![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Aspen_Bear_July_2026-_Lara_Xaiz-scaled-1-1024x737.jpeg\")
A bear roams a rooftop in the Roaring Fork Valley. Between Jan. 1 and July 31, 2026, Pitkin County has experienced an uptick in bear reports, particularly those relating to proptery damage.Lara Xaiz\/Courtesy Photo<\/p>\nAcross Colorado, dire drought conditions are giving rise to reports of bear activity and conflict.<\/p>\n
Colorado Parks and Wildlife reported a 68% increase in bear reports over last year for the first seven months of 2026.<\/p>\n
\u201cBears are tough this year,\u201d said Brad Banulis, the agency\u2019s senior terrestrial biologist, at a July 28 northwest region sportspersons\u2019 meeting in Grand Junction.<\/p>\n
While conflicts slowly increased in early summer, Banulis said things had not been \u201ctoo bad\u201d until recently.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNow we\u2019re definitely seeing conflicts go up a lot across the region, really across the Western Slope at least, maybe even statewide, with this drought,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kris Middledorf, Parks and Wildlife\u2019s area wildlife manager, said the situation has been escalating in Routt County as it experiences an \u201cunprecedented surge in human-bear interactions.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Reports to Parks and Wildlife from Jan. 1 to July 31 were up 219% over 2025 in the county.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Christy Bubenheim, who leads educational programming through Keep Bears Wild Steamboat, said bear activity has increased not only within the city of Steamboat Springs, but also the surrounding communities that aren\u2019t used to having bear activity, including Yampa, Oak Creek, Clark and Stagecoach.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI am seeing and hearing from all over the country that most communities are seeing a spike in bears in human-occupied areas, more human-bear interaction, and more negative bear behavior as far as bears getting into vehicles and homes more regularly,\u201d Bubenheim said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Activity has also risen in Pitkin and Garfield counties \u2014 by nearly 32% and 15%, respectively \u2014 while counties like Grand and Summit counties have experienced an average number of reports.\u00a0<\/p>\n
While the overall reports have risen less than in Routt County, Pitkin has seen a large spike, 56%, in reports involving property damage, according to Parks and Wildlife.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe rise in property damage shows that bears are growing bolder in their search for food,\u201d said Matt Yamashita, the state wildlife agency\u2019s area wildlife manager for the two counties. \u201cThis is not just a wildlife issue; it is a community safety issue. Every unsecured trash can or open garage door invites a conflict that could end poorly for both the homeowner and the bear.\u201d<\/p>\n
The wildlife biologists say one factor is likely to blame for bears coming closer to towns this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cExtreme drought conditions have limited natural forage in the High Country, forcing wildlife into residential areas in search of food,\u201d Middledorf said.<\/p>\n
Once in town, the responsibility, however, falls onto humans to prevent conflict with the bears.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s up to us humans to create the change that we need to keep bears wild and people safe,\u201d said Lara Xaiz, the city of Aspen\u2019s wildlife coordinator. \u201cIf we can keep framing it as a people problem, instead of a bear problem \u2014 or as a problem or nuisance bear \u2014 or a problem there, then we know we can fix it by educating and working with people, because you just can\u2019t retrain bears.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bears are opportunistic eaters \u2014 humans have to prepare\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n
A bear roams a rooftop in the Roaring Fork Valley. Between Jan. 1 and July 31, 2026, Pitkin County has experienced an uptick in bear reports, particularly those relating to proptery damage.Lara Xaiz\/Courtesy Photo<\/p>\n
Colorado is home to an estimated 17,000 to 20,000 black bears, the vast majority of which live on the Western Slope. In recent years, population growth, increased tourism and fluctuations in food availability have been driving up conflict with bears, especially in mountain towns<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bears are opportunistic eaters with a strong sense of smell, which drives their diet throughout the year.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIn the spring they are looking for things like grass, flowers and other new vegetation that\u2019s easier for them to digest as they are getting their stomachs used to digesting food after hibernation,\u201d said Rachael Gonzales, Colorado Parks and Wildlife\u2019s northwest public information officer. \u201cDuring the summer months, bears tend to focus more on fruits and berries. In the fall, when they are preparing for hibernation, they add things like acorns into their diets.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n In years like this one, when drought or environmental changes impact these foods, necessity will drive bears toward human-related food sources. Trash consistently ranks as the No. 1 human attractant for bears <\/a>and reason for conflict between humans and bears.\u00a0<\/p>\n As the drought impacts bears\u2019 natural food sources this July, it also comes at a critical time for them.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMidsummer is a critical time when black bears naturally look for highly nutritious food sources to maintain their energy reserves,\u201d Gonzales said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Officials are worried about how conflict will continue this fall as the drought persists throughout the region. Acorns \u201ccan be heavily affected by drought,\u201d Xaiz said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Removing human attractants before bears enter hyperphagia \u2014 an insatiable biological state bears enter to build fat for winter hibernation<\/a> \u2014 is important, Parks and Wildlife said, as a bear\u2019s caloric needs spike to 20,000 calories a day starting late summer into fall.