Columbia Falls is having a rough berry year, and the bears have noticed — they’ve been wandering into town over the past few weeks to fatten up before hibernation, following the Flathead River in from anywhere and everywhere, though most sightings are on the east side where neighborhoods sit closer to the mountains.
As reported by Chris Peterson with Hungry Horse News, in response, the city council unanimously passed an emergency bear ordinance on Sept. 21 requiring residents to secure anything that smells like food: garbage, food-soiled recycling, pet feed, and other attractants must be kept in bear-resistant containers, a garage, or a locked shed — not in truck beds, open yards, or unsecured bins — and trash can’t go curbside before 4 a.m. on pickup day.
Intentionally feeding a bear is also now explicitly illegal. The good news is that the city plans to lead with education rather than enforcement. For the first 14 days, violators get information and written warnings instead of citations, although ignoring those warnings can still get you a ticket. The council is also looking into longer-term measures, likely through zoning, to make parts of the rules permanent depending on where you live in the city.
So, basically, the era of casual garbage storage is over, and the bears are the reason why.
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