Native Food Buffer Zone

Planting native food in open space

Boulder Bear Coalition developed the idea of planting native food in open space as an extra incentive for bears to stay in their natural habitat. As bears move from their habitat and come into town in search of food, they move along natural corridors. Brenda Lee, the Founder of Boulder Bear Coalition, had the idea that if we planted natural food along that corridor, some bears may decide to stop and spend time eating berries and plums instead of continuing into town for trash and other human attractants. The City of Boulder Parks & Open Space’s top plant ecologist loved the idea so much that her department supplied the equipment, a team of workers and all the plants! With a team of bear coalition volunteers, we planted over 300 root stock!