Signed! Bill to Reduce Human-Bear Conflicts

WINTER PARK, CO – Governor Jared Polis today signed a bill into law to keep Coloradans, visitors and the state’s bear population safe. HB26-1342 will further reduce human-bear conflicts by cracking down on human behaviors that attract bears.

“Dangerous human-bear interactions are rising in our state, and we’re doing more to keep Coloradans, visitors and the bear population safe,” said Rep. Katie Stewart, D-Durango. “Last year, the vast majority of bear reports were related to trash or food waste. Bears are attracted to human food, which means this is a people problem, and it’s our responsibility to keep food undetectable to bears so we can limit human-bear interactions. This law strengthens existing enforcement mechanisms to help CPW reduce human-bear conflict and keep Coloradans safe.” 

“Once a bear has learned how and where to obtain human food, it’s really difficult to unteach this behavior, which ultimately leads to more human-bear conflicts and costly bear relocations and euthanizations,” said Rep. Meghan Lukens, D-Steamboat Springs. “We are reducing barriers for CPW to minimize human-bear interactions to keep everyone safe, including Colorado’s bear population. Bears can cause extensive property damage, and this law mitigates human behavior that attracts bears and helps prevent bears from digging through your trash in the first place.”

HB26-1342 helps minimize human-bear conflicts in Colorado by enhancing Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s (CPW) authority to deter human behaviors that attract bears, specifically leaving edible garbage uncovered and accessible. CPW may still issue penalties even if no human-bear conflict occurs, so long as there is a reasonable probability of luring a wild bear.

HB26-1342 expands misdemeanor offenses to include knowingly placing food or edible waste in the open, meaning CPW no longer must prove that an individual is intentionally luring bears. It also raises the penalty for third or subsequent offenses of luring bears from $2,000 to $5,000 to strengthen deterrence of human behavior that leads to conflicts with bears.

Human-bear conflicts are rising. CPW received 5,022 bear reports in 2024 and 5,229 in 2025. According to CPW, this is a 15-percent increase in conflicts and interactions over the last six years. Of the 17,000-20,000 bears in Colorado, the majority of incident reports involve bears trying to access human food sources. Last year, 57-percent of the sightings were linked to edible trash, 18-percent to livestock, chickens and beehives, and 16-percent to bird seed, pet food, barbeque grills, coolers and refrigerators. Of the 5,299 reports CPW received in 2025, 2,448 resulted in property damage to a shed, garage, home, vehicle or fence.

In 2024, 68 black bears were relocated and 98 were euthanized because of incidents with humans. That same year, CPW spent nearly 6,000 hours of staff time responding to human-bear conflicts and spent nearly $800,000 in supplies, grants, and salaries related to human-bear conflicts.

To limit human-bear interactions, experts recommend securing food, trash and recycling, removing bird feed when bears are active, cleaning grills and smokers and never leaving pet food outside.