ODFW warns Lane County residents after black bear sighting near Spencer Butte Park

Secure the garbage, bring pet food inside and clean the grill before evening if you live near Spencer Butte Park. After a black bear was seen in the area, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is warning Lane County residents that the fastest way to keep a bear from coming back is to remove the easy meals that draw it into yards, porches and neighborhoods.

ODFW says black bears are the only bear species found in Oregon and estimates the state has about 25,000 to 30,000 of them. The animals are especially active in spring and autumn, often moving around in daylight and during the hours around sunrise and sunset, when they are more likely to notice food left out near homes.

That pattern is familiar in Eugene and the surrounding countryside. ODFW wildlife biologist Tom Yee has said bear reports around Eugene are a recurring seasonal issue, with 20 to 30 reports in a typical year around the city and about twice that number in surrounding rural areas. In one year, Lane County cities logged between 40 and 50 bear sightings, and spring warmth in the Willamette Valley often lines up with more reports in South Eugene as natural food sources become harder to find.

The advice for today is straightforward: take trash out just before pickup, not the night before, and keep garbage cans clean so odors do not linger. Pull in bird seed, pet food and anything else that smells like a meal, and do not leave dirty grills uncovered. Around Spencer Butte Park and nearby neighborhoods, that kind of routine can keep a bear moving through instead of teaching it that homes are worth revisiting.

A bear passing through on its own is normal. A bear that keeps circling back for trash, pet food or bird seed is not. ODFW has warned that black bears with repeated access to human food can become aggressive and may eventually have to be euthanized, as happened in Cottage Grove in 2024 after a 2-year-old male bear repeatedly came near people and homes. If a bear is lingering near houses, approaching people or pets, or repeatedly getting into food or garbage, call authorities and keep children and animals away until it leaves.