Statements in article on bears were misleading

Editor:

Thank you for publishing the informative article on bears in Gunnison last week. However, I feel several statements were misleading. The city manager stated “many bear-proof containers have been distributed throughout the western side of the community...” The city distributed trash cans in addition to dumpsters in 2025 funded by a nearly $70,000 partnership grant. She did not clarify only the dumpsters remain, although many of the bars that hold the lid in place to make them bear-proof had been removed. Following multiple bear incidents and the request of residents, the city has returned the bars to the dumpsters.

If you live in the western parts of town, you may have been asking yourself while reading last week’s article, “what happened to the cans we tested last year?” My household did not receive one in 2026, and no one else did either. That’s because, during the predictably highest bear activity on record, the trash cans are in storage because the City found them inconvenient. Many communities in Colorado, including Crested Butte, embrace bearproof trash cans including the exact model that was tested in 2025 in Gunnison.

The City Manager was also quoted saying, “We continue to rely heavily on each customer doing their part to secure containers and to follow long-established rules related to pick up times.” The City does, in fact, rely heavily on citizens. Although the City likes to tout the fact in news articles and social media that they have created Municipal Code 12.60.050.H, it has notably never been enforced, according to conversations with multiple city staff.

Although the severity of the bear problem is unprecedented, it has been a chronic issue for years. This year, we have recorded more than a dozen occurrences of bears in our front yard and alley. It’s one thing for the City’s Facebook post to say “Your trash is your responsibility” but it’s not that simple. People pick up their trash the first few times, but at this point it feels like it is frequently falling more on neighbors to pick up the glass and rotting food so our alleys are safe and clean for kids and pets.

At what point does the City step up and take some responsibility? Relying on everyone to be responsible with their trash has proven as unsuccessful as public education. The best option would be to use bear proof trash cans and dumpsters. If the City is not willing to do that, then they should try enforcing their own code.

Aleshia Rummel

Gunnison