While I wish no one to be harmed by bears, I’m far more disturbed at the frequency with which bears are harmed by stupid and rude people, indirectly as well as directly. To wit: A significant problem with illegal transient campsites – for wildlife and the landscape – is their filth. I have seen a few, and the problem is well-known by officials and others who see them more frequently. They are almost always junkyards.

The upshot is that humans camp illegally and disregard all cautions about keeping a clean camp, and especially not having food or other odiferous items in tents, yet it’s the bears their filth attracts that die. If law enforcement patrols in known problems areas and meaningful penalties were brought against every such willfully ignorant “victim,” transient or otherwise, the bears would be most appreciative and the woods around town would be a cleaner place.

After all, we are supposed to be smarter than the “lesser” animals. Two strikes is enough, already. I say: Clean out the illegal camps, now and forever. Doing so would go a long way toward solving the increasing panhandling problem as well.

David Petersen

Durango