A black bear boom has townfolk wondering how they’d get along with grizzlies

“I have serious doubts about plans to turn grizzly bears loose in this area,” said Jim Barton, 92, a longtime resident and former ranger in Yosemite and Yellowstone national parks.

A camper walks past a sign that warns visitors about bears in Sequoia National Park, near the town of Three Rivers.

John Elliott inspects a chain that bear-proofs garbage cans in Three Rivers. The community of Three Rivers, a gateway to Sequoia National Park, was invaded by an estimated 150 starving black bears last year.

A cow wanders across a hillside in the community of Three Rivers, a gateway to Sequoia National Park, which was invaded by an estimated 150 starving black bears last year. Dozens of them were illegally shot and deliberately run over.

Moro Rock glows as the sun sets at Sequoia National Park. The town of Three Rivers, the gateway to the national park, was invaded by an estimated 150 starving black bears last year.

A California black bear roams in Three Rivers in 2015.

John Elliot continues to argue that unnamed residents and ranchers on the edges of town killed as many as 40 to 50 bears last year without depredation permits.

John Elliott looks out over his field, where his wife watched a man shoot a bear to death last year in Three Rivers.