai Wildlife League, (OWL) http://www.ojaiwildlifeleague.com/
Dear Assemblyman Pedro Nava and Mr. Ben Turner,
Thank you for investigating the protocol and policies that resulted in the killing of an Ojai black bear by the California Department of Fish and Game on October 10th, 2009.

As you are aware, many Ojai residents called your office and wrote letters to express their outrage over the actions of DFG. Many longtime residents living near avocado orchards, ranches in the east end of Ojai, properties near the mountains etc. wrote letters to the editor describing how they have co existed with bears in the area for decades.
As a result of DFG’s actions, a group of concerned citizens has formed the Ojai Wildlife League (OWL), in order to address issues of public education to eliminate bear attractants, promote appropriate human behavior when experiencing bear encounters and to continue to pressure the DFG to change their policy regarding wildlife in general, and bears in particular that wander into residential areas.
We have read the official DFG Report, as well as all the articles and interviews with Roland Takayama, the local head warden responsible for ordering the killing of this bear. You are in receipt of letters from individual OWL members pointing out the conspicuous omissions in Fish & Game’s version of the bear incident.
We have been in touch with other communities that have similar situations with wildlife and are successful in removing animals without harming them. We want that same treatment for Ojai Valley wildlife.
It is well-established that “dispatching” a bear should be an action of last resort. Killing bears does not ultimately keep bears out of residential neighborhoods.
Ann Bryant, executive director of the BEAR League of Lake Tahoe (www.savebears.org) states in her writings that “The bear who inadvertently ventured into Ojai recently should most certainly still be alive today and would be were it not for the inappropriate and woefully disturbing actions of a governmental agency — the Department of Fish and Game — that answers to no one and blatantly disregards its own mission to protect California’s wildlife.”
She states that “In Tahoe, a bear in a tree in a neighborhood is an everyday occurrence. Everyone here knows exactly what to do … clear the area, bring dogs inside, make sure the bear has a clear path of escape and let him come down when he feels safe. If a bear happens to go up a tree near a school or a busy road or any place where he may need assistance, the BEAR League is called (not the Department of Fish and Game) and we monitor the outcome so as to ensure public safety and to escort the bear back to an appropriate wooded area.”
In her articles, she describes how “In thousands of cases of bears in trees, we have never had to even think about using tranquilizers. We’ve never had a bear or a human being injured.”
There is a great need for accurate information about bears, both locally and worldwide. The newly formed Ojai Wildlife League is joining forces with other bear and wildlife organizations dedicated to educating the public and replacing misconceptions with facts.
OWL supports the adoption of new wildlife policies that include consideration of water and food habits of bears and other animals, how these animals are impacted by fire, drought and urban encroachment.and how these conditions can be ameliorated.
We are concerned that DFG will likely deal with the bear issue by suggesting tagging after tranquilizing and leave it at that. This does not address the issue of aversive training for the bear nor is it in the best interest of the bear, only the hunters! We need to a local bear enclosure in the vicinity of local bear habitat where a bear can be taken to be “reconditioned” and released safely into its own habitat so it has a better chance of survival and less of a chance of returning back to town.
The Wildlife Care of Ventura organization is applying for such a permit and already has an ideal location here in the Ojai Valley near Lake Casitas. We request your support for this essential facility.
We also would like to request that the authorities with DF&G be required to start working with and making use of local wildlife rescue organizations and their facilities before resorting to any type of lethal activity, except of course in the extremely rare case of an aggressive black bear. In closing, it should be duly noted that black bears, as opposed to other species of bears, are not naturally aggressive animals.
The time has come to update CDFG’s outdated kill policy. We hope you will continue to pursue the investigation that will result in a change in the current policy of DFG for all wildlife in the state.
Sincerely,
Sue Williamson
Ojai Wildlife League (OWL)
The following OWL members and supporters are those who have signed on so far. More people are continuing to sign on but we wanted you to get this letter today:
Suza Francina, former Ojai mayor and City Council member
Sholom Joshua
Dale Hanson
David E. Moody, Ph.D.
Jodi Brandt
Marjorie C. Emerson
Cory Sipper, founding member
Pam Edwards
Jennifer Jesu-Anter
Jeanne Miner
Sharon Engel
Erin Elwood
Julia J. Di Sieno, Executive Director, Animal Rescue Team, inc.
Joy C. McManus
Gayle Bertsch
Sonia Nordenson
R.S. Shelor
Maggie Phelps
Rae Hanstad, former Ojai mayor and City Council member
Livia Smoquina
Jean-Marie Webster
Lorie Baker
Shirley Ramgren
Lalla and Rinaldo Brutoco
Cheryl Palmer
Kristin Deitz
Susan Kasser
Maria Tello
Jeff Goodman
Sally Carless
Dianne Bennett
Kristan Altimus
Ingrid Boulting
sharon kanan
Julie Heath
Don Heath
Paige Heath
Darren Heath
Jordan Heath
Alex Heath
Dyana Oswald Ojai-Santa Barbara
Wendy L. Swoboda
Mark Solomon
Cary Solomon
Joel Berkovitz
Ashley Becker
Kathleen M. Albert
Ellen Johnson
Jeff Foster
Marty Fast
Genevieve (Gena) Dillon
Diane J. Squire, M.B.A.
Candy Pope
Ken Zeiger
Tony Mafrica
Susan Cummings
Judy K. Nelson
Joyce Gibbs
John Kertis
Lanny Kaufer
Meg Goodwin
Auriel Entrekin
Julie Tumamait-Stenslie, Chumash Elder and Commissioner on the Native American Heritage Commission
Cathy Elliott Jones
Anita Thompson
Marcie Maloof
Anita Hendricks
John W. Randle
Lari Davis
John Brooks
Victoria Ajaye
Donald & Christine Bowen
Daniel Mullins
Sara Lawrence
Vickie Peters
Anna Reams, Director Wildlife Care of Ventura County
ADD YOUR NAME TO THIS LIST BY emailing Sue Wiliamson: suewill@roadrunner.com

Tagged as: aliso street bear