Durango City Council will hold a public hearing about electric fencing and bear mats – popular and effective wildlife deterrents – on Feb. 3.
City Council has weighed the benefits of wildlife deterrents with safety and liability concerns since bear activity surged in the summer. It requested a public hearing on proposed revisions to the city’s land use and development code that would make room for wildlife deterrents.
Bear Smart Director Bryan Peterson said he welcomes a permit process for electric fencing and bear mats within city limits. Bear Smart has advocated for the allowance of such equipment since 2014.
“Electric fencing and mats have been one of the biggest breakthroughs in mitigating human and bear conflict,” he said. “Bears respond very well to these non-lethal deterrents, so allowing the use of electric fencing and mats would be an amazing tool in reducing property damage by bears, keeping residents safe and discouraging bears from lingering around in town.”
Bear Smart revived the conversation with the city last summer. Peterson said then increased bear activity was “crazy” and “incredible.”
He said Bear Smart assisted 40 county landowners with electric fence installations and loaner electric mats. There are thousands of electric fences in use across La Plata County.
Allowing a permit process for the equipment within city limits is “a no-brainer, with nothing but upsides,” he said.
“Preventing, or mitigating, conflict is much more effective than dealing with a bear simply being a bear taking advantage of human-provided food sources,” he said.
Bear Smart fielded 367 bear sightings and incident reports in 2025. Peterson said he is still reviewing data collected from Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Durango Police Department and code enforcement, and La Plata County Sheriff’s Office in addition to internal data, he said.
He said the 367 incidents recorded by Bear Smart already amount to a 69% increase from 2024 activity and a 153% increase from the previous five-year average.
City Council is scheduled to vote on whether to approve the municipal code changes to allow wildlife deterrent permitting on Feb. 18. If approved, the new code would take effect March 20 – 30 days after approval, according to city documents.
cburney@durangoherald.com
