CDFW SAYS NO-KILL ZONE / SHEET STAFF GRINS, BEARS IT
This article was published in the August 23, 2025 issue
Officers from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) attended the Mammoth Town Council meeting Wednesday to dispel rumors of increased bear trapping in the Eastern Sierra.
While their answers seemed to reassure some, both the department and town officials largely sidestepped what one attendee called “the elephant in the room”: traps reportedly spotted on Mayor Chris Bubser’s property in July.
The Mayor did not address the matter herself. After some public prompting, Town Manager Rob Patterson stepped in.
“There are private citizens and there are government officials who are also, at times, private citizens within the town,” he said, before clarifying that it was really Bubser’s husband who contacted CDFW. “It was not town-directed activity, and in the capacity of mayor, it was not her saying, ‘I want you to come and trap these bears.’”
That word salad came nearly two hours into a discussion that began with a presentation by Michael Brown, a CDFW environmental scientist and bear researcher. Brown repeatedly stressed that CDFW has not euthanized any bears in Mammoth Lakes this year.
Trapping, he said, is primarily for research. The department updated its management plan this year “to maintain viable bear populations and recreational resources.” Part of that new plan involves collaring bears with GPS trackers to monitor population density and behavior.
He emphasized there is no “two-strike” policy under which bears are killed after a second capture. Instead, he said decisions are made case by case and euthanasia occurs only if a bear poses a public-safety threat or is sick or mortally injured.
In the past six years, CDFW has euthanized five animals for management purposes and four for welfare reasons in Inyo and Mono counties, Brown reported. The two young bears trapped on Bubser’s property are “just fine.”
Brown showed maps of bear activity displaying their wide ranges, sometimes stretching from Mammoth to the Glass Mountains, explaining why residents may not see certain animals for long stretches of time.
Brown estimated 7–8 captures in the area this year, though he said exact numbers are hard to pin down given the bears’ movements. Most captures, he added, occur outside town limits.
Seven people spoke online and in-person during public comment, with most of their statements steeped in nostalgia for the bygone supervision of former Mammoth Lakes Wildlife Specialist Steve Searles.
“Whether you liked or agreed with Steve Searles or not, the indisputable fact remains that under his guidance, the town of Mammoth Lakes had the single best bear management program in the world,” said former councilmember John Eastman.
Searles attended the meeting but did not speak.
“I had a sense of pride when I moved here knowing we were world-renowned in bear management, and now I’m fully embarrassed,” added Dawn Vereuck, Planning and Economic Development
Officers from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) attended the Mammoth Town Council meeting Wednesday to dispel rumors of increased bear trapping in the Eastern Sierra.
While their answers seemed to reassure some, both the department and town officials largely sidestepped what one attendee called “the elephant in the room”: traps reportedly spotted on Mayor Chris Bubser’s property in July.
The Mayor did not address the matter herself. After some public prompting, Town Manager Rob Patterson stepped in.
“There are private citizens and there are government officials who are also, at times, private citizens within the town,” he said, before clarifying that it was really Bubser’s husband who contacted CDFW. “It was not town-directed activity, and in the capacity of mayor, it was not her saying, ‘I want you to come and trap these bears.’”
That word salad came nearly two hours into a discussion that began with a presentation by Michael Brown, a CDFW environmental scientist and bear researcher. Brown repeatedly stressed that CDFW has not euthanized any bears in Mammoth Lakes this year.
Trapping, he said, is primarily for research. The department updated its management plan this year “to maintain viable bear populations and recreational resources.” Part of that new plan involves collaring bears with GPS trackers to monitor population density and behavior.
He emphasized there is no “two-strike” policy under which bears are killed after a second capture. Instead, he said decisions are made case by case and euthanasia occurs only if a bear poses a public-safety threat or is sick or mortally injured.
In the past six years, CDFW has euthanized five animals for management purposes and four for welfare reasons in Inyo and Mono counties, Brown reported. The two young bears trapped on Bubser’s property are “just fine.”
Brown showed maps of bear activity displaying their wide ranges, sometimes stretching from Mammoth to the Glass Mountains, explaining why residents may not see certain animals for long stretches of time.
Brown estimated 7–8 captures in the area this year, though he said exact numbers are hard to pin down given the bears’ movements. Most captures, he added, occur outside town limits.
