Bear visit forces Los Alamos Nature Center to remove feeders

A bear’s stop at the Los Alamos Nature Center ended with the bird feeders pulled down for two weeks, a reminder that even a familiar campus on Canyon Road can become part of the county’s wildlife-management work. Pajarito Environmental Education Center said the feeders would stay tucked away until June 26 after the animal showed a clear interest in them.

The brief shutdown matters because bird feeders are one of the easiest ways to train a bear to keep returning. In Los Alamos County, officials say residents should remove or secure feeders during bear season, pull them in at night, clean grills thoroughly after use, and keep garage doors and ground-level windows closed when possible. The county also offers bear-resistant roll carts to help keep trash out of reach.

That advice is not just about one animal at one building. Los Alamos County’s wildlife guidance says the community faces regular challenges involving large predators and feeding wildlife, and that the goal is to live with wildlife safely while keeping wildlife wild. When a bear finds food at a home, park, trail, or community facility, the risk rises that it will linger near people and look for more. That can create a larger public-safety problem and force more disruptive responses later.

County leaders have been reinforcing that message for some time. In a 2024 proclamation, the Incorporated County of Los Alamos identified August 2024 as Bear Month and pointed to bird feeders, garbage in bear-resistant containers, gardens away from game trails, compost, and never feeding bears as practical ways to reduce human-bear encounters. PEEC and the Land of Enchantment Wildlife Foundation also use the Los Alamos Nature Center to host Bear Fest, a sign that bear education has become a regular local fixture rather than a one-off warning.

For Los Alamos, the Nature Center’s temporary feeder removal is a small operational change with a broader lesson: the county’s bear season comes with simple but important habits that can keep bears from becoming food-conditioned. Taking feeders down, securing trash, and closing off access points now is the easiest way to avoid a more serious wildlife problem later.