“` Volume 1 (August 7, 2023) “`
CCA Wildlife News
Colorado’s Bear Issue
In 1992, Colorado faced their first wildlife ballot initiative. The emotionally charged Statutory Amendment 10 was a push by anti-hunting groups from within and outside the state. The organization CUB persuaded the voters of Colorado that they knew better how to manage bears than our own CDOW. Amendment 10 was a prohibition on the use of hounds and bait as a means to hunt bears and control the population of bears in the state. The Statutory Amendment 10 passed by a 3 to 1 margin. So began the emboldened attack on professional wildlife management in Colorado. Thus, Ballot Box Biology was conceived. In 1996 Amendment 14, the prohibition on public trapping was backed by those same anti-hunting radical environmental groups. Again this, Ballot Box Biology amendment passed by 52% to 48% vote of the public. Amendment 14 was a Constitutional Amendment.
At the time of the passage of Amendment 10 the estimated population of bears in Colorado was between 6,000 to 10,000. Current estimated bear population is at 20,000 within the State. Human / Bear conflicts have increased substantially over those past three decades.
In 1991, APHIS had 85 depredation reports by bears. Wildlife Services harvested 22 bears. In 2021 Wildlife Service took 64 bears, three times as many as in 1991.
CPW has had 18,351 bear conflict reports since 2019
As recently as July 2023, there has been a bear/human conflict that caused injury to a sheep herder. Also in July, the Denver Gazette ran an article on 5 terrifying bear attacks that took place in Colorado. And even as we were trying to put the final touches on this newsletter, CPW reported that a man was attacked as he lay in a hammock on Saturday (8/5/23). These types of conflicts are not becoming less frequent.
In the early 1990s a movement was started to eliminate spring and summer hunting of Bears in Colorado as well as to stop the use of baiting or dogs as hunting aids. This despite that the kill percentage for bear hunters using bear and or dogs was the lowest harvest rate of any big game hunters. Colorado archery antelope hunters had a higher harvest rate! Voters did not realize that the bear is arguably the most intelligent animal that is hunted in Colorado. Hunters had been taking the most aggressive, the least intelligent, the most curious and the most careless out of the Bear population.
After Statutory Amendment 10 was approved by the Colorado voters in 1992, bear hunting was forever altered in Colorado. So, what has happened in the more than 30 years since Colorado voters altered the dynamics of bear hunt management?
More Bears are losing fear of man each year. More bears are inflicting much more property damage each year and more bears are consuming more elk calves to the detriment of Colorado’s elk herds.
Avoidance Training
What voters for Amendment 10 did not realize was that the owner of bear dogs must keep their dogs in condition by training that required not just killing one Bear each year, but multiple Bear chases.
The first thing a hunter using dogs learns is Respect. Respect for the bear, who often out runs the dogs especially on a late May or June day which heats up fast. If the Bear is tree’d he can be photographed and left in the tree (ie: Catch and Release). The dogs have benefited, and the bear learns that when he hears barking dogs, it is time to “Head for the High Country!” This results in avoidance training for the Bear.
Also, hunters paid license fees to pursue the Bear. Now, time and money is expended by State and Federal Agencies to relocate or euthanize “problem bears”.
Hunting, or pursuit of bear with dogs can be looked upon as “Rewilding of The Bear” where the bear learns to respect man and a better mutual coexistence is achieved. Hunting is a necessary management tool.
Hunting reduces the conflict with livestock and other wildlife species
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