JACKSON - Teton County is requiring residents in some areas to follow new garbage and bird-feeder rules to help reduce conflicts with hungry bears.

The rules taking effect July 1 require bear-resistant trash containers and specify that residents who take their own trash to the dump must keep their trash in a bear-resistant enclosure, such as a garage.

The rules also require that bird feeders be 10 feet off the ground and 4 feet from the supporting structure. The feeders must be equipped with a catch pan that extends 4 inches out.

Similar bear rules have been successful in Vail, Colo., and Banff, Alberta, in Canada, said Doug Sobey, co-president of the Jackson Hole Wildlife Foundation.

"You need 100 percent participation," he said. "If it's 95 percent, the bear gets into the 5 percent who don't have bear-resistant containers."

Jenn Bodine, a senior planner for Teton County, said enforcement of the new bear standards will be "complaint based." Violations will be punished by a $750 fine for each day of offense.

"We're trying to protect both humans and bears," she said. "Overall, people understand the importance of a regulation like this."

The rules apply to areas north of Highway 22 in the county's so-called "conflict priority area 1." The area includes Kelly, Buffalo Valley, Alta and land east of the Tetons from Teton Village to Wilson. The bear regulations will take effect next summer for areas south of Highway 22.

Westbank Sanitation and Teton Trash Removal Inc. provide trash service for most of the residents covered by the new rules, Bodine said. The companies are supposed to be replacing their old trash cans with bear-resistant models or giving owners a chance to buy their own.

Jeff Brewster, district manager for Westbank Sanitation, said his company is working to meet the new rules. He said the company expects to spend about $300,000 for 1,000 and 1,500 bear-resistant containers. That cost also includes 75 commercial containers that cost about $1,400 each.

Brewster said trash collectors will have to physically open each bear-resistant can before the automated arm can dump the contents into the truck. Currently, the process is completely automated.

Mark Gocke, Wyoming Game and Fish Department spokesman, said the standards will make a difference, especially with newcomers to the area.

"In a place like this where people might only live here for part of the year, they might not be familiar with the bear problems," he said. "Education only goes so far. Having a regulation in place is going to be the most effective way to deal with the problem, at least in those key areas."