Tramontana has decades of experience working in environmental education. And what she’s seeing in her backyard, she said, is disheartening.

“I hate to see it developing as quickly as it is. But I understand why people are coming to Florida. I also understand the economics. We just need to be really smart with how we develop,” said Tramontana.

Earlier Monday, Walt Disney World Resort shut down part of Magic Kingdom, which came after a black bear sighting.

The park was able to reopen after FWC captured the bear.

The bear was released into the Ocala National Forest shortly after it was captured.

Tramontana says the bear sighting at Disney may be more common as development continues.

She says our area needs to rethink and reshape the future of Florida development.

“When I was a child growing up in Florida, a bear had a single, maybe twins. Not triplets and quadruplets. So you have more bears, but you have less habitat for them. It’s almost like a disaster waiting to happen,” said Tramontana.

With thousands of people moving to Florida every day the demand for housing is high. 

But the demand comes with a cost.

“You’re seeing what used to be open forest land is now being cleared and developed. That used to be land that held wildlife, whether it’s bears, deer, foxes, bobcats, things like that. As you clear it, those animals have to go somewhere,” said Tramontana.

As Central Florida continues growing, Tramontana hopes to see smart development with the environment in mind.

“Some of it we need to compact our growth. We may need to grow up more than out. We need to bring in green areas, forested areas, and we need to make sure those forested areas are connected,” said Tramontana.

FWC said bears are more active in the fall as they search for food ahead of winter.