JACKSON, Wyo. — With the first day of spring approaching, Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) Large Carnivore Supervisor Dan Thompson shared ways to be bear safe this season.
Thompson told Buckrail that it’s typical to start seeing bears in mid-March, although this year’s variable snowpack makes it harder to predict exactly where and when the first grizzlies will emerge from winter slumber.
“Honestly, where most grizzly bears den, it’s still extremely wintery,” Thompson said.
Thompson said that the lower-country grizzlies could start to emerge in the next few weeks; males are typically seen first, with females leaving the den a bit later with cubs.
Thompson added that 2024 was a busy year for bear/human conflicts, as more bears were out in residential areas.
According to Bear Wise Jackson Hole, there were 168 bear conflicts in the Jackson region in 2024. Of those conflicts, 127 involved bears accessing trash containers. Thompson said that last year’s robust berry crop, an increase of people in the region and visitors not understanding the importance of bear-resistant containers were reasons for last year’s increased conflicts.
According to the WGFD, the agency works with Teton County and Bear Wise Jackson Hole to educate on how to implement bear infrastructure, including bear-resistant trash cans and electric fencing.
“We will be reminding people that there are options for keeping bears from getting food rewards,” Thompson said. “We work a lot with the public and wildlife services to erect as many electric fences as possible around berries, gardens, fruit trees and compost. Chicken coops are also a big one. When done properly, they are very useful ways to deter conflict.”
This WGFD video demonstrates the proper way to erect electric fencing to deter bears, and people are also welcome to call the agency for suggestions.
Thompson said that there can be a reluctance to call the WGFD if there is a conflict, because people think that the agency will automatically euthanize a problem bear. He said that a bear will only be euthanized if it becomes dangerous to public safety. Thompson added that every situation is unique and Game and Fish personnel will weigh all the options to determine if the animal can be trapped and relocated.
“We try to give the bear the benefit of the doubt,” Thompson said. “We’re going to try to do everything we can to secure an attractant to make sure a bear doesn’t get conditioned. We are all in this together to reduce conflict potential.”
The WGFD 2024 Annual Report states that in northwest Wyoming, 42 individual grizzly bears were captured in an attempt to prevent or resolve conflicts, with two occurring in Teton County. Thompson told Buckrail that, in the Jackson region, most of the conflicts involved black bears.
Of the 42 grizzly captures, 12 were female (eight adults, four sub-adults) and 30 were male (18 adults, 12 sub-adults) grizzly bears. Of the 42 individual captures, 24 captures were a result of bears killing livestock, and 15 were captures involving bears that obtained food rewards, including pet and livestock food, garbage and fruit trees.
Thompson shared with Buckrail that, in 2024, the WGFD lethally removed 34 grizzly bears, and relocated seven. Thompson said that out of the 34 bears euthanized, 19 were outside of their suitable habitat. All of the relocated grizzly bears were released on U.S. Forest Service lands in or adjacent to the Primary Conservation Area/Recovery Zone.
According to Thompson, the 2023 grizzly bear population estimate in the GYE was 1,030 bears, and the 2024 estimate will be released in the next few weeks.
On Monday, March 17, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) published a notice in the Federal Register pushing back the deadline for public comment on federal protection for grizzly bears until May 16.
