At first, this summer’s bear activity seemed a bit unusual, but overall, not too concerning. Earlier this summer, a bear was chased out of Ute Park with a beanbag gun. Another broke into a cabin several miles upriver. A third was reported to be eating someone’s cat under a porch in Rangely.
Then activity ramped up significantly.
Although wildlife regularly travel through our communities every year, 2026 is statistically stacking up to be quite the bear year. Unfortunately, it’s not simply a function of everyone having a smartphone in their pocket and hankering for five seconds of Facebook fame.
From Jan. 1 through Aug. 17, Colorado Parks and Wildlife received 131 reports of bear activity in Rio Blanco County, nearly three times the 46 reports received during the same period last year. Within Meeker’s town limits, CPW received 17 reports this year compared with none during the same period in 2025.
The increase is not unique to Rio Blanco County. As of Aug. 7, CPW had received 5,197 reports of bear sightings and incidents statewide, compared with 2,853 during the same period last year.
According to CPW, these animals are doing what hungry bears do: looking for the calories they need to survive the winter. This is also known as hyperphagia, the biological urge that pushes bears to spend up to 20 hours a day looking for about 20,000 calories worth of nutrition — or about 35 Big Macs.
WHY SO MANY BEARS?
According to CPW Northwest Region Public Information Officer Rachael Gonzales, increased bear activity in the Meeker area is being driven primarily by extreme drought.
“Extreme drought conditions this year are forcing wildlife to move more broadly around the landscape and into residential areas in search of food,” Gonzales said.
In an Aug. 11 release, CPW said drought and wildfires are creating challenges for wildlife across Colorado by reducing available food, water and shelter. Limited moisture reduces plant growth, including shrubs used by bears and other wildlife, while wildfires can temporarily displace animals and reduce habitat quality.
“This is not normal for the Meeker area,” Gonzales said. “It’s hard to say if this trend will continue since we can’t always look ahead and predict what conditions will be like in the future.”
Whether bears continue finding reasons to return to town, however, will depend largely on how humans choose to respond.
Some unusual issues have already been created by residents who refuse to fire up their prefrontal cortexes.
Meeker Police recently issued a public safety notice asking residents to leave bears alone after receiving reports of people entering private property to see or photograph them. Police also said they received reports of children on bicycles “bear chasing.”
“Bears can’t understand property lines, but humans can,” the department wrote. “The bears get a pass for wandering into yards; you do not.”
Police warned that crowding bears can interfere with their natural movements, create public safety hazards and prevent the animals from leaving populated areas.
Some bears spotted around town may also have colored ear tags. Gonzales cautioned that a tag does not mean a bear will automatically be euthanized the next time someone reports it.
The tags indicate a bear has previously been handled by CPW. Red ear tags identify bears handled in CPW’s Northwest Region, while white tags indicate bears that have come through a wildlife rehabilitation facility. Wildlife officers consider the circumstances of each individual incident when deciding how to respond, Gonzales said.
DON’T PROVIDE BEAR BUFFETS
Another major issue is access to human food. While drought may be bringing more bears than usual into developed areas, readily available food gives them a reason to return.
“Bears are highly opportunistic looking for easy, high-calorie meals, driven by an excellent sense of smell,” Gonzales said. “They will readily move through neighborhoods or downtown corridors looking for an easy meal. If they find nothing, they will naturally move on and return to the wilderness.”
Problems begin when trips through town pay off. This puts both bears and people in danger.
“Once a bear learns that tipping over a trash can, getting into a chicken coop or opening an unlocked car door results in food, it becomes habituated to humans and repeats these destructive behaviors,” Gonzales said.
CPW said statewide calls this summer have frequently involved trash left outside, open garages and unlocked vehicles. Other potential attractants include bird feeders, pet food, grills, livestock feed, chicken coops, beehives and fruit trees.
CPW recommends removing bird feeders when bears are active, feeding pets indoors, cleaning and securely storing grills, protecting chicken coops and apiaries with electric fencing, and keeping trash and food scraps inaccessible.
DUMPSTER DIVING
One possible tool being discussed is bear-resistant trash containers.
“CPW does recommend using bear resistant trash cans,” Gonzales said. “When used properly, these trash cans can prevent bears from accessing trash and becoming habituated to human food.”
CPW currently administers a Human-Bear Conflict Reduction Community Grant Program, which can fund bear-resistant trash cans as well as other projects intended to reduce attractants or discourage bears from entering areas where conflicts are occurring.
In 2026, $1 million was available statewide, with individual awards ranging from $50,000 to $500,000. Eligible applicants include local governments, nonprofits, landowners and businesses. Projects generally require a 25% local match, although applicants facing financial hardship or other barriers can request a full or partial exemption. The match can include cash, donated materials and in-kind contributions such as labor or equipment.
Communities with enforceable rules governing trash storage and management receive higher priority during grant scoring. Meeker and Rangely both have regulations governing trash written into their municipal codes.
The HT reached out to Lee Overton of Meeker’s Go Services, which provides local trash service. CPW brought information about the grant program to the company last week, and Overton said Go Services plans to pursue funding during the 2027 grant cycle.
“It sounds like a good grant, and we will max out what we can do there and get those carts and dumpsters,” Overton said.
Whether this summer’s surge proves to be a one-year anomaly or something Meeker will face more often remains unknown. Either way, CPW says communities can reduce the likelihood that bears drawn into developed areas by difficult natural conditions learn that Meeker is a reliable place to find dinner.
“Preventing these human-bear conflicts requires a community-wide commitment,” Gonzales said. “By taking simple steps to be bear-prepared, residents can prevent conflicts and help keep bears wild.”
Residents should never approach or intentionally feed bears and should give animals room to leave an area on their own. Bear activity can be reported to the local CPW office at 970-878-9600.
