By Katy Human
Camera Staff Writer

More than a dozen environmental groups have asked the Boulder County commissioners to consider ticketing county residents who attract or feed bears, and to launch a public education campaign to reduce human-bear interactions.

People who deliberately or accidentally feed bears entice the bruins into towns where they often cause problems — and Colorado law requires wildlife officials to shoot bears that get into trouble more than once.

"An effective education program followed by strict enforcement of these regulations will reduce the need to destroy bears," wrote Bruce Bland, president of the Boulder County Nature Association, in a letter to the Commissioners last week.

Wendy Keefover-Ring of Boulder's carnivore conservation group Sinapu sent a similar letter to commissioners last week.

Last year, a late spring freeze badly harmed berry and other food plants bears need in the fall, when they're putting on fat for winter. The damage was particularly bad in the southern Front Range, and dozens of hungry bears lumbered nightly into towns to feast on garbage outside homes and businesses.

More than 100 bears were struck by cars on Colorado roads, probably as they moved around looking for food, said Division of Wildlife spokesman Todd Malmsbury, and state and federal wildlife officials shot 51 problem bears in Colorado last year.

The state's Wildlife Commission quickly passed regulations letting officers ticket repeat bear-attracting offenders. Once warned, a homeowner whose messy trash bins attract bruins can be fined $68.

But Boulder County is patrolled by just two wildlife officers, said Jim McKee of the Boulder County Nature Association. There are far more sheriff's deputies.

McKee and Keefover-Ring said Aspen, Basalt, Snowmass Village and other towns have passed regulations requiring people who live in bear country to bear-proof trash containers and remove bird feeders and pet food that can attract the bruins.

Both worried that low temperatures in the mountains early Friday morning might have damaged plants that are important fall food for bears.

But state wildlife officer Phil Aragon said temperatures didn't drop low enough to cause significant damage to chokecherries and other fruiting plants. In Boulder, temperatures didn't dip below freezing, and although the mountains got somewhat colder, he said, "I think hopefully the buds are OK."

Other groups that signed the letters include: the Boulder County Audubon Society, the Center for Native Ecosystems, the Colorado Division of Wildlife, the Colorado Wildlife Federation, the Rocky Mountain and Indian Peaks chapters of the Sierra Club, the Colorado Wildlife Alliance and Rocky Mountain Animal Defense.

Boulder County Commissioner Ron Stewart said many of those groups are important in the county.

"When these people ask you to hold a hearing, you hold a hearing," he said.

Commissioners may schedule public and expert testimony on the issue within a month, he said.

Bear country tips: Use bear-proof containers for trash or keep trash cans inside until just before pickup.

Keep pet food inside and take down bird feeders when bears are active, March to mid-November.

Burn off all food residues from grills and clean regularly.

Place only yard clippings in compost piles, not food.

Keep low windows and doors closed securely — bears occasionally walk into homes.

Contact reporter Katy Human at (303) 473-1364 or humank@thedailycamera.com.

May 25, 2002

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