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m honestly very worried about what the next few months are going to look like,\u201d Bubenheim said of Steamboat Springs. \u201cWith the amount of bears that are around, we, as the humans, really, really need to step up our game this year and be super diligent about locking up trash, locking our vehicles with the windows up, closing and locking our garages.\u201d<\/p>\n Early action and prevention are critical\u00a0<\/p>\n Xaiz said she\u2019s heard increasingly from residents near Aspen that they\u2019re afraid to report bears getting into homes, cars and trash.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cJust calling in a bear in a house or a car or even in the trash is not gonna necessarily put that bear at risk,\u201d she said. \u201cThe earlier people let us know that they\u2019re seeing problems, then the earlier we can work on hopefully changing people\u2019s behavior so that that bear moves on.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Bubenheim said that \u201ctrash and bird feeders are kind of like the \u2018gateway drug\u2019 for bears,\u201d adding that once bears get a \u201chuge food calorie score\u201d from a human source with no consequences, they will repeatedly return. Then, even if the homeowner eventually removes the food source, the bear will look close by for other potential calories \u2014 trash, homes, cars, etc.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just a big ladder of progression,\u201d Bubenheim said. \u201cIf we can nip it in the bud right at the start and not give them a food reward on our property to begin with, it\u2019s better for everybody.\u201d<\/p>\n This can be passed down, with Middledorf warning of \u201ca dangerous generational pattern\u201d solidifying in the Yampa Valley.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cFemale bears are actively teaching their cubs that it is acceptable to get into household trash, unlocked homes and parked vehicles,\u201d Middledorf said. \u201cThis learned behavior ensures that a new generation of wildlife will grow up dependent on human garbage rather than foraging for natural food sources.\u201d<\/p>\n With this, officials encourage individuals to report bear activity earlier rather than later.<\/p>\n \u201cThe sooner you call, the sooner we can work with you to identify what attractants might be bringing them in and ultimately protect the bears,\u201d Middledorf said. \u201cWe can then help you remove those attractants to prevent further issues before they escalate.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Part of the challenge is that Parks and Wildlife\u2019s options when it comes to habituated bears are limited. They typically have two options: relocation or euthanization. In 2025, the agency relocated 52 bears and killed 78 due to human-wildlife conflicts statewide.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMany residents are operating under a false sense of security and assume that wildlife officials can simply relocate any problem bear, but relocation is far more complex than just picking a remote spot on a map,\u201d Gonzales said. \u201cWe must first look for an area that has adequate food, shelter, water and little risk for additional potential human-bear conflict. With the residential population in our mountain communities continuing to grow, that is becoming harder to find.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Bears can also be territorial and have \u201cincredible homing instincts,\u201d so relocation can increase conflict between bears or not be effective, Gonzales added.<\/p>\n \u201cThe importance of prevention is crucial, regardless of the natural food sources available or not available,\u201d she said. \u201cThey will move around in search of food, which may lead them into neighborhoods or the downtown area. If they don\u2019t find any food, they will move on to continue their search, hopefully leaving the populated area and back into the wilderness area.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Starting Aug. 12<\/a>, Parks and Wildlife and other law enforcement officers will also see the benefits of a new law passed by legislators this year to address human-bear conflict<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis bill strengthens our ability to address these conflicts by updating the culpable mental state tied to this offense and increasing enforcement measures for individuals who knowingly leave out attractants and trash,\u201d Gonzales said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Consistency, collaboration and education\u00a0<\/p>\n In the Roaring Fork Valley, Parks and Wildlife, Pitkin County and Aspen, Basalt and Snowmass Village are launching a new coordinated campaign to reduce human-bear conflicts. Education and consistency are critical to this goal, Xaiz said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe all share the same workforce. We likely share all the same bears. So instead of each of us working in our own little silos, we can share resources and tools that have helped \u2026 and have the same messaging,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n The benefit of this is seen in the state signing onto BearWise, a national program sponsored by the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, in 2025, Xaiz said. This way, whether individuals live in the area or are visiting, the message is \u201cconcise, consistent\u201d and looks the same, she added.<\/p>\n Education is important because it\u2019s up to humans to do better, Bubenheim said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSince humans, in theory, know how to do what\u2019s right, and bears don\u2019t necessarily know right from wrong, we\u2019ve got to be the ones to do better and try and make bears less comfortable being around us and being in our community, both for their safety and for our safety,\u201d Bubenheim said.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Across Colorado, dire drought conditions are giving rise to reports of bear activity and conflict. 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For bears, the end of summer means finding ways to cool off \u2014 lounging in the shade or taking a dip in the river \u2014 and fueling up with berries. However, on years like 2026, where Colorado is experiencing extreme drought and berries are limited, bears will search closer to towns and communities for food.Chris Dillmann\/Vail Daily archive<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Trash_Bear_Cub-CPW-1024x685.jpeg\")
Trash is the No. 1 reported cause of human-bear conflict in Colorado.Colorado Parks and Wildlife\/Courtesy photo<\/p>\n