Bear Smart Durango

A nonprofit fundraiser supporting

Community Foundation Serving Southwest Colorado

Help reduce human bear conflict and prevent bears from being put down, by supporting our education, prevention and advocacy work in La Plata

$8,618

raised by 55 people

$15,000 goal

Bear Smart Durango has been active in the greater Durango community since 2003, addressing the root causes of human and bear conflict: namely, the behavior of people. It's our goal to reduce conflict and make our community safe - for both people and bears.

We believe our community can reduce human-bear conflict by fostering a better understanding of black bears and by reducing the amount of human foods that attract bears and put both bears and people in harms' way in the first place. We offer real, practical solutions designed to:

• Reduce the amount of human foods available to bears
• Educate residents on best practices in preventing conflict
• Reduce the likelihood of property damage and loss caused by bears
• Allow local policy makers to take informed, meaningful action, and
• Keep both residents and area bears safe from harm

Bears continue being bears during the COVID-19 pandemic. New people moving to the area, increased recreation in bear habitat and increased human foods on the landscape only added to our already busy outreach and program workload. You can learn more at bearsmartdurango.org. We'd love your assistance!