If you’ve been following day-to-day happenings in La Plata County, you’ve likely noticed a surge of bear-related stories, social media posts and photos this summer. Almost every day brings new images or videos documenting bear sightings.
Recent incidents include a sighting that briefly put Durango High School and the surrounding area on a soft lockdown; a cub wandering inside a local bakery; and an adult bear that entered a home – its hasty exit sending responding police officers sprinting in opposite directions.
With so many bear encounters, some residents are asking whether the population has exploded. Colorado Parks and Wildlife spokesman John Livingston said it’s too soon to tell. Still, he noted this summer appears busier for CPW and other agencies when it comes to handling conflicts.
“Last year was relatively a busy bear year for our local CPW Durango office,” he said. “I would say this year has been probably even busier.”
Experts point to a mix of environmental factors, inefficient bear-management plans, funding cuts and uninformed residents and visitors as reasons for the uptick.
Colorado is experiencing a severe drought this summer, and La Plata County is in extreme drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. In such a dry environment, bears’ natural habitats can’t provide enough food, pushing them into human-occupied areas where meals are easier to find.
Livingston said Durango’s geography means bears will always be part of the community. The town sits in prime bear habitat, surrounded by oak brush that produces the acorns bears depend on to fatten up for winter.
“Just naturally, by where we live, there’s going to be some of this every year,” he said. Bears can smell food from miles away, he added, and when trash or bird feeders are available, encounters rise quickly.
Local advocates, wildlife experts and city officials all point to trash as one of the core issues driving the uptick in bear-human interaction.
“After 22 years, we’re kind of in the same spot we were 22 years ago. We just got more expensive bear cans out there,” said Bryan Peterson, director of Bear Smart Durango. “We’ve got bears running all over the place, in large part because we still haven’t really addressed bears getting in the trash at a meaningful level.”
Last year, La Plata County led the state in bear relocations and was second in bears euthanized, with 15, according to Bear Smart’s analysis of CPW data.
Inside city limits, Durango has invested in bear-resistant trash cans, but officials say they’re often used improperly – left unlatched, overfilled or damaged – making them ineffective. Enforcement has also been minimal: In 2023, there were 348 bear-and-trash reports in the city and county combined, but only three citations issued.
“That is really a behavioral issue among the community, which is really tough, because we’ve got to have people help with this solution,” said Tom Sluis, spokesperson for the city of Durango. “We can issue tickets and citations till the cows come home, but until we get people to change their behaviors, this problem is not going to change.”
Beyond trash, advocates say city policies are ineffective and need to be updated.
For example, residents can raise chickens but are prohibited from using electric fencing – the most effective tool for deterring bears, Peterson said.
“It’s ridiculous and irresponsible to allow chickens in town but not electric fencing,” he said.
Sluis said the restriction dates back to the 1960s city code. Changing it would require a public request, a hearing before City Council and expert feedback.
“This is a very political process,” he said. “It needs a political solution, which means if people want to get stuff done or change this process, it’s got to be done publicly, through the official channels.”
Advocates also note that La Plata County has cut resources because of funding limitations. Last summer, the county trial ran a Bear Resource Officer position, but was unable to continue the program because of budget constraints, which Peterson called a critical loss during a difficult bear season.
Peterson pointed to Aspen and Snowmass Village as examples of more effective management. Both communities have hired full-time wildlife coordinators and enforce strict trash laws, leading to a 69% increase in compliance and a 25% drop in conflicts.
“Telluride was bear-proof 20 years ago,” he said. “Here, there’s no proactive management – just a reliance on citizen complaints.”
While no major policy changes are imminent, advocates and officials say small steps at the individual level can make a big difference: securing trash, removing bird feeders, cleaning barbecue grills, and locking cars and homes at night.
“All this is preventable,” Peterson said. “The community has to care, and elected officials have to care, too.”
Livingston agreed.
“I think a lot of people in the town of Durango are really good about this,” he said. “But if seven people on your block are doing the right thing and two or three aren’t, we’re still going to have bears in that neighborhood. It really does take a communitywide effort.”
jbowman@durangoherald.com
A previous version of this story incorrectly said 35 bears were euthanized in La Plata County last year. In fact, 35 bears died from human-caused conflicts, such as vehicle collisions. Colorado Parks and Wildlife euthanized 15.
