Wissler Ranch News

May 21st HOA Meeting:

A spokesperson from the Water Commission will be presenting information during this meeting. The speaker will cover rules specific to Wissler Ranch as a community as well as individual water usage limitations. All those interested in how our water allocations and limitations work should plan on attending the May 21st meeting at Kilmer Elementary School beginning at 7:00pm.

Spring/Summer 2008:

New benches and picnic tables will be added to the playground area. If you have comments or concerns as to the location of these new additions please contact a board member or the maintenance committee chairperson.

Committee Members Needed:

Two new committees are in the process of being formed and the board is looking for members from our community to participate. The first group will look into improvements for the mailbox area. The second will be a group to work with the State Forest Department and Fire District to compose a Fire Protection Plan for our community. If either of these two options interest you please contact Pres@Wisslerranch.com.

Bear Sighting May 2007

Dear Wissler Ranch Neighbors,

We had the bear on our back yard this morning. See attached photos. He ripped down our bird feeders and one of our bird houses. We scared him away by yelling and making lots of noise. We were worried not just for ourselves and our property but also for some of our neighbors who have small children and pets that play in the yard during the day.

I called the Division of Wildlife and spoke to Bob. He gave us some tips:

Store all bird feeders indoors until cold weather when bears hibernate, including hummingbird feeders.
Put trash out the morning of pickup, not the night before. They will smell food in the trash; that will cause them to keep coming back habitually.
Make loud noises to scare them away. Bob suggested banging pots together.
Do not feed birds in the summer. The feeders will draw the bears. This one particularly likes bird seed. With no feeders out, the birds will then eat beetles which will help prevent another problem.
Do not feed pets outside. The food will attract bears.
Bears can be attracted to vegetable gardens and compost piles.
Keep barbecue grills clean. Be sure to clean the drip pan thoroughly after use.
Bears are attracted to fruit trees.
If you have fish in ponds, be sure to provide hiding places for them.
Bears have keen noses and for some reason are attracted to the smell of hot tub covers. They've been known to rip off covers and take a dip.
To discourage bears, spray areas with a half and half mixture of water and ammonia.

Bob said that the bear was spotted 7 miles south of here. If we take precautions, hopefully he'll continue moving north.

If we take these precautions now, we'll avoid a bigger problem in August when they forage for 20 hours per day to put on fat for the winter.

Bob will stop by our home tomorrow and drop off some literature, which I will share at the next HOA meeting.

If you have questions, please contact me.

Thank you,

Brian Freese 481-3853