ASPEN BEAR ISSUES DISCUSSED AT FORUM

The Colorado Division of Wildlife (DOW) is hosting a community forum to help Aspen area residents and visitors understand black bear issues. The forum will be held on Wednesday, Aug. 29 at the Rio Grande Room / Old Youth Center (455 Rio Grande Place) from 7 to 9 p.m. The forum is free and open to the public.

The black bear forum will present information about black bear biology, trash storage and other nuisance bear issues, DOW bear policy, Aspen and Pitkin County trash ordinances, ongoing black bear research, and the DOW Bear Aware program.

DOW district wildlife managers and biologists will also be on hand to answer black bear questions. The program will also provide information on why feeding bears does more harm than good and address some false rumors that some communities are feeding bears.

Representatives from the City of Aspen, Aspen Police Department, Pitkin County and Pitkin County Sheriff's Office have been invited to participate in the forum.The forum will also gauge interest for establishing a volunteer Bear Aware team in the Aspen area. DOW Bear Aware volunteers work to educate people about bear attractants such as trash, bird feeders, barbecue grills, pet food and fruit trees.

Volunteers are trained to assist in educational outreach and to assess properties for bear attractants.A late frost and hot, dry summer have combined to make natural food less available for bears this year. The natural food shortage and the spread of human development into bear habitat have combined to create increasing conflict between people and bears.

The DOW is the agency responsible for addressing bears that become a repeated nuisance and bears that become aggressive towards people; however, the DOW does not regulate many of the things that lead to these problems. Cooperation between local residents and visitors, local governments and state officials is critical if bears and people are to co-exist.The Colorado Division of Wildlife is the state agency responsible for managing wildlife and its habitat, as well as providing wildlife related recreation. The Division is funded through hunting and fishing license fees, federal grants and Colorado Lottery proceeds through Great Outdoors Colorado.

For more information about Division of Wildlife go to: http://wildlife.state.co.us