Lake City Residents Urged to be Bear Aware, Keep Bears Wild.

Black bear activity is picking up across Colorado, and several of the state’s mountain communities are already dealing with conflicts between humans and bears.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife has responded to several incidents of attractant-based behavior from bears this year across the western half of the state. Many of those incidents were tied directly to bears trying to access trash, bird feeders and other attractants, including hobby chickens.
On the heels of a bear attack on a human in Lake City last fall, CPW District Wildlife Manager Lucas Martin wants to remind the community to be aware of bear activity and offers tips on how people can do their part to keep bears wild.
“Now is the time of year to secure your trash, refrain from feeding birds or other wildlife and be aware of open windows and doors on cars and structures,” Martin said. “With the hot and dry weather thus far this year, communities might experience a very active bear year similar to last year. Lake City is also still having overnight frosts and snow flurries that may wreak havoc on natural bear foods. If natural food for bears is delayed or unavailable, it greatly increases potential for human-bear conflicts.”
The vast majority of conflicts between people and bears can be traced to human food, garbage, pet food, bird seed or other attractants. When people allow bears to access food, a bear’s natural drive to eat can overcome its wariness of humans, resulting in what biologists call habituation. Bears that get too comfortable around people can destroy property or even become a threat to human safety.
“Conflict potential between humans and bears increases when human food sources draw bears into our communities,” said CPW Area Wildlife Manager Brandon Diamond. “Bear conflict management becomes increasingly challenging when sows and cubs are present. In a perfect world, we’d work collectively to avoid scenarios where bears learn at an early age to associate towns and trash with food, creating generational issues. The reality is that CPW cannot allow highly habituated, dangerous bears to reside in our communities, so we need to be proactive in avoiding those situations.”
Martin credited the Lake City community for its work in investing in bear-resistant trash cans and dumpsters the past 20 years with help from Utah’s Sanitation and Lake City Friends of the Bears.
“With that being said, the community needs to remain vigilant in its efforts to keep bears out of trouble on an annual basis,” Martin said.
Being near wildlife usually delights Colorado residents and our visitors. But when wildlife gets too close, the risk of conflict increases, and wildlife loses. The key to avoiding conflict is keeping wildlife from getting too close in the first place.
“Complacency is what hurts our bears,” said Diamond. “Don’t let a low bear conflict year deceive you – we live in bear habitat and we should consciously avoid bear conflict every year regardless of conditions.”
It is critical to remove easy access to food for bears. Unsecured trash remains the leading cause of conflict in Colorado. Residents should also keep pet food inside, not leave out water and burn food off barbeque grills and clean them after each use.
CPW recommends not feeding birds. Bird feeders, including hummingbird feeders, attract bears and other wildlife and can contribute to the spread of disease. Commonly, bird feeders are what starts the conflict cycle with bears. Even feeders hung high in trees or on homes can be reached by bears that will eagerly climb trees and poles to reach the high-calorie treat.
For properties with fruiting trees or bushes, pick fruit before it ripens and clean up fallen fruit to avoid luring wildlife to your yard.
Never leave food, trash, coolers, air fresheners or anything that smells – makeup, lotion, sunscreen – in your vehicle or in the bed of a truck. Roll up your windows and lock your vehicle, as bears can learn to open unlocked vehicles.
It is also important to close and lock home windows and doors, including garage doors and pet doors.
“We all need to do our part to be good neighbors to our black bear population,” Martin said. “If a bear is around your property, please haze it away and make it feel uncomfortable being near human-occupied areas. Yell, bang pots and pans, set off car alarms or use other means to haze bears away and keep them from getting comfortable.”
CPW appreciates getting reports of bear activity early so intervention and education can take place before behavior escalates to conflicts. To report bear activity, call the CPW Gunnison office at 970-641-7060.