To protect campers from bears, a well-known campground in Colorado’s White River National Forest has taken the bold and uncommon decision to outlaw tents and all other soft-sided structures.
A black bear scraped at a tent at Difficult Campground with two little children inside on Wednesday, prompting the U.S. Forest Service to implement a tent prohibition there.
The event happened at night on June 9 at the public campground, which is run by hosts with American Land and Leisure and is situated in the mountains east of Aspen. (The commercial organisation manages several Forest Service campgrounds in Colorado and other states under a contract with the federal government.)
A small boy and girl, both under the age of twelve, were sleeping in the tent when the bear left puncture marks on it, according to the campground hosts, but it did not enter. It wasn’t until Tuesday morning that their parents, who were in a tent adjacent to them, found out about the tragedy.
One of the campground hosts, who asked not to be named, said, “The next morning, they were like, ‘Hey, mom, a bear was here’. The kids were totally fine. They were a little freaked out, but they still went hiking later with their parents. They were not traumatized.”
The campsite hosts collaborated with the Forest Service to remove all of the tent campers from the area after alerting the department on Tuesday.
The campers were either reimbursed or moved to another neighbouring location, and there were about 20 tents there.
However, the hosts of the campground informed everyone that the tent prohibition will be in effect for the next two months.
They claimed to have had comparable problems with black bears that were fed breaking into coolers and tents the previous year.
They went on to say that campers are the true visitors and that “the bears were here first” and “this is their home.”
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In its public safety announcement on Wednesday, the Forest Service made it clear that trailers and hard-sided campers are still allowed at Difficult Campground.
Additionally, the agency reminded public land users that there is a food-storage order in effect across the White River National Forest and that visitors should take all necessary precautions to prevent bears and other wildlife from consuming human food and/or trash.
“Keeping bears from getting your food keeps you safe, keeps your neighboring campers and the campers who follow you safe, and helps keep the bears safe,” deputy district ranger Jennifer Schuller stated in the announcement.
