Rules being written to keep bears from trash
By Kathryn Reed
New regulations are designed to keep bears and other critters out of commercial and multifamily residential trash bins on the South Shore.
The Waste Management Joint Powers Authority last week voted that the lids, which can be plastic, must be shut at dusk or when the business closes. They may be opened no earlier than dawn, unless it’s trash day, then the time is 5:30am.
The current ordinance does not say the lids must be closed or what hours to do so.
“We’ve had issues where lids are open all night and that’s more attractive to bears,” JoAnn Conner, South Lake Tahoe’s rep on the JPA, told Lake Tahoe News.
Plastic lids will be allowed until a bear breaks through it. At that time South Tahoe Refuse will issue the customer an estimate to get it replaced with a metal lid.
The JPA is comprised of the city, El Dorado County and Douglas County – but just in the basin. Sue Novasel (EDC supervisor) and Nancy McDermid (DC commissioner) are the other two members of the JPA.
Residential customers will not have to get a bear resistant container until there has been an issue with trash being strewn all over. On the second offense where animals have been in the trash that customer will have to pay a fine and get a container or bear box. The screw top trash cans would be permissible until those prove not to work.
A difference among the jurisdictions is whether to require bear boxes when a new residence is built or a remodel takes place. El Dorado County requires the box under those circumstances. The city doesn’t. Douglas County, which does not have mandatory trash pick up like its neighbors, also does not mandate the boxes because of new or significant construction.
Conner’s belief is that mandating boxes in those instances is a punishment to people who have done nothing wrong.
It will be up to the individual jurisdictions to decide if construction triggers the need for a bear box.
The JPA is expected to vote on the final ordinance in September. The individual jurisdictions are likely to give direction or vote on the ordinance before then.
Now if we can teach the bears to read these rules, we will have no problem !
Any change in ownership of property should result in a bear box.
Change in ownership shouldn’t trigger it. If a local buys your house, they will probably be responsible and put their trash out in the morning of trash day.
Application for becoming a vacation rental property, perhaps would make more sense.
We are, once again, skirting around the problem and coming up with measures that won’t work. We’ll be at this all over again in a couple of years.
Bear boxes should ONLY be required for those who consistently have trash problems with the local bears, South Tahoe Refuse knows who they are. The Idea of punishing everyone for the neglect of a few careless people is ridiculous!
Bears, Vacation Rentals, Drinking on the beaches, Parking and on and on. Punishing everyone for the few is now the norm.
EVERYONE THAT LIVES IN BEAR COUNTRY HAS A BEAR PROBLEM KEEP YOUR LIDS DOWN AND LOCKED ,LOUD AND CLEAR.
Seems to me people in bear country needs to read the rules ,WHY IS THAT SO HARD TO DO ?,ANYONE THAT LIVES IN BEAR COUNTRY ,KEEP YOUR LIDS LOCKED ,LOUD AND CLEAR .
Bear resisntant cans are not the perfect solution but they are a deterernt to a bear scattering your trash everywhere creating a health hazard. Bear boxes are good, but must be properly installed and in the right location for you and STR.
Reduce the amount of trash you generate and put it out on pick up day. OLS
I find it mind boggling that some people feel it an inconvenience to have to take a few easy extra steps to coexist with wildlife. And for those that think this is just a vacation rental problem are sorely mistaken. I see a much higher rate of problems caused by long term residents throughout town than vacation rentals. Especially many apartment complexes.
Biggerpicture, I’ve talked with alot of full time residents and vacation homeowners about the bear and trash problem. I’ve had a small amount of sucsess in dealing with this.
The VHR folks have really been cool on this, some of the fulltimers? Not so much.To each his own I guess.
OLS
Bear boxes are only as good as the person using them. I’ve seen way too many that have probably not been latched properly and the garbage pulled out.
Bear boxes shouldn’t be looked upon as a punishment but as required accessory or tool in living responsibly in bear country.
End The Black Bear Buffet!
So you think if we all had bear boxes the bears would go back to the woods and eat berries? We had far less bear problems before bear boxes and the bear league.
Sunriser2 please expound on how there is a worse bear problem since bear boxes and The Bear League have come into existence and exactly how those two things bear responsibility (pun intended).
Or is it the fact that this issue sees more light of day than ever before, thankfully, due to The Bear League AND bearboxes?
I’ve lived here more than 50 years and have never had a problem with bears and don’t have a bear box – and I don’t want one.
And bear boxes only work when they are used. The vacation rental next door has one, but the vacationers didn’t bother to use it. They just stacked the garbage outside the box and of course, the bears found it.
I agree with Fifty Year Resident – South Tahoe Refuse and Clean Tahoe know who the offenders are. Don’t punish everyone because some are foolish.
