Connecticut lawmakers press agency for bear management plan as human-bear conflicts rise

Mason Trumbull, Deputy Commissioner for Environmental Conservation at the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, told the Public Safety and Security Committee that human-bear conflicts in Connecticut have risen sharply over the past decade and that the agency supports preparing a formal management plan.

"A decade ago, bears did not pose a public safety risk here in Connecticut. However, a lot has changed over the last 10 years," Trumbull said, summarizing DEEP's view for the committee.

The testimony laid out statistics DEEP plans to publish in an annual bear report: the agency told lawmakers it received roughly 500 human-bear conflict reports about 10 years ago and about 3,500 last year; home entries increased from fewer than 10 a decade ago to 67 last year; and a pattern of bear attacks has emerged since 2020, with seven attacks in total, including a severe injury to a 10-year-old child in 2022.

"Based on habitat suitability analysis that we've done, we believe that the suitable bear habitat for the state, only about 1 third of it is currently occupied," Jason Holly, DEEP senior…