Wildlife is active near park roads, be vigilant while driving

Park officials ask visitors and local residents to practice vigilance while driving in Grand Teton National Park. In the last two weeks alone, five bison, one elk, one mule deer, one pronghorn, one coyote and one wolf pup were hit and killed by vehicles traveling on park roads.

Seeing wildlife in their natural habitat is one of the many unique opportunities that make Grand Teton National Park a special, awe-inspiring place. Motorists can do their part to protect and preserve these animals by slowing down and using caution while driving.

For many animals, fall is a time of migration which means animals may be more active near park roadways and can cross the roads unexpectedly. Days become shorter as fall transitions to winter. Drivers should use caution and slow down, especially at dawn, dusk, and during the night when visibility is reduced.

Visitors and local residents should obey posted speed limits and maintain a safe following distance from other vehicles. Please follow the nighttime speed limit of 45 miles per hour on U.S. Highway 26/89/191. The reduced speed limit gives drivers and wildlife more time to react.

In addition, drivers should pay close attention while driving on park roads. Many animals are good at hiding along roadsides and it is important to be aware that animals are around, even when you do not see them. Speeding is not the only cause of wildlife collisions. Park wildlife are often hit because drivers are not paying attention to their surroundings.

When an animal is hit, wildlife management staff are sent to respond. Depending on the circumstances, this pulls staff members away from their other duties for a considerable amount of time in order to perform carcass removal, biological sampling, and clean up. This directly impacts park staff’s ability to protect other wildlife.

Around 75—100 large animals are hit by vehicles annually in Grand Teton. You can save a life by slowing down, driving 45 at night and being alert on park roads.


Jeff
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Fuel reduction burns planned in Grand Teton National Park

Teton Interagency Fire personnel will burn slash piles created from fuel reduction projects near Beaver Creek, Elk Ranch and other areas in Grand Teton National Park in the coming weeks. Firefighters will burn these piles under low fire behavior conditions resulting from wet weather and snow accumulation. Smoke may be visible from these piles during the day of ignition and may linger in the area for a few days following.

Firefighters have focused on fuel reduction efforts in developed areas, such as Beaver Creek, to reduce wildfire risk, and pile burning is the last step in this thinning. Fuel reduction includes thinning and removing lower limbs from trees and the removal of dead wood and brush from the forest floor. Firefighters place the slash from fuels reduction work into tepee-shaped piles and let them cure for a year before burning them.

Additional debris piles have been constructed around the park resulting from regular hazard tree removal and routine trail and road maintenance. One of these piles is at the Elk Ranch south of Moran. Fence removal and other regular maintenance has led to an accumulation of debris at the Elk Ranch which will be targeted for burning this fall. There may be other locations in the park as well that will be burned this fall as conditions allow.

Due to the specific conditions that need to be in place for pile burning, it is hard to predict exactly when work will begin. Fuel reduction piles are only ignited under certain conditions, including favorable smoke dispersal and weather conditions that limit the chance of fire spread. The areas will be monitored by patrols after burning is completed.

Public and firefighter safety is always the number one priority in all burn operations. Smoke from vegetation piles may be visible while piles are lit and burn down over the course of a few days. Fire management staff tend to the piles to assure complete combustion and consumption of all fuels and to monitor burning conditions for potential fire spread. Some smoke may linger in the pile area and in drainages as temperatures drop during the evening. Signs will be posted along travel routes and roadsides to remind travelers to use headlights for safe travel within areas of concern.

More information on these projects is available at www.tetonfires.com.


Jeff
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Body of missing 26-year-old Texas man located in Grand Teton

Search teams located the body of missing 26-year-old Texas man Jared Hembree today in Grand Teton National Park. His body was found near Uhl Hill in the eastern part of the park.

Rangers arrived to the scene and recovered Hembree’s remains. The National Park Service and Teton County Sherriff’s Office are conducting an investigation into what occurred.

A search was initiated Thursday, October 21, after park law enforcement received a call expressing concern about Hembree’s welfare after an interaction with him outside of the park’s eastern boundary. Hembree’s vehicle was located unattended at Game Warden Point parking area in the eastern part of the park.

The four-day intensive search involved over eighty members. Grand Teton park staff, members of Teton County Sherriff’s Office (TCSO), members of Teton County Search and Rescue (TCSAR), members of Teton County Idaho Search and Rescue (TCISAR), the Civil Air Patrol and members of Wyoming Highway Patrol were all involved in search efforts. TCSAR provided assistance with a helicopter and a drone. The Civil Air Patrol provided assistance with a fixed wing airplane. Search and rescue dog teams and horse teams were also involved.

