Colorado has a lot of two things: outdoor recreation and black bears. That combination has led to an increasing number of human–bear conflicts in recent years. As a result, the state’s lawmakers have increased legal penalties for the humans who are making the problem worse.
If you’re camping and leave out food that attracts a bear, you could now receive a $1,000 ticket — even for your first offense. If you get to a third offense, the fine rises to $5,000. The new law applies to both out-of-state campers and Colorado residents, Colorado Parks & Wildlife (CPW) spokesperson Bridget O’Rourke told GearJunkie.
“If you’re at a campground with signs telling you to use a bear box and you don’t use it, then you could be ticketed,” O’Rourke said. “There’s no warning — you’re supposed to be paying attention.”
The increased penalties are also aimed at reducing the number of bears that are killed each year by park officials. Some Colorado residents purposely leave out food in their neighborhoods because they want to see bears. The first time that happens, wildlife officials will relocate the animal. The second time, however, the bear must be euthanized. In the last 2 years alone, an increase in human-bear conflicts resulted in Colorado Parks & Wildlife officials killing 176 bears.
“If a bear comes to eat in an area with people — even if we relocate it — it knows to go back to that spot, and that’s because of human behavior,” O’Rourke said. “It’s not the bear’s fault. There are little things that humans can do by locking up our trash, or keeping dogs on leash. We want them to be scared of humans so that they don’t come toward us.”
Details of Colorado’s New Bill
The law signed by Colorado Gov. Jared Polis last week strengthens penalties against “those found knowingly feeding bears.” The bill amended existing statutes to make it easier for law enforcement to prosecute anyone found leaving out trash or food for the animals (already a misdemeanor offense).
For starters, HB 26-1342 removed a requirement to prove that an individual “intentionally” lured bears through mismanagement of food or edible waste. Now, law enforcement must only prove that someone lured the bears “knowingly.”
Moreover, law enforcement doesn’t have to issue a warning for first-time offenders. They now have the discretion to “either provide a warning or to immediately issue a violation to individuals whose knowing actions have caused some form of human-bear interaction or conflict,” according to a news release.
Repeat offenders will have to pay out some serious cash: The bill also raises the penalty for third or subsequent offenses of luring bears from $2,000 to $5,000.
“It is not always what is in the picnic basket that lures a bear, it can also be the common food waste we dispose of,” Gov. Polis said. “Reducing human-animal conflicts starts by doing our part to properly store our trash, and lock away food waste so we can safely share our communities with our furry friends coming out of hibernation. This new law takes another step to protecting bears and humans alike, and I appreciate the sponsors for their work.”
A Rise in Human–Bear Conflicts
During Colorado’s 2026 legislative session, the passage of this bill was a priority for both Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) and the Colorado Department of Natural Resources.
Leaving out edible trash for bears has always been a problem, but it has grown worse in recent years. In 2024, the state saw a 42% increase in human–bear conflicts from 2023, with over half of the incidents occurring as a result of unsecured trash.
CPW has been tracking bear–human interactions since 2019, when it launched a wildlife incident reporting app. Between 17,000 and 20,000 black bears live in the state (there are no grizzlies in Colorado). Many state representatives voiced their support for the additional enforcement rules signed into law last week.
“Once a bear has learned how and where to obtain human food, it’s really difficult to unteach this behavior, which ultimately leads to more human-bear conflicts and costly bear relocations and euthanizations,” said Rep. Meghan Lukens (D-Steamboat Springs).
Animal rights groups hope the measure will reduce the number of bears that are killed in Colorado each year. In 2025 alone, 52 bears were relocated, and 78 were euthanized because of human–bear conflicts. And 98 bears were euthanized in 2024.
“Human–bear conflict is a human problem, not a bear problem, and this law focuses directly on careless human behavior — giving officers a realistic path to holding repeat offenders accountable before bears pay the price,” said Brenda Lee, executive director of the Colorado Bear Coalition.
Read the full article here