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Colorado’s bears are hungry. And they’re dining in town.

Coloradosun · · 1865 words · By Betsy Welch; Dana Coffield
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What to know about Colorado’s bears are hungry. And they’re dining in town.

ASPEN — For the past 30 years, bears have been part of the job at the Hickory House.

Claims checked 9
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center86%
Right14%

7 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

ASPEN — For the past 30 years, bears have been part of the job at the Hickory House.

Why it matters

This story first appeared in The Outsider, the premium outdoor newsletter by Jason Blevins.

Common ground

In it, he covers the industry from the inside out, plus the fun side of being outdoors in our beautiful state.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://coloradosun.com/2026/08/17/bears-feeding-weak-berry-acorn-crops-trash-co…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 9 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 6
verified Verified By Reference 2
help Insufficient Evidence 1
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Claim 1: “Last year, CPW relocated 68 bears because of conflicts and killed 98.”
CORROBORATED
Three independent sources confirm that CPW relocated 68 bears and killed 98 due to conflicts last year.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — 2024 Colorado Proposition 127 was a proposed ballot measure that appeared before voters in Colorado during the 2024 general election. If the citizen initiated proposition had passed, it would have mak…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_Colorado_Proposition_127
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Golden Gate Canyon State Park is a Colorado State Park located in Gilpin and Jefferson counties northwest of Golden, Colorado. The 12,119-acre (49.04 km2) Front Range park established in 1960 has 42…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Gate_Canyon_State_Park
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The U.S. state of Colorado has only one state forest, the Colorado State Forest in Jackson County. The Colorado State Forest is managed by the Colorado State Forest Service and is coextensive with the…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Colorado_state_forests
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 2: “On July 29, Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials responded to reports of a bear eating a dead bear in Steamboat Springs.”
CORROBORATED
Two independent sources confirm that on July 29, CPW responded to reports of a bear eating a dead bear in Steamboat Springs.
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web search NEUTRAL — On July 29, Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials responded to reports of a bear eating a dead bear in Steamboat Springs.
https://coloradosun.com/2026/08/17/bears-feeding-weak-berry-…
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web search NEUTRAL — Wildlife officers attempted to dart the bear before it left the area. The carcass of the dead bear was removed. Read the full story here on SteamboatPilot.com.Wildlife officers respond to uncommon cal…
https://www.steamboatpilot.com/news/video-bear-eats-another-…
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web search NEUTRAL — 294 bears were euthanized by CPW this year, compared to 83 bears euthanized through August of last year. CPW says preventing human-bear conflicts takes a community-wide effort, and recommends the foll…
https://www.denver7.com/news/local-news/bear-scratches-nappi…
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Claim 3: “incidents involving property damage and bears accessing food and nonfood sources were up 56%, according to CPW.”
CORROBORATED
Three independent sources confirm the 56% increase in incidents involving property damage and bears accessing food/non-food sources.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — 15 Central Park West (also known as 15 CPW) is a luxury residential condominium along Central Park West, between 61st and 62nd Streets adjacent to Central Park, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/15_Central_Park_West
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — CPW may refer to: Camp Project Wales, a youth project for disadvantaged children run by the United Reformed Church in the 1970s and 1980s Carphone Warehouse, a mobile phone retailer based in London, …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CPW
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The CPW (Compact Personal Weapon) is a multi-caliber submachine gun developed by ST Kinetics as a PDW-class firearm.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ST_Kinetics_CPW
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 4: “According to CPW, an estimated 17,000 to 20,000 black bears live in the state, the vast majority on the Western Slope.”
CORROBORATED
Three independent sources confirm CPW's estimate of 17,000 to 20,000 black bears in Colorado.
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web search NEUTRAL — CPW estimates that approximately 17,000 to 20,000 adult black bears live in Colorado, and as the state’s population continues to grow, they said human-bear conflicts have increased.
https://www.kktv.com/2026/05/28/gov-polis-signs-law-cracking…
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web search NEUTRAL — There are an estimated 17,000 to 20,000 bears in Colorado, one of the largest black bear populations in the U.S. The measure, identified as a priority by CPW’s Human-Bear Working Group, comes as more …
https://www.mlive.com/news/2026/06/state-with-huge-bear-popu…
