Colorado Parks and Wildlife - Durango

09/03/2026

We know there has been a lot of community interest in a specific bear and her cub that have been spotted regularly on the grid in Durango over the past week or so.

Local law enforcement picked up the cub earlier this week with concerns for its health based on behavior it was showing. CPW's on-call officer took possession of the cub soon after and conducted a health assessment. Because the cub had received a tranquilizer drug, it was issued ear tags.

Noting that the cub was doing well, CPW quickly returned the cub to the area where it was picked up and reunited it with its mother.

Over the course of the next several days, the mom and cub continued to be highly visible in downtown Durango, accessing trash each night and generating a high volume of attention and concern.

Wednesday, the pair again were in a pickle up a tree between the Gaslight Theater and the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad station downtown. We applaud the staff at the train station for helping keep the public away from the tree and not revealing their location to those inquiring.

After much consideration, we made the decision to give this bear family a ride out of town. We had hoped they'd move along out of the downtown area on their own, but each day they continued to find themselves in a worse and worse position.

Once loaded into a trap, we were able to do an additional health assessment on the mother before giving them a ride far away from Durango into a national forest area where we have observed a good abundance of natural foods that are staples of a black bear's diet this time of year. While we have talked extensively this year about the food failure below 7,500 feet, we have seen LOTS of berries and natural foods for bears at higher elevations and have had luck relocating bears this year to areas where food is more abundant.

We hope this bear and her cub do well in their beautiful new home. Relocation isn't always the best option and not always possible whenever people simply want us to come out and relocate a bear they've seen. But in this case, we hope it leads to a better outcome for these bears than the path they were on.

Want to read more about conditions for bears this year? Check out this recent editorial done in coordination with several partner bear organizations, including Bear Smart Durango. And thank you to Bear Smart for providing a photo of the cub from the day before its relocation.

LINK: https://cpw.state.co.us/news/08282026/editorial-want-help-starving-bears-dont-feed-them

09/02/2026

The Colorado Parks and Wildlife office in Durango will be closed September 7th in celebration of Labor Day. We will return to the office on Tuesday with normal business hours.

08/14/2026

Fencing and signs are going up at the Durango Fish Hatchery location as the contractor prepares the site for construction of our new joint office with the Southwest Region headquarters.

Starting Monday, the hatchery parking area will be closed for construction. The hatchery will be accessible from the Animas River Trail at the gate to the east.

Thanks for bearing with us during this construction period, and remember we are open and providing customer service at our location in Bodo until the new office is complete. We are located for now at 415 Turner Drive in Durango.

08/08/2026

Great news! Echo Canyon Reservoir State Wildlife Area is reopen to boating access!

We want to thank everyone for respecting the closure on the water this week and letting the Rio Blanco Fire crews safely operate while dipping in the lake.

We so appreciate the fire crews and our community.

USDA Forest Service - San Juan National Forest
Town of Pagosa Springs
Archuleta County, CO Sheriff's Office
The Pagosa Springs SUN newspaper
KWUF 106.1 FM

08/06/2026

We can’t thank Dr. Hawman and Durango Animal Hospital enough for this one.

Check out this story on an injured peregrine falcon that recently returned to the wild outside of Cortez. We so appreciate the continued partnership with Durango Animal Hospital and the work of Michael Sirochman at CPW’s Frisco Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation Center.

Nothing better than watching them fly back into the wild.

Innovative response saves life of peregrine falcon in southwest Colorado. CPW thanks Dr. Hawman for the continued partnership benefiting injured wildlife.

08/03/2026

ALERT: We have temporarily closed boating access at Echo Canyon Reservoir to allow aircraft to safely operate while scooping water to fight the ongoing Rio Blanco Fire.

To maximize the ability of fire personnel to utilize water from Echo Canyon Reservoir State Wildlife Area, CPW has closed the water to all vessels.

Hiking and shore fishing are still permitted at this time. CPW asks the public to respect the closures to prevent the entire property from needing to be closed.

