What is the No. 1 threat to human residents of La Plata County?
Bears.
Correct or not, residents can voice this opinion of bears and bear management – and many others – in a survey being conducted by Colorado Parks and Wildlife. The deadline for the survey is April 15.
The survey takes about 15 minutes to fill out – or quite a bit longer if you’re indecisive – and the questions are often probing.
For instance, Question 12 asks whether seeing a black bear near your home makes you:
a. Feel connected to nature.
b. Worry about a black bear breaking into my garbage.
c. Worry about damage to my garden or trees from black bears.
d. Worry about damage to my home, vehicle or property from black bears.
e. Worry about me or my family being attacked by a black bear.
f. Worry about my pets or animals being attacked by a black bear.
g. Worry that a black bear will be killed.
h. Confident that black bear hunting in the area will be good.
i. Feel excited about seeing a wild animal.
j. Feel that the area where I live is good wildlife habitat.
k. Feel upset that humans are living in black bear habitat.
l. Feel concerned that black bears are acting in unnatural ways.
(not listed: m. Feel Stephen Colbert is vindicated.)
In all, there are 33 questions, many with multiple parts, touching on everything from your neighbor’s strategies for deterring bears – bear-proof trash cans, keeping pets inside – to your impressions of Parks and Wildlife’s track record in managing bears.
The survey is part of a novel black bear research project, said Stacy Lischka, a researcher with Parks and Wildlife.
As part of the project, which began in 2012, researchers already have trapped dozens of bears and fitted them with radio collars, Lischka said.
The survey is designed to find out “how town habitats affect bear movements, and how bears’ using town affects people, wildlife and wildlife management in general.”
Last year, Parks and Wildlife tried to stymie downtown bears’ access to aromatic garbage by purchasing and distributing 2,000 bear-proof garbage containers.
While a black bear did maul a miniature horse last fall, Lischka said bear-human interactions were mostly noteworthy for their frequency and the great number of humans affected by them.
In 2007, human-bear interactions peaked with 1,274 sightings and incidents reported. That year, frost had killed much of the bears’ natural food supply – fruits and berries – spurring them to embrace city living.
In 2012, there were 1,545 reports of bear sightings and incidents - more even than in 2007 - including 916 reports of bears getting into trash.
In 2011, a downtown bear bit a homeless man’s arm. He was sleeping outside and survived with a minor injury.
Joe Lewandowski, Parks and Wildlife’s public information officer, said barely 50 percent of county residents responded to a 2012 survey of bear attitudes.
“Wildlife researchers stress the importance of one resident from every household completing the survey – whether you are the owner or the renter,” he said.
Another survey is scheduled to take place in two years.
Bryan Peterson, director of Bear Smart Durango, said local humans’ incorrigible wavering when it comes to managing the bear population is unfortunate.
“Other communities have made great strides, but we seem to be spinning around a little bit,” he said. “I think residents understand the issue pretty well. But there needs to be a lot more mechanisms requiring residents to change their behavior relating to bears – mostly just limiting the amounts of human food available to bears.”
He said cultural staples such as teddy bears and Winnie the Pooh have conditioned many people to harbor strong, if misplaced, feelings of affection for bears, undermining thoughtful bear policies.
“I think one of the big issues here is that most people love seeing bears, whether it’s wrecking over your trash or turning over your bird feeder,” he said.
cmcallister@durangoherald.com
Bear survey
Colorado Parks and Wildlife is conducting a controlled survey of Durango residents and a sampling of La Plata County residents about living with black bears.
One survey has been mailed to each home in the city. Residents, whether homeowners or renters, are asked to complete the survey and return it by April 15.
