BEAR TRAP

species living in Colorado — to relocate them, avoid putting them down and reduce chances of further con ict.

“Je just doesn’t do anything halfway,” says Frank McGee, who supervised Belveal when the project began, before becoming CPW’s law enforcement training manager. “He’s very self-motivated as well, and I’ve always appreciated the way he takes pride in his work. He takes each and every part of his job seriously.”

Colorado Parks and Wildlife estimates that the state’s bear population hovers between 17,000 and 20,000. A spring freeze or drought conditions can suciently infringe on natural food sources to nudge bears into close contact with humans — circumstances that people often exacerbate through behavior that encourages interaction and often, much to wildlife o cers’ dismay, leads to fatal consequences for the bears.

Since the implementation of a new statewide bear reporting system in 2019, CPW has logged over 18,300 sightings and con icts with bears, and nearly one-third of them involved enticements like trash cans and dumpsters. e problem has become pervasive enough that CPW recently announced it will be continuing a $1 million competitive grant program launched with state funding two years ago for local projects aimed at reducing bear con ict.

When bears persist, traps may be used to capture, tag and release them — one important strategy to avoid putting them down. Since 2015, CPW has relocated 461 bears.

But over the years, more than a dozen wildlife areas across the state have accumulated such a variety of traps that on many occasions o cers scramble to the onset of COVID-19, the average American spends 13 hours a day looking at some kind of blue lightemitting screen.

Dr. Scott Edmonds — chief eye care o cer for UnitedHealthcare Vision — said exposure to blue-light is of particular concern because of how close the user’s eyes typically are to screens, and for how long.

“ e photoreceptors can certainly process blue light, but it puts a lot of strain on them,” said Edmonds. “And nd the right one for a particular situation. Many of them are old and crusted with rust. And so began the quest to sift through the features and shortcomings of the agency’s rapidly deteriorating collection and build a better bear trap — preferably one that could be adapted to any situation.

If possible, it would be produced inhouse, a more economical option than buying from a vendor, which could run $25,000 per trap.

Belveal has been working on the project in ts and starts over the last two years, and so far has completed four of the six planned for his home Area 14, a swath of the state reaching from Teller County, through Colorado Springs and clear to the Kansas state line. At a cost of about $5,000 in materials plus his time on the clock, the nished traps have saved the agency an estimated $80,000.

And though the rst tests of the traps still lie ahead, CPW has been so thrilled with Belveal’s ingenuity, persistence and attention to detail that the agency recently named him its outstanding technician of the year. But his cando legacy was forged well before he reshaped a critical tool for dealing with problem bears.

Walking across his property at the edge of the Flagler State Recreation Area, Belveal extends a friendly, downhome demeanor and a vise-like handshake that o ers no hint of the physical trials of his childhood.

Born seven weeks premature at 3 pounds, 7 ounces, he was diagnosed with cerebral palsy that triggered symptoms known as hemiplegia, muscle atrophy that weakened the entire right side of his body. With a right leg an inch shorter than his left, he walked with a limp and, into his middle school years, slept in a brace to stretch his tendons.

“My dad and mom never made excuses for me because of my disability,” Belveal says. “I was never a victim, we’re concerned that over time, the retina will become damaged, and we’ll start to see age-related macular degeneration from this, like we did with UV light.”

Using blue light lters, which are available for most types and sizes of screens, can help reduce exposure. Eyeglasses with an anti-re ective coating may also help.

And Melendez said if you’re working and really can’t get away from the computer, use the 20-20-20 rule always encouraged and told I could do anything any other man could do.” ere, he spent his freshman year lifting weights to aid his rehabilitation. e following year he took up wrestling. e drive that powered him to persevere didn’t stop with his prep wrestling career, and he has often leaned into its lessons. “I use and bene t from the mental toughness that sport requires on a daily basis,” he says. “You know how to dig deep. If I have a hard project or physically demanding task, I go back to my wrestling experience.

Belveal’s parents divorced when he was 10, and he initially lived with his mom in Karval and later Brush. At 15, he moved in with his dad, who moved to Colorado Springs so Belveal could attend a small Christian high school.

In his rst year of competition, he spent virtually every match pinned to the mat. When he nally broke through with a victory his junior year, he built on that success with a work ethic and irrepressible attitude that earned him the admiration of his coach and teammates — and a winning record. A late-season injury left him with broken ribs and then pneumonia, and the physical toll simply wore him out and left him just short of earning a trip to the 2006 state tournament.

“It’s the same attitude when you’re ghting a guy and you’re on your back. Just never give up. You gotta just keep trying until something works. I apply that subconsciously to everything I do.” e way he gured it, the job essentially amounted to farming and ranching for the government, a means to spend a career immersed in the work and lifestyle he loved. From that moment, he adopted a single-minded focus: One day, he would land a job with Colorado Parks and Wildlife. e most direct route might have been to pursue a college degree, but Belveal, though a more than respectable student, didn’t gure he was cut

His other passion — the outdoors — led him to volunteer for work building trails and helping with other conservation projects. One experience in particular left a lasting impression: a stint shadowing a CPW wildlife technician.