The biggest problem with animals in the trash is very lax enforcement, too many incidents before action is taken. One time with a trash problem and a bear box should be required. Stop the slap on the wrist-bad boy don’t do it again. Get tough with enforcement.
And yes, locals are a very big problem.
Bigger,
In the 1970’s & 1980’s Tahoe had a much larger full time population and many more tourists yet bear encounters were few and far between.
There would be a bear shot or trapped at Echo Summit, Glenbrook, Christmas Valley, and behind the high school at the border of Gardner mountain every other year or so.
People with the best of intentions interfered with theses abatement tactics and caused the current situation.
I had a bear specific can for a while, no problems except to remember to put it out. Now I have a bear box, best investment ever. Now I never worry about remembering to put the garbage out. Another item to help put life on autopilot. I agree though, if in Nevada they can remember to bill you if you have too much garbage and in California they can tag you when you put out unauthorized garbage, they can certainly keep track of the offenders and implement a 3 strikes program.
Although I agree that the population in the City of South Lake Tahoe has seen a decrease of about 5,000 year round residents since the early 80’s. But also lets not forget that in the unincorporated areas of the Tahoe Basin the population has easily grown by at least 5,000 over over those 30+ years. Add to that the fact that as a society we produce more trash per person than ever in the history of mankind.
Now let me interject some facts about the reproduction cycle of a black bear. Black bears have the physiological ability to self abort when environmental conditions, ie. food sources, are not optimum for birthing and raising cubs. It used to be rare to see a sow with more than one or two cubs, and now the norm is three cubs, and I’ve heard that there is a sow on the southwest shore with four cubs in tow. And science is now coming to realize that trying to cull populations of certain wildlife, such as bears or coyotes, actually has the reverse effect on those targeted populations.
I consider my bear can to be one of the best investments I ever made too.
I really don’t think our “decision makers” are taking this problem very seriously. There are way too many toes to be stepped on and as long as this is true, special interests will prevail and the bears will–so to speak–eat it.
How many more bears will be killed before we get serious about this and expect mountain dwellers to accept the responsibilities of sharing the land with the wildlife?
Requiring bear boxes would only attract more bears into the region via more people NOT keeping near week old garbage in their homes/freezers.
This will get more bears killed as when they are drawn into town via all those ribs and chicken wing bones, they will linger until they do find something and probably would more likely than now to get into a garage or home.
You do not want to NOT attract them into the area as they can smell meat 20 miles away. A bear box is only a solution if content is placed into it also just before pickup otherwise it is encouraging bad bear behavior and presence.
Tahoeanhiker, that is just plain untrue. Black bears are extremely intelligent and are very quick learners. It only takes a couple of unsuccessful attempts to open a bear box before they give up. Streets that have a high percentage of bear boxes have far less visits by bears than those without.
Bigger,
I agree with you about the species being mutated and having more cubs
I don’t see a difference between one hundred trash cans on the street and two hundred.
As to abatement I don’t believe that coyotes breed more when some have been killed.
I grew up on a large pear and cattle ranch outside of Placerville. I had a mile walk from my bus stop through other ranches that raised sheep.
The county came in and trapped, poisoned and shot them. I didn’t see another coyote for more than ten years.
Although I no longer live in South Lake Tahoe, I lived there for almost 30 years. I spent six of them as Program Assistant for the Clean Tahoe Program, a wonderful nonprofit focused on reducing litter issues on the south shore, and seriously concerned with the changing human/bear interface.
But just to be clear, the following comments are my own, and only my own.
I very strongly disagree with JoAnn Conner’s comment that requiring bear boxes for new construction is a punishment for people who have done nothing wrong. My years with Clean Tahoe gave me a firsthand view of the bear/trash problem. Whatever you believe to be the cause of the increased incidence of bear intrusions into trash cans, garages, and even homes, the fact is, they are a very large problem. Bears are wild animals, no matter how adaptable they seem to life in Tahoe neighborhoods. Coming out of the meadows to look for human trash isn’t good for them, or for local residents.
For me, it comes down to an essential truth – life is full of tradeoffs. You can’t have everything, so you must choose the things you want most, and, even though it hurts, be willing to give up some other things to have them. Living in Tahoe is one of those choices. It’s not Los Angeles or San Francisco. The rules of your previous “big city” life no longer apply. You cannot have all the wonderful perks of living in Tahoe – the fresh air, the blueness of the lake, the smell of pine on the morning breeze – and still live as if you were in San Jose.
Face it. Tahoe is still in many ways a wild place, and bears were there first. Putting in a bear box is such a small accommodation to the fact that the “new construction” we keep putting up is in their home too. Even if you don’t accept this premise, think about how potentially unpleasant it would be to walk out your front door at dusk only to find a 300-pound mother bear and her two cubs sitting on the lawn ten feet away eating the trash taken from your neighbor’s lidless metal trash can.