Seven people spoke online and in-person during public comment, with most of their statements steeped in nostalgia for the bygone supervision of former Mammoth Lakes Wildlife Specialist Steve Searles.
“Whether you liked or agreed with Steve Searles or not, the indisputable fact remains that under his guidance, the town of Mammoth Lakes had the single best bear management program in the world,” said former councilmember John Eastman.
Searles attended the meeting but did not speak.
“I had a sense of pride when I moved here knowing we were world-renowned in bear management, and now I’m fully embarrassed,” added Dawn Vereuck, Planning and Economic Development Commissioner. “I think it’s disgusting how this town has changed.”
Rob Patterson again took the initiative in responding to these complaints. He posited Searles was not fired, but refused to renew his contract after the town offered him a shortened deal in 2020.
Truth: The Town offered him a $40,000 pay cut.
“From that point,” he continued, “the town has gone in a different direction, as you can see, with different levels and focus areas in how we’re addressing the bears.”
At one point, Rick Bellis, Mammoth Lakes Code Compliance Officer, suggested CDFW’s presence in Mammoth was political. He added that he’d been advised in his own career to avoid Mammoth because of town politics, but Patterson cut him off before he could elaborate.
Lifetime local Erin O’Malley asked whether public comments at the meeting would influence the town’s management plan.
Patterson replied, “The responsibility of managing wildlife lies with CDFW. It’s not the Town of Mammoth Lakes’ role. We are partners in that space, and certainly stewards of what happens in our community, but we’re not going to muscle in or take over responsibilities that belong to another agency.”
Russell Black, CDFW Inland Deserts Environmental Program Manager, said CDFW has already formed an “Interagency Eastern Sierra Black Bear Management Team” with the Town, Mono and Inyo counties, the Forest Service, and BLM to facilitate partnerships and feedback.
…
Ahead of Wednesday’s Council meeting, Libre and I set out to do some research of our own. Last Friday, we drove up to the Lakes Basin to see what people on the ground were experiencing in regard to bears.
At Coldwater Campground, camp host Kathy Spaulding was scrubbing bathrooms when we stopped by. “What gave it away?” she laughed, broom in hand, when we asked if she worked at the site.
Spaulding said she’s noticed fewer bears this year compared to last, but also more emphasis on public education.
A ranger began visiting on weekends this year to talk with visitors and occasionally post warnings; usually, that’s enough to change behavior without resorting to fines. Mammoth Lakes Police Department (MLPD), she added, has been consistent in its patrols of the area for years.
She wasn’t sure whether the decrease in sightings was due to better visitor compliance or because more bears were being trapped or killed. She recalled two incidents this season where bears managed to get into food lockers, but said she hadn’t reported them.
“There’s no one to report to,” she explained.
Down the road at Lake Mary Marina, front desk worker Patrick McCorkle said he had seen a regular bear visitor last summer, but only one “celebrity appearance” this year.
At the Wildeye Lodge, the host estimated bear activity was about the same as last year, but said numbers seemed to drop after the heavy winter of 2023, which also collapsed the lodge’s roof.
“Five, six years ago, I saw a lot more bears,” he said. “After the big winter, the bear population seemed to dwindle somewhat.”
Later in the week, I visited another U.S. Forest Service campground just outside town limits. There, the hosts told me about a sow and cub that had been frequenting the site. They were never aggressive, but bold enough to slip into RVs for snacks.
The hosts said they never reported the incidents to CDFW, fearing the bears would be killed.
Still, in early July, CDFW arrived, tranquilized the sow, and fitted her with a collar. The cub ran up a tree, crying for two hours while its mother was processed.
The cub was back in a day after the trapping. A week later, CDFW baited and trapped both the bears again. They haven’t seen the bears since. With no further communication from the department, the hosts assumed the bears were dead.
They’ve only seen one other bear since.
The hosts blame the tourists for the trapping.
“They don’t believe us, they would leave their windows open and [the sow] would go in. We give them all a piece of paper with the warnings and rules,” one camp host told me.
“Most of our campers are good,” the other host jumped in. “But it’s the few that don’t follow the rules.”
Unlike the campsites in the Lakes Basin, their campsite doesn’t receive attention from the MLPD, and the ranger only shows up about once a month.
