It appears obvious nothing is going to change. The infestation of bears invading the town in search of food will continue. The bear problem will still be blamed on the citizens of this town. The bears will roam this town freely, and we will be destined to kiss the bears’ butts. It was certainly a noble gesture by Bear Smart and Parks & Wildlife to try to protect the bears from harm by eliminating as much available human food as possible. The increased bear population, drought, and mother nature have been extremely hard on the animals. Again, why are the bears allowed to roam freely in our town? Many people in Crestview subdivision are sick of the bears. The unexpected confrontations, the property damage. It is inevitable someone will be badly hurt by a bear.

Other municipalities have determined there is no way to completely eliminate the draw of food smells drifting from the city. They have returned to live-trapping or tranquilizing the bears, and transporting them to a distant place away from our homes, schools, children and city. We see this on Albuquerque TV every fall. Aspen and Vail have also gone back to capture and transport. There is no reason to continue to blame the residents of this city for the invitation of bears. That is complete hooey! Colorado Parks & Wildlife needs to step up to the plate, and do something for a change. And please, enough of the dumb surveys! Amen.

Robert Rietveld

Durango