Since March of 2024, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) has partnered with Eagle County to promote a pledge-based NeighBEARhood ambassador program. The NeighBEARhood ambassador program is an easy way for residents, visitors, and businesses to adopt best practices to promote a safe and healthy environment to reduce human-bear conflicts. The campaign consists of marketing and messaging tools to spread the word to family, friends, coworkers, and visitors via social media networks, homeowner associations, and business organizations throughout Eagle County to raise awareness on bear safety. Once you have taken the pledge and become a NeighBEARhood ambassador, you can take advantage of the media toolkit. The toolkit contains fun graphics, videos, social media templates, email signature templates, and flyers, available in both English and Spanish, to spread the word to your network. To take the pledge, go to the landing page to “Become a NeighBEARhood Ambassador” on Eagle County’s website.

Become Bear Aware

Colorado Parks and Wildlife reminds people to take simple precautions to avoid human-wildlife conflicts and help keep bears wild.

Bear-proofing your home and business:

• Keep garbage in a well-secured location. Only put out garbage on the morning of pickup.
• Clean garbage cans regularly to keep them free of food odors: ammonia is effective.
• Keep garage doors closed. Do not leave pet food or stock feed outside.
• Use a bear-resistant trash can or dumpster.
• Bird feeders are a major source of bear/human conflicts. Attract birds naturally with flowers and water baths. Do not hang bird feeders from April 15th to November 15th.
• Don’t allow bears to become comfortable around your house. If you see one, haze it by yelling, throwing things at it and making loud noises to scare it off. 
• Secure compost piles. Bears are attracted to the scent of rotting food.
• Clean the grill after each use, and clean up thoroughly after cookouts.
• If you have fruit trees, don't allow the fruit to rot on the ground.
• Talk to your neighbors and kids about being Bear Aware

CPW believes that human-bear conflicts can be mitigated if strategies like the NeighBEARhood Ambassador program are implemented in partnership with our local communities. This is the time, with spring in the air, to do our part to contribute to the effort of reducing human-bear conflicts and take the NeighhBEARhood ambassador pledge.

Taking the pledge is easy to do and your efforts will help encourage other residents, businesses, and visitors to help prevent bears from discovering your home or neighborhood as a food source that they will return to throughout the year. Every action counts. By reducing attractants, we help to prevent bear relocations and give these incredible animals a real chance at survival.