GRAND JUNCTION — Colorado’s bear problem is going to get worse before it gets better. First for us, then for the bears.
“I can tell you what the sense is at least at the very start, and that is that things are looking very grim,” Jerry Apker, carnivore biologist for Colorado Parks and Wildlife, told the Parks and Wildlife Commission in regard to expectations of bear conflicts this summer.
The pervading drought is the primary culprit, waking bears early from hibernation and likely reducing forage in the absence of a drastic weather change later this summer. The other cause is mere math.
“The emergence and increased affordability of things like DNA, tooth cementum analysis and GPS tracking collars have given us new tools to know that Colorado’s current black bear population is robust and larger than previously believed,” Apker said. “Our recalculations show a significant increase in the population estimate from 12,000-14,000 black bears in the past to a current conservative estimate of 16,000-18,000.”
As a result, the worst-case scenarios for bear conflicts 15 year ago have become the “new normal” in recent years, worsening from there. Last year alone, game wardens were called in to dispose of 133 conflict bears in Colorado.
The new math equates to new opportunities for bear hunters in 2012. In an effort to cull the black bear population, game managers on Thursday approved a 26 percent increase in bear hunting licenses this fall, boosting the total number of licenses available from about 14,000 last year to 17,604.
According to Apker, about 1,350 bears were harvested by hunters in Colorado last year, and about 400 more died due to “nonhunt bear mortality,” including being put down by wildlife officers or being hit by cars. Despite a 17 percent increase in licenses last year, CPW personnel in some regions still spend up to 70 percent of staff time working on nothing but bear conflicts, Apker said.
“The sum of the information generally indicates that bear populations … can sustain a much higher rate of harvest than they have had in the past,” Apker said. “I believe the increases are warranted and will manage bear populations in a responsible way.”
More moose. The only other big game animals to see an increase in licenses in Colorado were moose. Moose populations in Colorado continue to increase, even as populations in most other states decline. The estimated post-hunt population in units open to moose hunting is 1,800 in 2011, up from 1,700 in 2010.
That equates to 219 limited licenses available for moose in 2012, with demand far exceeding allocation. Last year saw 15,400 applicants for 177 moose hunting licenses. Statewide harvest was 152.
Pronghorn tags lowered. Wildlife managers plan to issue 139,461 limited elk licenses and 23,862 pronghorn licenses for the 2012 fall seasons.
Before 2012, pronghorn licenses have increased for several years leading up to the record harvest of 12,300 in 2010. Thresholds for licenses and hunter numbers have been reached or exceeded in many units, prompting a 7 percent license reduction due to lower success rates and unsold licenses.
The 2.2 percent decline in the number of limited elk tags offered this year is primarily related to elk populations reaching management objectives after several years of efforts by CPW to reduce elk damage on private lands. In addition to the limited elk licenses, Colorado plans to issue an unlimited number of over-the-counter bull elk licenses in the archery, second rifle and third rifle seasons.