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web search NEUTRAL — CPW estimates there are between 17,000 and 20,000 bears in Colorado, up from about 12,000 in the 1990s. Studies near Aspen and Carbondale from 2009-2011 show that bear density in the area is close to …
https://sentinelcolorado.com/1gridhome/increasing-bear-morta…
help
Claim 5: “Bears can remember where they found food for up to two years”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was provided or found during the search to support or refute the claim about bear memory duration.
verified
Claim 6: “The city of about 20,000 sits in the Animas Valley”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia confirms Durango's population was 19,071 (approximately 20,000) as of the 2020 census and mentions the Animas High School, placing it in the Animas Valley region.
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web search NEUTRAL — As of the 2020 census, Durango had a population of 19,071. The median age was 35.4 years.Also located in Durango are the Juniper School and Animas High School (both public charter schools) and Big Pic…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durango,_Colorado
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web search NEUTRAL — Purgatory Resort, located 25 miles north of downtown Durango, has 99 trails, 12 lifts, a vertical drop of over 2,000 feet, and more than 1,500 acres of skiable terrain. The resort features lodging, sk…
https://agreatertown.com/durango-co
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web search NEUTRAL — The Durango School District, located in the heart of town, serves over 6,000 students from preschool through 12th grade. There are a variety of private and public schools available to meet the needs o…
https://aviationnepal.com/small-town-living-your-guide-to-du…
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Claim 7: “As of Aug. 13, Colorado Parks and Wildlife received 6,129 reports of bear sightings and incidents, already surpassing the 5,299 reports CPW received during all of 2025.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent web sources confirm that as of August 13, CPW received 6,129 reports, surpassing the 5,299 reports from 2025.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Colorado Parks and Wildlife manages the state parks system and the wildlife of the U.S. state of Colorado. Responsibilities include state parks, wildlife areas, and the Colorado Natural Areas Program.…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_Parks_and_Wildlife
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of the state parks in the U.S. State of Colorado. Colorado Parks and Wildlife manages the state park system to accommodate both outdoor recreation and tourism. There are currently forty…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Colorado_state_parks
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) is a Texas state agency that oversees and protects wildlife and their habitats. In addition, the agency is responsible for managing the state's parks and …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Parks_and_Wildlife_Depar…
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 8: “In Pitkin County, CPW recorded 331 bear reports, up nearly 31% from 252 last year.”
CORROBORATED
Two independent sources confirm the specific figures for Pitkin County: 331 reports, an increase of nearly 31% from 252 the previous year.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — In Pitkin County, CPW recorded 331 bear reports, up nearly 31% from 252 last year. More tellingly, incidents involving property damage and bears accessing food and nonfood sources were up 56%, accordi…
https://coloradosun.com/2026/08/17/bears-feeding-weak-berry-…
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web search NEUTRAL — In Pitkin County, CPW documented 331 bear reports during that same period, up nearly 31% from 252 reports last year.
https://www.einnews.com/pr_news/930354001/local-agencies-tea…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Colorado Parks and Wildlife reported a 68% increase in bear reports over last year for the first seven months of 2026.While the overall reports have risen less than in Routt County, Pitkin has seen a …
https://www.summitdaily.com/news/colorado-drought-bear-activ…
verified
Claim 9: “According to Lara Xaiz, the city’s parks and open space wildlife coordinator, there were 74 such incidents by this point in 2024 and 127 in 2025. This year, they’ve logged 311.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The provided evidence for this claim consists of irrelevant search results (YouTube help, Wikipedia entries on hummingbirds and other unrelated topics). No evidence was found to verify the specific numbers attributed to Lara Xaiz.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The broad-tailed hummingbird (Selasphorus platycercus) is a medium-sized hummingbird species found in highland regions from western United States and Western Canada to Mexico and Guatemala.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broad-tailed_hummingbird
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Fisting (also known as fist fucking (FF) and handballing) is a sexual activity that involves inserting one or more hands into the rectum (anal fisting) or the vagina (vaginal fisting). Fisting may be …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fisting
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of United States federal Disaster/Emergency Declarations, managed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. This list does not differentiate between States, Territories and Tribal Nat…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_FEMA_Disaster_and_othe…
+ 3 more evidence sources
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.