Bear - Conservation and Management
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Video: Durango Bear Research
Durango Bear Research
Over five years, CPW wildlife biologist Heather Johnson and her team have researched bears in Durango. From locals, to national news outlets, their publications have captivated residents and researchers alike. The project's comprehensive research, examined bear-human interactions and the impacts of urbanization on bear populations.
Herd Management Plans
Black Bear Management
The purpose of a Herd Management plan (HMP) is to integrate the plans and intentions of Colorado Parks and Wildlife with the concerns and ideas of land management agencies and interested public to determine how a big game herd in a Data Analysis Unit (DAU) should be managed.
Big game populations are managed to achieve population and sex ratio objectives established for Data Analysis Units. A DAU is the geographic area that represents the year-around range of a big game herd and includes all of the seasonal ranges of a specific herd. Each DAU usually is composed of several Game Management Units (GMUs), but in some cases only one GMU makes up a DAU.
Draft Herd Management Plans
There are currently no draft plans open for public comment. When comment periods are available, they are open for 30 days.
About the Draft Plan Process
Traditionally, Colorado Parks and Wildlife staff have presented one herd management plan at a time for approval to the Parks and Wildlife Commission. In order to address the large numbers of HMPS that need to be updated, staff have taken a new approach to develop a regional roll-up of all HMPs in a CPW region for a single big game species to update or establish new population and sex ration objectives. The regional plans also describe the significant management issue for herds within each Region, what public input was used to develop proposed objectives, and the individual HMPs for each herd.
Finalized Herd Management Plans
- B2 - Middle Arkansas
- B3 - Northern Front Range
- B4 - Bear's Ear - North Park
- B5 - Uncompahgre
- B6 - Dolores/Hermosa
- B7 - Sangre de Cristo Mountains
- B11 - Roaring Fork/Eagle Valleys
- B12 - Gunnison Basin
- B13 - Western San Luis Valley
- B14 - Upper Arkansas
- B17 - Grand Mesa
- B18 - San Juan
- B19 - Central Front Range
About Preparing an HMP
In preparing an HMP, agency personnel attempt to balance the biological capabilities of the herd and its habitat with the public's demand for wildlife recreational opportunities.
The primary decisions needed for each HMP plan are how many animals should exist in the DAU and what is the desired sex ratio for the population of big game animals (e.g., the number of males per 100 females).
The selection of population and sex ratio objectives (which are set for a 10-year period of time) drive important decisions in the big game season setting process, namely:
- How many animals must be harvested to maintain or move toward the objectives
- What types of hunting seasons are required to achieve the harvest objective
Focus on Research
Black Bears
Black Bear Use of Urban Environments: Testing Management Solutions and Assessing Population Effects
Led By
Heather E. Johnson in collaboration with Jerry Apker, John Broderick, Stacy Lischke, Patt Dorsey (all CPW), Stewart Breck (National Wildlife Research Center), Jon Beckmann (Wildlife Conservation Society), and Ken Wilson (Colorado State University).
Study Area
Field data are being collected near Durango, CO
Project Status: Ongoing
Research Objectives
- To determine the influence of urban environments on black bear behavior and population trends.
- To test management strategies for reducing bear-human conflicts.
- To examine public attitudes and behaviors related to bear-human encounters.
- To develop population and habitat models to monitor and manage bears.
Project Description
Black bear-human encounters and conflicts are increasing in Colorado and across the country. This trend is likely to continue as residential development expands and changes in weather (such as more frequent droughts) reduce the availability of natural foods for bears. Bear-human conflicts commonly result in property damage, threats to public safety, rising wildlife management costs, and high bear mortality.
Despite these consequences, the scientific community does not know if increases in conflicts reflect changes in the number of bears or a behavioral shift to eating human food resources or a combination of both. Without a thorough understanding of the relationship between conflict rates, bear behavior and population dynamics, wildlife agencies cannot successfully reduce conflicts through management.
A statewide increase in bear-human encounters and conflicts is a high priority management issue for Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW). As a result, CPW initiated a comprehensive, five-year research project to identify factors responsible for rising conflicts and to test management strategies to reduce those conflicts in the future. Most of the data for this project are being collected in the vicinity of Durango, Colorado, but regional and statewide information will also be used to meet project objectives.
To meet project objectives, the research staff is conducting the following field research activities:
- Trapping and collaring black bears in the urban-wildland interface around Durango.
- Tracking bear movements and feeding patterns using global position system (GPS) satellite collars.
- Monitoring bear survival and reproduction using data from the GPS collars and by visiting winter dens of adult females.
- Collecting data on the availability of summer and fall natural foods for bears, which largely includes nuts and berries from gambel oak, serviceberry, chokecherry, hawthorn, and pinon pine.
- Employing non-invasive genetic surveys to estimate the bear density and population size around Durango and at a nearby wildland site.
- Testing wide-scale urban use of bear-resistant garbage containers for their effectiveness in reducing bear-human conflicts.
- Surveying the public on attitudes and perceptions related to bears, bear-human conflicts, bear management, and motivations to reduce interactions with bears.
This will be one the most comprehensive studies to date on black bear use of urban environments by clearly linking bear behavior to population trends, while also rigorously testing management techniques. This information will provide wildlife managers in Colorado and elsewhere strategies to reduce bear-human conflicts within urban environments.