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KSJD Newscast - September 22nd, 2015

  • Increased bear activity in the town of Dolores has Montezuma County Sheriff concerned.
  • Montezuma County commissioners voice anger over the Bureau of Land Management's initial proposal for a Master Leasing Plan.

Increased bear activity in the town of Dolores has Montezuma County Sheriff Steve Nowlin concerned. On Monday, he told the Dolores Town Board that he’s seeing more reports of bears rummaging in trash cans and dumpsters. In addition, some locals have been putting food out specifically to attract the bruins in order to take pictures of them. They have been warned that feeding wildlife is illegal as well as dangerous, Nowlin said. The sheriff said there is plenty of natural food for bears this year, but they will continue to plunder easy sources such as garbage and fallen fruit as long as those are available. This time of year, they are awake and feeding 23 hours a day as they prepare for hibernation. Colorado Parks and Wildlife offers tips for deterring bears, such as leaving talk radio on in empty homes and using motion-activated lights and alarms.

Also on Monday, the Montezuma County commissioners voiced anger that the BLM’s Tres Rios Field Office included much of the county in an initial proposal for a Master Leasing Plan, without the county’s prior permission. The commissioners told Tres Rios Field Office Manager Connie Clementson that the BLM should have stopped at the western La Plata County line when it was considering what areas might be the subject of the plan, which guides oil and gas development. Clementson said the boundary line was only a starting point and could be changed. She said some citizens had expressed concern about the potential impacts of drilling on Mesa Verde National Park and the Phil’s World bicycle path, and this was why such areas had been included. She invited the  board to help appoint a citizens’ group to work on the Master Leasing Plan, but the commissioners said they doubt they will take part in the process because they do not want to see any regulations further restricting energy development. They mentioned the possibility of filing a lawsuit over the leasing plan.

Gail Binkly is a career journalist who has worked for the Colorado Springs Gazette and Cortez Journal, and was the editor of the Four Corners Free Press, based in Cortez.
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