On the first day of spring, I saw my first bear tracks of the season down along the river. I knew that last year was a bad one for the bears here. Many had been relocated or euthanized, the polite way of saying killed. They were killed mostly just for being bears living around humans who refuse to take steps to minimize contact with them and call authorities who remove the “problem” bears.
Several days later, a story about bears ran (Herald, Mar. 25) that featured people from Colorado Parks and Wildlife describing steps people can take to reduce human-bear conflicts and some statistics from last year.
In 2024, there were 133 trash incidents reported to CPW. Seventeen bears were relocated and 14 were killed in CPW district 15. La Plata County led the state in bear incursions in orchards resulting in relocation, and we were second in sightings and euthanization.
The statistics from CPW tell only part of the story. There were 994 reports of bears to the various city and county agencies and local nonprofit Bear Smart. These include bears getting into trash, pet food, bird feeders, etc. Three hundred and forty-eight reported bears getting into trash. Added to the numbers reported killed by CPW, 13 bears were victims of vehicle collisions and 35 from other human-caused interactions.
I live off County Road 250. Driving to town or home the evening before trash pickup, I continually see trash set out for the next morning. Roughly half the trash receptacles are bear-resistant. Driving the same route the next morning early in the year, I will see trash from the overturned receptacles up and down the road.
As summer rolls on, the number of unsecured trash bins left out the night before does go down. But we have serial offenders. I see the trash truck drivers picking up the debris from the same places every week.
There are several factors at play every year. Natural food conditions are one driver of increased bear conflict. Years when we have a poor acorn or berry crops, or both, we will see more bears moving to more human-inhabited areas in search of food. Other factors are loss of habitat and the increased development which force wildlife into smaller areas and reduce natural food sources.
We do have laws and regulations about keeping animals out of trash, but they seem to be rarely enforced. The regulations are buried in the city and county codes. CPW also has regulations about feeding wildlife. Last year, only three citations were issued from all the incidents reported.
There were some bright spots, too. Last year, the city repaired or replaced 73 commercial or residential containers with bear-resistant models. More people were installing electric fences around gardens and poultry pens. CPW grants provided 650 bear-resistant receptacles and 20 food storage lockers in campgrounds. The Good Food Collective, which gleans fruits and vegetables as part of its effort to provide food security to those in need, listed 3,157 fruit trees for harvest.
We need to do more.
- Local governments need to both publicize the regulations and actually enforce them.
- They also need to get more information about wildlife conflict and prevention out to the public.
- They need to publicize the La Plata County Bear Hotline, 247-BEAR (2327), to call to report incidents.
- Local trash companies could put the information out to their customers.
- Real estate agents could also help get this information to people moving into the area.
Every household can also do its part:
- Don’t put trash out the night before. Put it out the day of pick up.
- If you can’t quite pull that off, get a bear-resistant receptacle.
- If you own a short-term rental, make sure your guests know not to put the trash out overnight.
- Bring birdfeeders and pet food in at night.
- Fence in your gardens and orchards. Electric fencing around poultry and small livestock works well.
- Keep grills clean and preferably inside a structure.
- Learn about bears and their habits.
Visit CPW (cpw.state.co.us/living-bears) and Bear Smart (bearsmartdurango.org) websites for more information. Save yourself not only mess and expense, but possibly a more serious confrontation. Learn to live with our wild neighbors.
Scott Perez is a former working cowboy, guide and occasional actor. He earned a master’s degree in Natural Resource Management from Cornell University and lives in the Animas River Valley.
