Bears and humans have coexisted in Colorado for thousands of years. But today, there are more humans than there used to be, and that means dangerous encounters with bears could become more frequent—especially in mountain communities. State officials are making an effort to prevent that.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife started distributing grants last year to help communities and organizations reduce human-bear conflict. The program is back this year, and 14 new projects are getting funding.
Joey Livingston with Parks and Wildlife said bears, like humans, are drawn toward food.
“Most of the time when we're looking at conflicts with bears or issues with bears, normally, it can all be traced back to people, and some sort of human provided food source—typically trash,” Livingston said.
One of this year's grant recipients, Boulder Bear Coalition, is using $107,225 in grant funds to reinforce trash containers and install electric fencing for some rural residents. Steamboat Springs received $162,000 in grant money to help build two bear-resistant dumpster enclosures downtown. A $35,000 grant will go to Community Fruit Rescue in Boulder, an organization that collects fruit surplus from urban gardens that might otherwise attract bears.
“When food sources get involved, and when we're attracting them (bears) towards humans, they can lose that natural fear of people. And that's when they can become a threat," Livingston said. "These are still large animals with very large claws that can cause a lot of damage.”
Colorado’s population of black bears is extremely active this time of year, as the bears spend 20 hours a day trying to pack in as much fat as they can before the winter makes food more scarce.
Brenda Lee, president and founder of the Boulder Bear Coalition, hopes the work her organization will do with the grant money will inspire others to take action. For one, she says, bears like honey. But humans don't need bears getting anywhere near backyard beehives.
"We just hope this is going to kick off interest in more people going ahead and get proactive measures, like electric fencing around their beehives," Lee said. "Because it's—electric fencing—is very, very effective against bears."
She said interest in nonviolent ways to deter bears spans coast to coast.
"I started getting calls from all over the state. In fact, all over the U.S. I get calls for advice on, 'What do we do? We don't want to see bears being killed. The bears are coming into town,'" Lee said.
The bear population in Colorado is large— somewhere between 17,000 and 20,000. They're a hunted species, so bears are carefully managed by Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Scott Murdoch, a district wildlife manager with Parks and Wildlife, said bears really would rather mind their own business.
"The overwhelming majority of black bears don't want anything to do with people. We have an occasional attack in Colorado, you know, a handful of them a year, but I would say most of them tend to be more kind of inquisitive in nature, or even defensive in nature," Murdoch said.
According to Murdoch, bears are motivated by attractants. They don't wander aimlessly looking for food—that would be a waste of the precious calories they're trying to store for the winter. Instead, bears follow their noses wherever they lead. Unfortunately, that instinct sometimes leads bears to trashcans, gardens or pantries—and it can lead to disaster.
"If a bear contacts a person, we do put that bear down," Murdoch said. "You know that at that point, that bear has crossed that line."
This time of year, it's even more important for humans living near bear country to take precautions. Bears are extra hungry this time of year as they work to pack on fat ahead of winter hibernation. Colorado residents should make sure to secure trash bins and even consider installing electric fencing near gardens and apiaries, according to wildlife officials. And, of course, never deliberately feed bears!
