Aaron Berscheid is a district wildlife officer for Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Aaron covers the ìwildî side of Northeast El Paso County, including Black Forest, Falcon, Peyton and Calhan. He also covers some of Elbert County, north of U.S. Highway 24 and south of State Highway 86, including the towns of Elbert, Kiowa, Ramah, Simla, Matheson and a small portion of the Limon area.
Itís time to face the reality of bears in the Black Forest area.†Summer barely arrived and already weíre seeing conflicts between bears and the residents of Black Forest. And we all know who loses in human-bear conflicts. The bears.Not every year is this way, and there are many factors to blame for the increase in conflicts. And there are some important steps we can all take to reduce the problems and help me avoid having to handle bears simply because they were hungry and humans offered them an easy meal.Let’s start by talking about what bears eat in a typical summer and why this year is so different.††Bears are omnivorous ó just like humans. This means they eat both vegetation and meat. And, just like humans, they are opportunistic and will snack on the most easily accessible food.Usually, bears are attracted to grasses, flowering leafy forbs, berries and acorns as general forage snacks. This tides them over when they have their bigger meat meals, as they are predators. Their normal prey is anything they can catch, but this time of year their main food source is fawns. (A bearís gotta eat and nature put fawns on the menu.)†Learning what bears normally eat will help us as humans figure out what we need to eliminate from our properties to keep our livestock, pets, property; and, most of all, the bears safe.I have talked to more people in Black Forest this year about protecting chickens, livestock, bees and trash than any of the three years Iíve worked this area. I always make it a point in my public discussions to stress the importance of not feeding wildlife. But bears make it difficult because bears are attracted to things we might not normally think to protect.Bears are attracted to trash, bird feeders, dirty barbecues and, even worse, livestock. Bears are basically a stomach with a nose. All they look for is the next thing to nibble on, and we need to focus on limiting their access to foods that attract them.†If we fail, bears will come too close to our homes and garages and become too dependent on humans. Even worse, mama bears will teach their cubs how to view the human landscape as a source of food.When bears view subdivisions as a source area for food, they become too comfortable around humans. When they become comfortable around humans, they donít see us as a threat anymore. When they donít see us as a threat anymore, they can become aggressive. And thatís when the bear loses. We canít ignore aggressive bears because they pose a threat to human health and safety.†Of course this prompts criticism from people who point out it is not the bearís fault. And they are correct. Bears inevitably suffer because humans cannot limit food. But protecting humans comes first.So lock your trash up until the morning of pickup. Protect your livestock; electric fencing is the best option to keep bears from your chickens, goats, bees, etc. Do not feed deer as it will attract bears to your property when deer start dropping fawns.And remember it is not uncommon for bears to be in Black Forest and for them to remain relatively unseen in good forage years. But this year is an exception.We had little moisture through most of last year and then the late freeze and snowstorm killed most of the oak brush (acorns) in the foothills. This has caused more bears than normal to wander from the foothills to places like Black Forest where they have found very easy access to chickens, goats, beehives, trash and pets. Most of these bears are younger and are impressionable, without knowledge from last year of the dangers of humans.†Please, please, please consider the bears when you look at your properties. Keep your trash up, your livestock protected and bird feeders empty this year. Even if you have never seen a bear anywhere near your property, it can happen and it is too late by the time it does.For more information on being ìbear aware,î please visit this link:https://cpw.state.co.us/learn/Pages/LivingwithWildlifeWildBears.aspxIn the coming months, Iíll share more of those stories as I write about wildlife issues in our community: Got a question, problem or column idea, please email me at aaron.berscheid@state.co.us or call me at 719-227-5231.†I might even answer your question in a future installment of ìWildlife Matters.î
