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Bolder bears cause wildlife officials to increase education efforts

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Created on Monday, 09 August 2010 12:20

Written by Nathan

                                                                                        Photo by member Jeff Muise

By MONTE WHALEY, THE DENVER POST

Bears wandering into subdivisions or near mountain homes are becoming steady problems along the Front Range, wildlife officials say, and that has spurred a wider effort to educate the public and to perhaps rewrite Colorado's bear management playbook.

State wildlife officials have planned two meetings later this month in Loveland and Denver where they will ask the public for ideas about how best to manage Colorado's estimated 12,000 black bears.

Euthanizing problem bears is the last and worst option for the state Division of Wildlife, said assistant northeast region manager Kathi Green.

"Prevention of a bad situation is huge for us," Green said. "We are hoping people will chat with us about their ideas. We want people to tell us what they are thinking."

Read complete story at denverpost.com.