I had such an experience. You don’t want to.
Sunriser2, here is an excerpt from a Humane Society document:
Coyote killing programs will not reduce coyote populations. Research suggests that when aggressively controlled, coyotes can increase their reproductive rate by breeding at an earlier age, having larger litters, and a higher survival rate among young. This allows coyote populations to quickly bounce back, even when as much as 70 percent of their numbers are removed. It is nearly impossible to completely eradicate coyotes from an area. Despite bounties and large-scale efforts to kill coyotes over the last 100 years, coyotes have in fact expanded their range throughout the U.S. and Canada tremendously. One study even found that killing 75 percent of a coyote population every year for 50 years would still not exterminate the population.
Something that everyone doesn’t even think about that pertains to this issue is that bear boxes for food storage at local campsites have worked quite well to curb bear/camper interactions. Doesn’t logic then dictate the same success is achievable with bear boxes for trash storage?
Keep the bears out of your trash, your cars and your house. Keep your trash to a mninimal amount and don’t put it out until your collection day. Remove all snacks from your car. Don’t leave pet food in the garage or outdoors. Buy a bear resistant can or a bear box. Be bear aware, OLS
Bigger,
Quoting the humane society on this issue is a joke.
I lived through it and it did work. WE had chickens cats etc running wild. Even the quail came back after they killed the coyotes.
It seems to me that installing a bear box has the best chance of keeping the Bears out of the garbage. I am sure everyone can find a case where someone even with a bear box has caused a garbage problem. In my neighborhood 60-70 % of the houses have a bearbox and I NEVER have seen garbage strewn on the street. I have a vacation home and when I am not there my
“Local” neighbor uses it much to my pleasure. As long the mentality is that requiring a bear box is a punishment the problem will persist. I am for requiring a bear box when the property changes ownership and absolutely for ALL vacation rentals.
Stop trying to discover hot water and get behind an obvious solution.
Bear box , can , whatever YOU use, do not put any content in it until the morning -and just before it is picked up.
If you do this a bear box is unnecessary and you will keep them from being drawn into the area.
To explain my position, many people who spoke to me said if they walk out of their door and encounter a bear eating the neighbor’s trash, they want the neighbor to have to buy a bear box. They don’t want to have to buy one if they never handle their trash in such a way as to have bears partake of their trash. Many felt that requiring bear boxes, which cost between $1,000 and $1,200 is definitely a punishment. That’s a lot of money for most people in Tahoe. If we address those who are irresponsible, we can effect change.
DO YOURSELF A FAVOR, AND THINK LIKE A BEAR.KEEP YOUR BINS LOCKED ,ANY KIND OF GARBAGE BIN LOCKED ,ANYTHING THAT WILL ATTRACT A BEAR.ONCE AGAIN THINK LIKE A BEAR .
JoAnn Conner, Good response about the bear boxes. Do they help? Yes, if properly latched and it’s a quality well built box the bear will not get into your trash.
Bear boxes are not cheap but by buying a good one it will last a long time. Worth the investment. OLS
I have large garbage can with wheels. My house is 40 yards from the road and wheels are a necessary. It was make my a company called Bearicuda and is guaranteed to be Grizzly proof. I have had this for 10 years an no bear has ever opened it. It is a standard 64 Gallon can with 1/4 inch steel reinforcement around the lid. It locks with two simple still clips that require thumbs to open. The bears try every year. They knock the can over, drag it, jump up and down on it, to no avail. They have bent the steel over two inches with their paws and still can not get it open.
I think we might be able to teach the bears to read before they evolve thumbs. These cans can be procured in mass and would not be expensive. Shipping cost was as much as the can individually odered.
http://www.bearicuda.com
Another point I forgot to make…These bear garbage cars I refer to could be purchased in mass quantities for less than $200 each, perhaps even set up some assembly here to create a few temp jobs. At that price they could be provided at no cost to all residents. The wheels are a great side benefit. They are modern cans made to be handled by mechanical garbage trucks with a side lift like most cities have. Only one operator is needed per truck. That alone would pay the cost of the new trucks. It is no rocket science that requires permanent installed steel boxes and high cost. The permanent container also prevents any future benefit from mechanization.
Noel, Years ago it was discussed at my old job to try the trucks that had the mechanical arm to dump the large cans. It was considered unworkable due to our terrain, vacation home rentals and poor street condition.
I’m not a spokesman for STR.All this happened years ago and this is all just a fading memory.
The bear activity on my street has greatly decreased from a few people being proactive. Take care, OLS
Ironic…..”doesn’t want to punish those that have done nothing wrong”.. Why is that not the logic used for Vacation rentals??