FOOTHILL CITIES CONVENE TO ADDRESS RISING BEAR ACTIVITY

On Friday, the City of Sierra Madre convened a group from Foothill cities, the California Dept. of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), and the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments (SGVCOG) to discuss best practices and regional efforts for wildlife management. The discussion was primarily focused on bear activity in the region and reviewed service call data from the Cities of Altadena, Arcadia, Duarte, La Cañada Flintridge, Monrovia, Pasadena and Sierra Madre.

Sierra Madre has reported an unusually high number of bear intrusions in 2025, with 66 incidents of bears entering homes to date. Arcadia continues to face similar issues, but at a lower level of frequency. For example, just last week, a bear was found trapped in a home’s crawl space on Carmelita Ave. that had to be lured out through the house using “rancid chicken”. Bear activity typically peaks in the summer and recently led to the euthanasia of a problematic bear in Sierra Madre, prompting greater urgency for regional collaboration.

One key challenge highlighted during the meeting was the lack of adequate state funding for CDFW, which currently has 1-2 wildlife conflict specialists for all of Southern California. The meeting concluded with a strong interest in forming a working group of Foothill cities, CDFW, and the SGVCOG to explore long-term strategies for managing human-bear conflicts. This effort may eventually mirror the existing coyote management framework developed through the SGVCOG, which Arcadia has implemented and had success with for many years. While discussions remain in the early stages, Arcadia plans to participate in any working groups that are formed regarding bears and will keep the City Council apprised of any developments.