100 signatures reached
To: Glenwood Springs Mayor Wussow, Members of Glenwood Springs City Council and Matthew Langhorst, Director Public Works
Bears and Trash in Glenwood Springs
Dear Mayor Wussow, members of City Council and Director Langhorst,
We, the residents of Glenwood Springs, are increasingly frustrated with the ongoing trash issues in our community.
Many residents have raised concerns about the growing number of bears entering town limits in search of food. Since the citywide roll out of the new policies last year, bear-resistant trash carts were removed and replaced with flimsy alternatives. As a result, there has been a significant increase in bear activity, including bears getting into trash, tearing down fences to get to trash and tipping over dumpsters.
This situation is dangerous for both bears and residents. In addition to being at risk of euthanization, bears that become dependent on human food sources risk exposure to harmful materials that can lead to a painful death.
For residents, the consequences are also severe. Besides a safety concern of having bears wandering our neighborhoods, the first violation for strewn trash is $50 (increasing to $200 on October 1), the second is $500 and the third violation results in a court summons. Add to this, the cost to lease a bear-resistant cart is now double the cost of trash pick-up. For example, a resident pays $25.44/month for a 64g can for weekly trash pick up, whereas the same trash in a bear-resistant cart will now cost $49.44/month. This program is neither sustainable for the community nor for the bear population.
This issue is closely linked to the lack of affordable and accessible bear-resistant trash canisters despite living in bear country. We believe the solution is to provide bear-resistant canisters and/or dumpsters to all residents. If that is not feasible, these canisters need to be offered at an affordable price.
It is critical that this problem is addressed immediately as bears are entering hyperphagia, a time in which they dramatically increase their food intake as they prepare for hibernation.
Our Ask:
- Immediately, replace the flimsy trash carts with bear resistant carts (as well as any dumpsters that were switched out)
- Ensure that any increase in cost is affordable and offer subsidies to those who cannot afford this extra fee.
- To maximize longevity of the cans, we suggest providing residents with bear-resistant carts during bear season (May-Oct) which can be swapped out for non bear resistant-carts during non-bear season (Nov-April)
Thank you for ensuring the safety of both bears and people in a manner that is both reasonable and affordable.
Why is this important?
Human-Bear Conflict is a Human Problem Not a Bear Problem
Trash is the number one reason that bears are in our urban areas.
Trash is the number one reason that bears are in our urban areas.
Residents of Glenwood Springs deserve to have the tools needed to reduce human-bear conflict and to keep both residents and bears safe.