Palmer Lake adopts townwide rules for bear-attracting food and trash

Palmer Lake trustees voted 6-0 on Oct. 22 to adopt Ordinance 06-2026, requiring people who control property in town to secure food and food-containing trash against bears and other wildlife. The meeting minutes record the vote.

Under the adopted ordinance, food, pet food, animal feed, birdseed and similar attractants may be outdoors only from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Overnight, they must be kept inside a secure, enclosed building or in a properly closed bear-resistant container that meets Wildlife Management Institute or Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee standards. Straps or bungee cords alone do not make a container compliant. The rules apply year-round, whether or not wildlife has visited or a warning has been issued.

Food-containing trash must be kept in a secure enclosure or compliant bear-resistant container, except when put out for collection. On collection day, a bin may be placed at its designated pickup location no earlier than 6 a.m. and must be retrieved and secured by 8 p.m. If pickup has not happened by then, the responsible person must bring it back in and arrange a later collection. Bins cannot be left open or overfilled.

For households and businesses, that means securing food, feeders, bowls and trash by 8 p.m. and keeping them secured until 6 a.m. The ordinance aims to limit wildlife access to attractants and also prohibits feeding bears or other big-game wildlife not lawfully held in captivity.

For refuse-storage violations, the ordinance sets fines of $100 for a first offense, $250 for a second and $500 for a third or subsequent offense. Trustees’ minutes describe education and flexibility for first-time offenders as priorities, but the ordinance does not require a warning before enforcement.

The ordinance takes effect under applicable law following adoption and publication, but does not give a calendar effective date.