Bear Management Listening Sessions Draw Passionate Response from Residents

The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection wrapped up its bear management listening tour this week, drawing passionate feedback from residents across the state as human-bear conflicts reach levels that far exceed neighboring Massachusetts.

DEEP held town hall sessions in Burlington, Derby, Sharon, and West Hartford, seeking public input on potential changes to bear management policies. The turnout and intensity of responses surprised even veteran wildlife officials.

“People feel very strongly about this issue, and they came prepared to share their views,” said DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes. “We heard from residents who’ve had bears in their homes and from those who believe current management is too aggressive.”

The numbers frame the urgency. Connecticut reported 3,093 human-bear conflicts in 2023, compared to just 645 in Massachusetts—despite Massachusetts having more than twice as many bears. The disparity reflects Connecticut’s denser development patterns and the state’s approach to managing bear populations.

Conflicts increasingly involve bears entering homes and garages, not merely raiding bird feeders or trash cans. Several residents shared accounts of bears breaking through doors or screens, creating genuine safety concerns.

“This isn’t just a nuisance issue anymore,” said West Hartford resident Karen Mulligan, who found a bear in her kitchen last spring. “When a 300-pound animal is inside your house, that’s a public safety emergency.”

Wildlife advocates countered that bears are simply adapting to habitat loss and that better education about securing attractants would reduce conflicts more humanely than expanded hunting or lethal management.

“Bears aren’t the problem—human behavior is,” said Alicia Morrison of the Connecticut Wildlife Coalition. “If everyone properly secured their garbage and took down bird feeders, we’d see conflict numbers drop dramatically.”

The 2025 State of the Bears report, released earlier this year, documented the growing population and expanding range of Connecticut’s black bears. Once confined largely to the northwest hills, bears now regularly appear in suburban communities across the state.

DEEP officials indicated they would compile public input from the listening sessions and develop policy recommendations in the coming months. Any significant changes would likely require legislative approval or regulatory review.

The agency reminded residents to secure garbage, remove bird feeders, and never intentionally feed bears. Those encountering bears should make noise to encourage the animal to leave rather than approaching or cornering it.