MORE INFO: https://cpw.state.co.us/news/08032026/echo-canyon-reservoir-closed-boating-aircraft-fight-rio-blanco-fire

Town of Pagosa Springs
Archuleta County, CO Sheriff's Office
USDA Forest Service - San Juan National Forest
The Pagosa Springs SUN newspaper
KWUF 106.1 FM

Celebrate Colorado Day - Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) is offering free entry to all Colorado state parks on Monday, Aug. 3, 2026. Learn more.

07/31/2026

Earlier this summer, we introduced you to K-9 officer Oso and his handler, Ryan Lane, who help cover our area.

We are thrilled to share that Oso's donated body armor has arrived, making sure he is properly protected in the field. That's one sharp looking boy!

Here's more information:

Colorado Parks & Wildlife’s K9 Oso has received donation of body armor

DURANGo, Colo. - K9 Oso has received a bullet and stab protective vest thanks to a charitable donation from non-profit organization Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. K9 Oso’s vest was sponsored by Vested Interest in K9s and embroidered with the sentiment “This gift of protection provided by Vested Interest in K9s, Inc.”

Vested Interest in K9s, Inc., established in 2009, is a 501(c)(3) charity whose mission is to provide bullet and stab protective vests and other assistance to dogs of law enforcement and related agencies throughout the United States. This potentially lifesaving body armor for four-legged K9 officers is U.S. made, custom fitted, and National Institute of Justice (NIJ) certified. Since its inception, Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. has provided over 6,603 vests valued at $6.9 million to K9s in all 50 states, made possible by both private and corporate donations.

The program is open to U.S. dogs at least 20 months old and actively employed and certified with law enforcement or related agencies. K9s with expired vests are also eligible to participate. There are an estimated 30,000 law enforcement K9s throughout the United States.

Vested Interest in K9s, Inc., accepts tax-deductible contributions in any amount, while a single donation of $1,050 will sponsor one vest. Each vest has a value of $1800.00, weighs an average of 4-5 lbs., and comes with a five-year warranty. For more information or to learn about volunteer opportunities, please call (508) 824-6978. Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. provides information, lists events, and accepts donations at www.vik9s.org, or you may mail your contribution to P.O. Box 9, East Taunton, MA 02718.

07/30/2026

The Rio Blanco Fire near Pagosa Springs continues to burn, and aircraft combatting the fire are dipping buckets into Echo Canyon Reservoir State Wildlife Area.

We ask the public with both motorized vessels and hand-launched watercrafts to avoid operations west of the peninsula. Please give the aircraft space so they can safely operate and continue the excellent work fighting this fire.

USDA Forest Service - San Juan National Forest
Town of Pagosa Springs
The Pagosa Springs SUN newspaper
KWUF 106.1 FM

07/24/2026

La Plata County has rescinded stage 2 fire restrictions and the Bayfield Lions Club shooting range has reopened. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

07/23/2026

🐻 When District Wildlife Manager Luke Clancy checked a bear trap in Hermosa just north of Durango, he found a mature male with scars that told a story. He was happy to find the bear didn’t have ear tags indicating previous conflict. But when he used an electronic reader to check for a PIT tag, he heard a beep that took Colorado Parks and Wildlife down a path of discovery.

We came to find out the bear had previously been part of the Durango bear study conducted between 2010-16 by researcher Heather Johnson. More than 600 bears had been handled by the CPW research team during that study, including the old male inside the trap in Hermosa.

CPW had not handled the bear since 2012, nearly 14 years to the same date of when it was trapped again in Hermosa on July 14.

“So cool that even these males can live so long in a hunted population,” Johnson said when CPW reached out with news of the bear. “I’ve heard that it will be a bad bear year with the natural food scarcity, so I would expect lots of bears that generally behave well – and don’t get caught for nuisance behavior in 14 years – to get into trouble this year. Glad this one is getting a chance to keep behaving well in a different place.”

It's already been a busy year of human-bear conflict in Durango. Learn more about this bear, which was relocated in the National Forest far from humans, and more about conflict around the Durango area this year by reading the story at the link.

https://coloradooutdoorsmag.com/2026/07/23/colorados-bears-need-your-help/