Mayor John Mason and the council agreed to carry the matter over to a planned work session at 7 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall. The Fairfax Youth Police Club supports the fields as a way to alleviate a general shortage of playing fields throughout the Fairfax area. The club is asking its members and others to don T-shirts and attend the work session. Members are also sending letters and e-mails to council members, arguing that the park location is perfect and that the fields will help attract young families to Fairfax City. After seven decades of trying to increase the number of black bears in Virginia, state game officials are turning their efforts to stabilizing what is now a thriving bear population in most parts of the state.
Bears often damage crops and homes, and are a traffic hazard.
Since the 1930s, the state Department of Game and Inland Fisheries has sought to boost the number of bears, but now it is reversing course with a proposed bear management plan. The black bear population is growing at a rate of 6 percent each year in Virginia, with about 1,000 bears born each year. The plan, which is modeled after Virginia's deer management effort, is available for public review and comment. Residents can obtain printed copies by writing Bear Management Plan, P.O. Box 996, Verona, Va. 24482. Comments on the plan must be received by May 20.