2021 was a quiet year for bears in Southwest Colorado.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife released a recap of 2021 bear activity Monday showing a significant decline in human-bear conflict in Southwest Colorado and across much of the state. Wildlife officials attributed the decline to abundant food sources, but urged residents to continue taking precautions and to work more closely with CPW.
“It was a great bear year largely because there was such great forage up in the high country,” said John Livingston, spokesman for CPW’s southwest region.
The acorn, chokecherry and berry season was strong in Southwest Colorado, allowing bears to stay at higher elevations and away from urban areas, he said.
In 2021, bear reports in Southwest Colorado were down 51.2% compared with the average of the two previous years, according to a CPW news release. The decrease was the largest in the state and nearly double the statewide figure.
CPW received 3,701 reports of sightings and conflicts in Colorado last year, a 28% decrease from the previous two-year average. The agency’s northeast and southeast regions also saw sizable reductions with bear reports down 38.2% and 39.8%, respectively.
The one area that experienced an increase was northwest Colorado, which was hit by drought. CPW reported a modest 11.7% increase in the region from 2020 to 2021, but last year’s 1,834 bear reports were still fewer than the more than 2,100 reported in 2019.
“One of the biggest things that determines what level of bear activity we are going to see as far as human-bear conflicts is whether we get good monsoonal summer moisture,” said Adrian Archuleta, CPW area wildlife manager in Durango, in a news release. “That is really critical in order to make the berries and acorns pop. In years where we get good moisture and the food mast (nuts or fruits from trees or shrubs) is readily available and abundant, we don’t tend to have as much interactions and conflict. In years where it is very dry or we have a freeze event, a late frost, it can be very detrimental.”
According to CPW, grasses, berries, fruits, nuts and plants make up more than 90% of a bear’s natural diet.
“We always cross our fingers for no late freezes in late April or May,” Livingston said. “Bears are really hungry when they first come out of hibernation and as long as they’ve got good food up by where their dens are that’s a really good situation. When you do run into a late freeze and they end up coming into town earlier, then we do see more of those conflicts.”
In addition to healthy forage in 2021, efforts in Durango and elsewhere in Southwest Colorado to expand bear-proof infrastructure also made a difference.
“Reduction in conflicts can also be attributed to more bear-proof trash cans for residential users across the city of Durango over the last few years as well,” Livingston said.
In April 2019, CPW initiated a statewide tracking system for bear activity to help wildlife managers quantify bear activity and mitigate human-bear conflicts. Over the last few years, about one-third of all sightings and conflicts tracked by the agency have been linked to bears getting into garbage, a news release said.
Bird feeders, livestock, outdoor pet food, open garages and other outdoor attractants are all sources of conflict, according to Livingston and CPW.
CPW’s most recent management plan for black bears in the San Juan Basin released in January 2013 estimated about 1,600 bears live in the area stretching from Durango east past Pagosa Springs and north from the Colorado-New Mexico border to Silverton.
However, CPW Terrestrial Wildlife Biologist Brad Weinmeister warned in the plan that human-bear conflict could impact the population.
“The most significant issue regarding bear management in the San Juan Basin relates to managing conflicts between bears and people,” Weinmeister wrote. “The human population growth rate within (the area) exceeded the (sic) Colorado’s average growth rate over the past 10 years, with significant human development occurring in prime bear habitat. As a result, it can be expected that the amount of human-bear interactions and human-bear conflicts will increase.”
Livingston said it is crucial for residents of Southwest Colorado to work closely with CPW to limit and mitigate conflicts.
“The sooner we can try to correct behavior, the more beneficial it’s going to be for a bear,” he said. “We don’t want to have a bear become a multi-time offender.”
Early notification can give wildlife managers time to haze bears, educate residents about potential attractants or relocate the bears before they become a risk to themselves and the community.
CPW relocated 51 bears in Colorado in 2021 and 213 over the last three years, according to CPW figures.
In a news release, Jason Clay, spokesman for CPW’s northeast region, noted that members of the public have expressed a reluctance to report bear activity fearing bears will be euthanized.
But according to CPW data, only 2.3% of the more than 14,000 bear reports in the last three years have resulted in euthanasia for the most serious cases.
By communicating with the agency, Southwest Colorado residents can limit the chances of a bear being euthanized. Homeowners can also mitigate conflict by properly securing bear-proof trash cans and placing only garbage outdoors during pickup days, Livingston said.
“We need help from local communities to develop strategies to secure garbage and other attractants across bear habitat,” said Kristin Cannon, CPW’s northeast region deputy regional manager. “Ultimately, it will also require individuals to take some responsibility and follow proper guidelines on living appropriately with bears to protect them.”
Hungry bears will begin to emerge from hibernation soon as Southwest Colorado moves toward spring, making now an ideal time to begin considering precautions.
“A few more 60-degree days like this and I’m sure we’ll start seeing these bears starting to get active again,” Livingston said.
ahannon@durangoherald.com
