New round of Colorado grants has started to help reduce conflicts between people and black bears

Colorado communities can now apply for a new round of grants to fund projects aimed at reducing the number of issues between residents and black bears.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife's (CPW) Human-Bear Conflict Reduction Community Grant Program, which was first funded with the passing of bipartisan House Bill 21-1326 in 2021, has been around for a few years. Its popularity and success has carried it forward from that initial year, according to a joint press release between the governor's office and CPW.

Since its first year, the program has awarded 39 grants totaling $2.9 million. Applications just opened for the next round, which closes May 30 at 5 p.m. The grants are between $50,000 and $500,000. Later this spring, CPW will announce the recipients.

CPW is offering $1 million in grant funding for these 2025 projects, according to the press release. The goal is to support innovative solutions to human-bear conflicts that are not only successful, but can be applied to other parts of the state. This funding is eligible for local governments, non-governmental organizations, HOAs, community groups, businesses, tribes, universities and individuals.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife

For example, last year, the Human-Bear Conflict Reduction Community Grant Program awarded about $995,000 to 15 projects across the state, which included:

1. White River National Forest - Food lockers at campgrounds - $193,056 awarded 
2. Quail Run HOA (Steamboat Springs) - Dumpster enclosure - $113,460 awarded 
3. Pitkin Bear Aware - Bear-resistant residential cans and enclosure - $104,500 awarded
4. Silverthorne and Frisco - Bear-resistant trash cans - $84,400 awarded 
5. Purgatoire Watershed Partnership - Trash management - $80,000
6. National Forest Foundation (Dry Lake Campground in Routt County) - Food lockers - $64,504 awarded 
7. Aspen Parks and Open Space - Bear-resistant trash cans and fruit tree replacement - $64,260 awarded 
8. Cal-Wood - Bear-resistant campsites - $60,000 awarded
9. Boulder Bear Coalition - Fortifying trash storage on The Hill with enclosures - $53,090 awarded 
10. Eagle County - Bear-resistant cans - $50,050 awarded
11. Snowmass Village - Dumpster enclosure - $50,000 awarded
12. Always Choose Adventure - Bear-resistant campsites - $34,640 awarded
13. Canon City - Bear-resistant trash cans - $18,630 awarded 
14. Pleasant Valley Sanitation (Larimer County) - Bear-resistant trash cans - $15,000 awarded 
15. Wild Aware (Jefferson County) - Electric fencing for chicken coops - $10,000 awarded 

“Human-bear conflict measures cannot be successful without collaboration between local communities, wildlife managers and individuals,” said CPW Grant Manager Travis Long. “We are excited about this program because interest from the public is high, with many communities taking advantage of the opportunities this funding provides and implementing projects to help reduce conflicts with bears."
Wednesday's announcement about the new round of grants came less than a month after CPW shared that sightings and conflicts with bears had increased nearly 15% in 2024 compared to the previous five years. Denver7 shared those details while examining the number of reports, relocations and euthanizations of bears between 2021 and 2024.

In 2024, CPW received 5,022 of these reports, Denver7 previously reported, with about half of those conflicts stemming from trash. About a fifth were linked to livestock, chickens and beehives, and 18% were connected with bird seed, pet food, BBQ grills, coolers and refrigerators, CPW said. Of the more than 5,000 reports, 2,225 resulted in property damage.

Black bears are the largest carnivore in Colorado and typically stick to their natural diet of berries, nuts and insects. However, if they find human food, they can quickly change their habits, and begin actively seeking out homes, unsecured trash cans and bird feeders. This can lead to property damage, bears becoming more aggressive, and poor health for the animal.

The 17,000 to 20,000 black bears in the state tend to live along the Front Range and foothills into western Colorado. In the majority of incidents involving the animals every year, they were trying to access human food.

If you see a bear causing an issue in an urban area, call your local CPW office. To learn more about living with bears in Colorado, click here.

Victor Schendel/Colorado Parks and Wildlife

CPW has the following recommendations for how to bear-proof your home, cars and campsites, and protect livestock:

Bear-proofing your home:

• Keep garbage in a well-secured location. Only put out garbage on the morning of pickup.
• Clean garbage cans regularly to keep them free of food odors: ammonia is effective.
• Keep garage doors closed, Do not leave pet food or stock feed outside.
• Use a bear-resistant trash can or dumpster.
• Bird feeders are a major source of bear/human conflicts. Attract birds naturally with flowers and water baths. Do not hang bird feeders from April 15 to Nov. 15.
• Don’t allow bears to become comfortable around your house. If you see one, haze it by yelling at it, throwing things at it and making loud noises to scare it off.
• Secure compost piles. Bears are attracted to the scent of rotting food.
• Clean the grill after each use, clean-up thoroughly after cookouts.
• If you have fruit trees, don't allow the fruit to rot on the ground.
• Talk to your neighbors and kids about being Bear Aware.

Bear-proofing your car and campsites:

• Lock your doors when you’re away from home and at night.
• Keep the bottom floor windows of your house closed when you're not at home.
• Do not keep food in your vehicle; roll up windows and lock the doors of your vehicles.
• When car-camping, secure all food and coolers in a locked vehicle.
• Keep a clean camp, whether you’re in a campground or in the backcountry.
• When camping in the backcountry, hang food 100 feet or more from the campsite; don’t bring any food into your tent.
• Cook food well away from your tent; wash dishes thoroughly.

Bear-proofing your chickens, bees, livestock:

• Keep chickens, bees and livestock in a fully covered enclosure, especially at night. 
• Construct electric fencing when possible.
• Don’t store livestock feed outside.
• Keep enclosures clean to minimize animal odors. 
• Hang rags soaked in ammonia and/or Pine-Sol around the enclosure as a scent deterrent.

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