'Same Old Problem' Says Wildlife Manager About Bears Closing Campgrounds
PITKIN COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) - A popular Colorado high county camping and hiking area will be closed until further notice due to problems with bears.
Campgrounds at Crater Lake near the Maroon Bells along the Four Pass Loop near Aspen are closed off right now. Wildlife managers are camping in the area armed with stun guns, rubber bullets and pepper spray. They hope to use the non-lethal methods to drive the bears out of the campground areas.
"The bear issues have really picked up in the last three weeks or so really big time," Colorado Parks and Wildlife Area Wildlife Manager Perry Will said.
Will says the bear problem near Crater Lake is not a new one.
"We had a different group of bears back in 2014 that forced us to close the area also, this is a new group but the same old problem -- campers making it way too easy for bears to get a free meal," Will said.
Wildlife managers collected evidence of campers in the area storing food in plastic grocery bags, where bears could reach it far too easy. Now the U.S. Forest Service has issued a new rule for all campers in the area to keep their food in bear-proof canisters or face fines, Will added.
"Chances are those bears have actually been feed," Will said. "They get rewarded when they come into camp and you don't have proper food storage … they're smart animals, they're going to be back doing the same thing."
Matt Kroschel covers news throughout Colorado working from the CBS4 Mountain Newsroom. Send story ideas to mrkroschel@cbs.com and connect with him on Twitter @Matt_Kroschel.
