As the weather warms, bears are becoming more active in the area, and they’re hungry.

A hungry bear will eat just about anything, and they’ll find it just about anywhere they can. That means raiding trash cans and more.

Gail Baker is Eagle County’s sole code enforcement officer. Baker recently has started responding to calls about wildlife — bears, presumably — getting into trash enclosures in Homestead, Miller Ranch, Singletree and EagleVail.

Baker said what she’s seeing is people aren’t using their bear-resistant trash equipment, or are leaving bird feeders out at night.

Eagle County has a bear ordinance that requires residents to have, and use, bear-proof receptacles. Baker said some of those receptacles have equipment that needs to be attached to keep animals out. That equipment isn’t needed over the winter. Using that gear is an easy habit to lose, and can be a hard one to pick up when bear season begins.

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According to data from Colorado Parks and Wildlife, trash is the biggest cause of bear reports in Eagle County, accounting for 194 of the county’s 724 total reports in 2023. But bears are also attracted to bird feeders, outdoor grills and other good-smelling items around homes.

What’s in the box?

Rick Spitzer of Avon has a hard-sided tool box on the deck of his home. That box is bolted to the floor of the deck, and the lid is secured with carabiners. Spitzer, a longtime local wildlife photographer, said he has an alarm on his watch set for 7:30 p.m., reminding him to put his bird and hummingbird feeders into the box.

That box is secure, Spitzer said, adding that the proof is the scratch marks from multiple bear attempts to break into it.

While there have been several bear reports in unincorporated Eagle County, Vail so far hasn’t had any. Marc Wentworth, director of the Vail Public Safety Communications Center, noted that so far that center has had only a couple of reports each from Minturn and Avon.

Vail has long had a bear ordinance that, in addition to mandating bear-resistant containers, also requires residents to put out trash only on pickup days.

Spitzer said the lack of reports so far in Vail could be a combination of both town requirements and bears waking up a little later at higher elevations. Bears may also not have gone into the winter a little better-fed than in most years thanks to a summer that provided decent forage for the animals.

Spitzer noted that bears getting into trash and onto decks is mostly a human problem. But bears rummaging in human neighborhoods can have fatal consequences for the animals.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife since 1985 has operated under a “two strikes” policy for bears. Under that policy, a bear roaming in a neighborhood will be captured, tagged and relocated. That bear is euthanized if it’s captured again.

And a bear in a neighborhood can be resourceful. Spitzer said he’s seen video of bears climbing the corner posts of second-floor decks. He’s also seen evidence of bears that can open unlocked car doors, or unlocked doors on homes.

Spitzer noted that one of his neighbors is fearful of bears in the neighborhood. But, he added, a human is more likely to be injured in a bathtub fall than injured by a bear or a mountain lion.

Later this month, Spitzer is hosting a series of “bear aware” presentations at local libraries around the valley.

The presentation will start with famous bears — cartoon bears from Yogi to Winnie the Pooh to the Muppets’ Fozzie. But real bears present some real challenges for those of us living in their habitat.

“Being bear aware is more than just knowing they’re out there,” Spitzer said.