recent grants

Bear Smart Durango has received grant funding to allow for completion of bear and trash monitoring projects in the City of Durango and La Plata County. We were awarded $2,000 from the La Plata Electric Association Round-up Foundation and $5,000 from Durango City Council. In addition, we received $250 from La Plata County towards this program.

Funds will be used for a.m. and p.m. trash monitoring, trash can tagging, weekly data compilation, monthly bear activity reports to policy makers, year-end GIS mapping (with the assistance of La Plata County GIS Department) and analysis (with assistance of Fort Lewis College) and recommendations for moving forward. County funding will be used for re-printing of trash can tags to include the county's logo.

kroegers bear paws fundraiser

the bear paws fundraiser at Kroegers Ace Hardware in August and September raised $1,100 in general funds for Bear Smart Durango. WOW!! Thanks to all of you that purchased $1 and $5 "bear paws" to help us in our efforts and special thanks to Bob Thom (pictured below) and the wonderful cashiers (Darci Neil and Jewell Gibson won for the most sales) at Kroegers, Rainbow Printing, Christina's Bar & Grill, Lon Erwin, Mark Smith and Jane Norton for their generous contributions in making this possible!

safe passage

a friend pointed this out a month or so ago and i finally got around to taking a photo of it. These homeowners on west 2nd avenue were tired of having to repair their fence after bears wrecked it going thru their property. So they had a special metal gate made - with an opening for the bears to go thru. Pretty ingenious, and an indication that certain areas of our community deal with bears far more so than others.

pics from Fall Bear Hike in Perins SWA

Bear Smart Durango led a hike in fall bear habitat on Sat. Oct. 3rd, where we saw sign of bears including acorn and chokecherry scat, older scat from earlier in the bear season, tracks, claw marks on pine and aspen trees, bear trails and more. Some of the tracks and scat were very recent.

A rubbing post with bear hair and bite and claw marks began the sign of bear activity. The wind conditions were perfect for all to survive the bear pepper spray talk and demonstration as well. (click on photos for larger versions).

Part of the group stands next to a bunch of bear tracks in the wash, some of the tracks being very recent.

Group photos alongside the bear tracks in the wash.

Fresh bear scat consisting of mainly chokecherries. Notice the purplish color and the telltale round buckshot-sized seeds.

 
Looking at older bear claw marks on aspen trees.

We all learned a bit more on how black bears live in the wild. The host much enjoyed the great company and extends a very special thanks to all for your enthusiasm, good spirits and tales - and for sharing a really nice morning in the woods.

p.s. for those of you on the hike, here is a photo of elk chew marks on aspen from last spring for comparison.

To see more photo examples of bear sign from our area visit here on our facebook page.

Fall Bear Hike Oct. 3

Join Bear Smart Durango on Saturday, October 3, from 10:00 – 11:45 a.m. in Perins Peak SWA for a hike in fall bear country with director Bryan Peterson. The hike is easy to moderate, but involves some bushwhacking thru oakbrush. 

We will hopefully see sign of bears and attendees should leave with a better understanding of how black bears live in the wild. There will also be a brief talk and demonstration on using bear pepper spray.

Registration is required and space is limited. Long pants and Colorado Division of Wildlife habitat stamps are suggested. Members are free/$10 non-members. For complete information and directions, visit the blog at www.bearsmartdurango.org. Email bp@frontier.net or call 749-4262 to reserve a spot.

 

• Fall Bear Hike with Bear Smart Durango

• Saturday, October 3 from 10:00 – 11:45 a.m. 

• Perins Peak SWA. Meet at the gravel parking lot (click on map above) at the junction of CR 207 (Lightner Creek) and CR 208 (Dry Fork Rd). Lightner Creek Rd is a few miles west of Durango, past Wildcat Canyon Rd  towards Mancos.

•Please be prompt.

• Please: no dogs, or food in daypacks. 

Bears, Beer & Live Music!!!

As part of the 7^th Annual Be Bear Smart Week, Bear Smart Durango hosts an evening slideshow presentation titled “The Tangled Fates of Bears and Humans: the roles bears and people play in sharing the same world’ by retired Alaska Department of Fish and Game bear biologist John Hechtel.

• Thurs. Sept. 3 at 7 PM

• Smiley Theater

Doors open at 6:15 PM with free Ska beer courtesy of Ska Brewing Company and Wildcat Canyon Liquors, and live music by Cheryl & Tim.

Admission is $7 for adults and $5 for kids and students, with admission to benefit Bear Smart Durango.

This event was made possible with the generous support of The Durango Herald, Bank of the San Juans, The Smiley Building, Cheryl & Tim, Ska Brewing Company and Wildcat Canyon Liquors.

For more information about this event, contact Bryan Peterson at bp@frontier.net or 749-4262.

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About John Hechtel: John retired from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game after a 28 year career there. He has worked in Alaska and Yukon Territory on the research and management of grizzly and black bears for nearly 30 years. His  main interests involve bear behavior, bear safety, bear attacks, bear viewing, reducing bear/human conflicts and bear conservation.

John lectures on bears and conducts bear safety and bear management training courses for the public and industry, as well as for state and federal agencies. He teaches classes in non-lethal bear management techniques for hazing and aversive conditioning bears as well.

He served 6 years on the Council of the International Association for Bear Research and Management (IBA), the professional association of biologists working on the conservation of the world's 8 bear species and is now a member of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Bear Specialist group’s Human-Bear Conflict Expert Team. He is also a founding member of the non-profit Safety in Bear Country Society.

Bear Smart Slideshow Presentation

Beer and bears! What could be better? Grab a beer and some grub and watch a fabulous summary of the local bear issue.

Bear Smart Durango will host a slideshow presentation titled "No thanks. I already ate. Bear-human conflict in the Durango area" from 6 to 7 PM, Thursday, June 25 in the back bar at Carvers. This presentation by staff/director Bryan Peterson features photos from the 2007 & 2008 local bear seasons and discusses wild and "urban" bears, bear foods, area bear-human conflict issues and solutions from other communities.

Food & drinks will be available at a cash bar. There is a $5 suggested donation, that goes to the organization. This event is sponsored by Twin Buttes, LLC. 

WHAT: Bear Smart Slideshow Presentation

WHEN: TH, June 25 from 6-7 PM

WHERE: Back bar, Carver Brewing Co, 1022 Main Ave.