By nearly every meaningful measure, this region ranks near the top in human-bear conflicts, from sightings and trash-related incidents to relocations, euthanizations and orphaned cubs.
In 2025, La Plata County accounted for 29% of all bear reports statewide – along with 42% of relocations and 22% of euthanizations – and logged 405 trash-related reports to Colorado Parks and Wildlife alone.
Because counties vary widely in size, the per capita view leads to the same conclusion. La Plata County still ranks among the highest in Colorado for bear encounters and trash-related conflicts relative to its population.
Some of the causes are beyond human control. Drought and declining natural food sources push bears into town, and Durango sits squarely in their habitat. But much of the conflict is human-driven. As Bear Smart Durango has emphasized since 2003, human food is the through-line. Locally, roughly 90% of bear-related reports involve trash or other attractants – unsecured garbage, overfilled cans, open dumpsters, fruit trees and bird feeders. Bears learn quickly, and the consequences follow: relocation, euthanasia and orphaned cubs.
Conflicts also play out in neighborhoods, near schools and along roadways, where vehicle collisions increase – an issue that extends to deer as well and underscores the need for a coordinated wildlife task force.
The pattern is clear. The response is not.
Across the city and county, 756 trash-related bear reports were logged last year. Enforcement rarely followed: Two citations, three $100 fines requiring bear-resistant containers, and 270 cases with no action taken.
The rules exist. Follow-through is the problem.
That gap is especially evident with commercial dumpsters – some of the most consistent and accessible food sources for bears – where enforcement is minimal.
Cost is part of the equation. Residents who need a wildlife-resistant container can request one, but comes with a $100 delivery fee and a $4.35 monthly charge for 4.5 years. For some households, that may be a barrier. If so, the city should address it, including through targeted subsidies.
There has been movement. The city has approved electric fencing and electric mats and is considering stronger fees for trash-related offenses (Herald, March 19). Useful tools – but not a strategy.
Other communities have shown what a more complete approach looks like. In Pitkin County, home to Aspen and Snowmass Village, there were 86 reports of bears accessing trash last year. La Plata County had 405. The difference is not awareness. It is staffing, proactive enforcement and follow-through.
Here, responsibility is scattered. City code enforcement, law enforcement and Colorado Parks and Wildlife all have a role, but no single entity is accountable. The Sheriff’s Office fielding bear-trash calls underscores the mismatch. Wildlife management should not sit on the margins of general law enforcement.
The structure has been in flux. When the city moved to bring animal control in-house – ending its longtime contract with the Humane Society – there was discussion about expanding capacity, including proactive bear and trash enforcement (Herald, Oct. 24, 2025). That has yet to materialize. A proposed bear task force has also stalled.
At the county level, a bear resource officer position existed briefly before being cut in a tight budget year. With funding improved, reinstating that role – or creating a shared city-county wildlife coordinator – would bring needed focus and accountability.
Thursday, May 7, the inaugural Bear Film Festival, hosted by Bear Smart Durango and supported by The Durango Herald, highlights real-world solutions from other communities – approaches Bryan Peterson and Bear Smart have been advancing here since 2003 (Herald, May 1).
The message has not changed. We know what works.
Secure trash and set it out only on pickup day. Keep lids latched. Remove bird feeders during bear season. Clean grills, secure compost and pick up fallen fruit. Don’t leave food in vehicles or garages. Use electric fencing where appropriate.
These are not new ideas. They are standard practice in communities that have reduced conflict.
Durango has the ordinances. It has the infrastructure. It has the expertise.
What it lacks is consistency.
Being No. 1 – or No. 2 or No. 3 – in human-bear conflict is not something to be proud of.
It is something to fix.
