Garbage will be bearproof eventually

Douglas County commissioners decided last week to propose being the first in Nevada to expand a bear-proof trash can ordinance outside of the Lake Tahoe Basin.

At present, Douglas County requires Tahoe residents to obtain a bear-proof trash can if they've been hit twice by hungry ursines.

However, ask a Lake Tahoe resident if the county required them to bear-proof their trash cans and they'll give you a blank look.

Tahoe residents didn't have to be told to bear-proof, because they were getting the message pretty clearly from the bears.

Douglas County Code Enforcer Jay Hoogestraat said half of Tahoe residents bear-proofed their trash on their own.

The county has never mandated that anyone bear-proof their garbage, but should the ordinance be approved, it could.

But as the number of times Valley garbage is raided increases, residents here will start to get the message that they have to be prepared for bear incursions.

Just as at Lake Tahoe, people will take action to protect themselves and their property by keeping bears out of their garbage.

And if they are a little slow to come to the realization, the county code enforcer will be there to remind them.