Free Sammamish 'Coexisting with Carnivores' Event Timely Here

Given numerous bear sightings in Sammamish recently, including a  near Skyline High School about a week ago, revisiting some of the ways we can peacefully coexist with our wild neighbors is a timely topic.

Next Wednesday, June 6, the same day as the Sammamish Farmers Market, wildlife researcher Brian Kertson will give a presentation at the .

In addition to Kertson's insights from a dozen years of field work with carnivores, including tracking the patterns of some 40 collared cougars, Fish and Wildlife officer Chris Moszeter will hopefully be on hand--barring an emergency--with Savute, a Karelian Bear Dog. (We hear that Savute might even make an appearance at the market before the talk).

Moszeter and Savute are part of a program pioneered by Captain Bill Hebner of the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife, the first in the US. Funded entirely by donations, the program has grown to six dogs in four years’ time. Each dog lives with its assigned enforcement officer for life. In addition to reconditioning wildlife, the dogs also help nose out evidence in poaching cases, and act as community relations ambassadors to law-abiding citizens, says Bob McCoy, a local wildilife activist and Sammamish Issaquah Patch blogger, who is helping organize the event.

You can read more about the Karelian Bear Dog program on McCoy's blog post, .

In addition to talking about the nitty gritty of coexisting peacefully on the wilderness-urban interface that's a fact of life here, McCoy says Kerston and Moszeter are sure to have some interesting tales to tell about the situations they find themselves in through their work.

McCoy says getting  used to the fact that these animals are our neighbors, always here, though relatively rarely seen, is a big step toward that goal, and that the presentation will be helpful for the whole family (children are welcome to attend).

"They really are our next door neighbors, and if we see one, we don't need to panic," McCoy says.