Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) is Colorado’s state agency charged with balancing the conservation of wildlife and habitat with the recreational needs of the state.

CPW is charged by statute to protect, preserve, enhance, and manage wildlife for the use, benefit and enjoyment of the people of this state and its visitors. 

CPW regulations are created by the Parks and Wildlife Commission.  CPW officers enforce those regulations, as well as season dates, bag limits, and license requirements. 

CPW facilitates wildlife management objectives such as: 

Determining the numbers and types of wildlife taken

Providing opportunities to hunt, fish, or engage in other wildlife-related recreation

The Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission is a citizen board, appointed by the Governor, which sets regulations and policies for Colorado’s state parks and wildlife programs.

The 11 voting members of the commission include three members who are sportspersons, one of whom must be an outfitter; three agricultural producers; three recreationalists, including one from a non-profit, non-consumptive wildlife organization; two at-large members. Members are expected to represent all parks and wildlife-related issues, regardless of their affiliation. A minimum of four commissioners must be from west of the Continental Divide.

The Executive Director of the Department of Natural Resources and the Commissioner of Agriculture also serve on the commission as ex-officio members.

The Parks and Wildlife Commission meets six scheduled times a year (every odd month) to consider changes to Colorado Parks and Wildlife regulations. Public comments are welcome at any point.​ Meetings are generally two days long and occur early in the month. ​

For information on 2022 meeting schedule, past meeting recordings and how to speak publicly at a meeting, go here.

CPW Administrative Directive W-2 sets forth procedures to be followed in the control and prevention of black bear damage and for addressing public safety issues., According to Directive W-2::

Nuisance Bears are bears which pose an immediate threat or damage to property, but do not threaten public safety

Dangerous Bears are bears which pose an immediate threat to human health and safety:

“2-Strike Policy” Officers have discretion to deal with bear conflicts as follows: If a bear has been captured and handled for any of the above conflict situations a second time, the bear must be destroyed - commonly referred to as the “two-strike” policy.

The above information can be found on page 10 & 11 of the CPW Human Bear Conflict Report.

If a bear is found in an inappropriate location (e.g. too far into town), or they have engaged in episode(s) of “nuisance” behavior (e.g. multiple visits to town), CPW may decide to tranquilize, ear tag and relocate the bear. The first time that a bear is handled by CPW is widely known as the first strike.

Unfortunately relocation rarely works, as relocated bears typically return to the area where they were tagged, or they are hit by a car trying to return.

If a bear that has been tagged and relocated is physically dealt with again (tranquilized or trapped due to inappropriate location or nuisance behavior), the bear will be killed. The second time that a bear is handled by CPW is widely known as the second strike.

This policy of killing a tagged bear has become known as CPW’s 2-Strike Policy.

Bears that pose a public safety risk will be put down regardless of whether they have ear tags or not.