What the garbage studies showed is that reinforced, locking bear-resistant containers make a solid difference—provided people take the time to latch them properly. In an area where 80 percent of the containers were used as they’re meant to be, there were 45 human-bear conflicts over the course of the study. A similar area with only 10 percent compliance had 272 conflicts. What this says is that containers aren’t enough. You also need laws requiring people to use them, and fines for people who ignore those laws. Aspen has all of this, but there has been a reluctance to follow through with the
...more
