Broken trash cans near University of Colorado Boulder campus seem to attract bears
When people see trash lining alleyways of "The Hill" by the University of Colorado Boulder campus, it may be easy to blame college students, but this time, someone or something else may be to blame - bears.
CBS Colorado Your Reporter in Boulder Sarah Horbacewicz ran into junior Jake Siemsen while he was taking out the trash on Monday.
"If you come out here at night, there's probably going to be a bear walking around at some point," Siemsen said, "They were digging through the trash one night and broke a little windowpane, which we had to pay to get replaced."
Siemsen says the bears have left behind torn window screens and a trail of trash.
"When the bears come through and mess up our trash, we get tickets from the city," Siemsen said, "It's kind of inconvenient that we can't really tell the bears not to come."
But Brenda Lee, founder of Boulder Bear Coalition and Colorado Bear Coalition, is hoping to do just that.
Pointing out overflowing trash cans in the area, Lee explained, "This area is required by law to store your trash in bear-resistant trash cans and to lock them."
"It breaks my heart, because this is basically putting out a golden platter," said Lee.
Up and down the alley, there were broken bins and one even in a nearby creek. Now, Lee is working to clean things up by spreading awareness before anyone or a bear gets hurt.
"I started doing this work, I did it because a bear was killed in my neighborhood, and everyone was angry at the agency... for killing the bear, and I started asking… why is the bear here?" Lee said.
Some of her work with the coalitions includes utilizing more than $50,000 in grant funding from Colorado Parks and Wildlife to build tougher trash storage sheds.
Boulder landlord Mike Stengel says he uses trash sheds on all his properties, and now he's hoping more landlords agree to get one of their own.
"I think there needs to be investment from the landowner standpoint to set the kids up for success," Stengel said.
And for Lee, that success means more than just cleaner streets, but safer ones too.
"Bears don't deserve to die. Because we're being irresponsible, and now that I know we can do things, it's irresponsible not to do it," Lee said.
Lee also encourages anyone who needs bear deterrent resources to contact the Colorado Bear Coalition. Lee added that if someone's bear-proof trash cans are broken, she can also help renters or landlords navigate affordable solutions.