Colorado Mountain Communities Will Use Grant Money To Protect Bears By Reducing Temptation

EVERGREEN, Colo. (CBS4) -- In unincorporated parts of Jefferson County, there's a reason they don't have things like city councils: they generally don't want them. That hasn't stopped the formation of a group called Bear Aware Evergreen, a collection of people who are all witnessing bears reach further and further into their daily lives.

"I usually get woken up about five nights a week during the summer," Barbara Gertz, Bear Aware Evergreen member told Mountain Newsroom Reporter Spencer Wilson Tuesday.

"They take the trash cans and they turn them upside down and slam them," she added, laughing.

While it might be cute to imagine, it's not healthy for the bears to be going though garbage for human food waste, and it's not healthy for humans to have bears that close that often.

"When bears get in trash regularly, they lose their fear of humans," Gertz said. "Then they will come closer to the house, get into the homes for food."

Now, with parts of a million dollar grant from Colorado Parks and Wildlife up for grabs for communities that need it most, they believe they have a pretty good case to get some help in their bear-infested areas. Things like buying bear-resistant dumpsters for restaurants in town or replacing the cans in the local park with bear-resistant models would go a long way, according to Gertz.

She remembers a time recently when bears, who had learned there were free meals in a restaurant dumpster, decided to try their luck getting into the restaurant itself.

"They literally had claw marks where he tried to peel the siding back like that," Gertz said, making a claw motion with her hands. "If we don't work with people and get these trash cans and get an ordinance, then we're going to have to keep putting bears down. It's not fair to the bears."

Once bears have a human conflict one too many times, they are forced to kill the bear to eliminate the danger of a bear who's far more likely to hurt a human in the future (à la the movie "Minority Report"). Gertz believes bears are a wonderful part of her home, but doesn't want them becoming more comfortable entering her actual home.

"It's a privilege to live among wildlife, but with privilege comes responsibility and we have a responsibility to our wildlife safe," Gertz explained. "You know, be responsible."