Every Vail resident will be required to shell out $170 or more for bear-proof trash cans under one of the strictest wildlife-protection ordinances in the state.
A winter after a highly publicized incident in which a black bear sow was destroyed for breaking into homes, leaving two cubs orphaned, town officials approved the law, which carries penalties ranging from a fine of $999 to 180 days in jail.
“Any time humans and bears encounter each other, especially around a food source, the potential for danger is there, and that’s what we’re really trying to avoid,” said Vail police Detective Ryan Millbern, who spearheaded the effort to require bear-proof containers.
Officials hope that if bears can no longer find food in the town’s trash, they will remain in the woods.
A few other communities in the mountains require that trash be left in communal bear-proof containers, but Vail is the first to require every homeowner to purchase the containers, which they must do by Sunday.
“That’s a very reasonable price to pay to live in bear country and to do what’s right to protect bears,” said resident Sally Jackle, who supports the ordinance. “I look at it from the point of view that we live in their house, and I consider it our moral duty to live lightly in their house.”
A few vocal critics have complained about the cost of bear- proof containers and the loss of convenience of simply carrying trash bags to the curb, town officials acknowledged, but they said most residents understand the need, if not the approach.
Late last summer, a Colorado Division of Wildlife officer killed a black bear that had led her twin cubs on food raids in several homes in West Vail, highlighting the problem of wildlife becoming habituated to humans and associating them with food.
The cubs – now named Timber and Kodak – were retrieved from a condominium bathroom and then taken to the Schneegas Wildlife Foundation in Silt, where they were rehabilitated and later released in time for winter hibernation.
“I actually think that, in a very sad way, that helped enact this law,” Jackle said. “It called attention to this problem and made a lot of people feel bad.”
Wildlife officials say the bear-proof trash containers do discourage marauding bears.
In Snowmass Village, the number of bear encounters plummeted, and even problems created by other animals, such as raccoons, fell dramatically after the town required neighborhoods to switch to the latched depositories in 1999, said animal-control officer Tina White.
Other communities – including Boulder, Durango and Steamboat Springs – prohibit residents from putting out garbage the night before collection and have public-relations campaigns to raise bear awareness.
“We’re actually trying to shame people into doing the right thing,” said Bryan Peterson, director of Bear Smart Durango, a volunteer citizens group that has been conducting neighborhood patrols and handing out fliers.
In Vail, the new ordinance has caused a run on $229 bear-proof containers at the Ace Hardware store and through the two private trash-collection services.
As an incentive, the town is holding a lottery that will refund $150 to 10 homeowners who submit receipts by the end of the week.
Meanwhile, the town is flooding local media with word of the new requirements, including a newspaper ad that shows a cartoon bear with an oversized rump saying: “Get a nicer can.”
Staff writer Steve Lipsher can be reached at 970-513-9495 or slipsher@denverpost.com.
Tips for keeping bears at a distance
- Keep garbage indoors overnight.
- Feed pets inside and store pet food indoors.
- Clean barbecue grills after each use.
- Feed birds only in winter.
- Never store food outside.
- Harvest your fruit trees as they ripen.
Source: City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks
“Problem” bears
The number of bears killed in Colorado after multiple encounters with humans:
2005 – 29
2004 – 34
2003 – 26
2002 – 73
2001 – 17
2000 – 11
Source: Colorado Division of Wildlife
