Dumpsters behind LAMC. Photo by Debbi Miller

By DEBBI MILLER
Los Alamos

Among the many things that make Los Alamos unique is its proximity to open space and the wildlife that lives here.

As citizens of this urban interface, we have a responsibility to act as good stewards to protect the natural resources and wildlife

This year, there have been numerous reports of bears throughout town, mainly taking advantage of easy food sources provided by humans. For the most part, these incidents resulted in nothing more than the cleaning up after the occasional overturned trash carts.

Los Alamos Medical Center has been the site of two bear shootings (killings) this year. There is no reason these bears had to die. After the first bear shooting, one would assume that measures had been taken to mitigate the problem. One bear proof dumpster lid was recently installed; however, one dumpster lid out of three doesn’t solve this issue, nor does using them improperly. The photo accompanying this letter was taken on Nov. 12. Hanging trash bags from a bear proof dumpster defeats the purpose and encourages bears to return. Inexcusable. 

Let’s all make a better effort to remove easy sources of food which will hopefully encourage these beautiful creatures to return to the wild where they belong.

Editor’s note: Read LAMC’s response to this letter here.