The park and all those involved in the search extend their condolences to Jared Hembree’s family and friends.


Jeff
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Search underway in Grand Teton for missing Texas man

Search operations are underway to find a missing 26-year-old Texas man. Jared Hembree was last seen in Grand Teton National Park on Thursday, October 21 near Game Warden Point in Moran, Wyoming.

Hembree is 5’9” tall and 170 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. He has been described as wearing a green t-shirt with black pants and is believed to be carrying a black backpack.

Park law enforcement received a call expressing concern about Hembree’s welfare after an interaction with him outside of the park’s eastern boundary. Hembree’s vehicle was located unattended at Game Warden Point parking area in the eastern part of the park.

Grand Teton National Park law enforcement rangers, Teton County Sherriff’s Office deputies, and Teton County Search and Rescue are involved in the search. Efforts have included ground and aerial search operations. The Civil Air Patrol has provided assistance with a fixed wing airplane. Teton County Search and Rescue has provided assistance with a helicopter and a drone. Search and rescue dog teams have also been deployed.

Anyone who has been traveling in the area since Thursday may have seen Hembree. Those with information regarding his whereabouts are urged to contact Teton Interagency Dispatch Center at 307.739.3301.


Jeff
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Grand Teton surpassed park’s busiest full year in September

Grand Teton National Park hosted 3,493,937 recreation visits between January and September 2021, already surpassing the park’s busiest full year on record with three months to go in 2021. Previously, 2018 had the record for most recreation visits in a year with 3,491,151 visits. Of the past nine months, six have been record setting for visitation.

Some of the largest increases in recreation visits occurred during the shoulder season, including the months of March, April, and May. Summer visitation (June, July, August) also increased with July 2021 recording the busiest month for recreation visits in Grand Teton’s history.

The park has also seen increases in trail use. During the 2021 summer, trail use increased approximately 29%, compared to 2019. Looking back five years ago, since 2017, trail use has increased approximately 49%.

“2021 has been a record setting year for visitation in Grand Teton National Park, but it’s more than just the numbers. We are seeing changing patterns and behavior including more people in the backcountry and more visitors in the ‘shoulder season.’ The park is studying changing visitation to gain a more detailed understanding of existing conditions and learning what issues may threaten a quality visitor experience. We are also learning from other parks, seeing what solutions are being tried and what issues they are solving,” said Grand Teton National Park Superintendent Chip Jenkins. “The visitor experience is a resource, just like moose or clean air, and it’s something we are actively working to preserve and protect.”

Grand Teton park staff continue to analyze data and studies conducted over the summer to better understand changing visitation trends in the park. Studies include visitor-use and experience studies at Colter Bay, Taggart and Lupine Meadows trailheads, which surveyed visitors in these areas to gain a better understanding of visitor demographics, visitor expectations, and more. Additionally, a parkwide visitor mobility study was conducted this summer to identify common visitor travel patterns and flow.


Jeff
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How National Parks Are Dealing With Crowds

This news feature ran on CNBC last night. It's sad that our national parks have come to this, but I think they're probably doing the right thing here in order to deal with the overcrowding problems in our parks. To think just a few short years ago the National Park System, as well as states like Utah, ran advertising campaigns to attract visitors. No doubt Covid and the closures imposed on travel and recreational activities has driven some of this increase. Will this surge subside after the country and the world gets back to normal?




Jeff
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Highly food conditioned grizzly bear euthanized

For public safety, Grand Teton National Park officials, in coordination with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, euthanized a highly food-conditioned, four-year-old female grizzly bear on Saturday, October 16. This action was taken after the bear received numerous food rewards from unsecured sources, causing it to exhibit increasingly bold behavior. This behavior caused the bear to pose a threat to human safety and therefore it was removed from the population.

Over the course of two years, the grizzly received multiple food rewards and demonstrated escalating conflict behavior. In October of 2020, the bear accessed numerous unsecured attractants at a private residence south of the park. During the fall of 2021, the grizzly received additional food rewards on private lands and caused property damage. The bear eventually became more emboldened in attempts to obtain human food, breaking into bear-resistant dumpsters in Grand Teton National Park.

Once a bear receives a human food reward, it can become food conditioned. Food rewards can include human food, trash, livestock feed, compost, pet food, beehives, etc. Over time, food conditioned bears may become bold or aggressive in their attempts to obtain human food, as was the case with this bear.

Park officials made the decision to capture and remove the animal as per Interagency Grizzly Bear guidelines and per the park bear and wildlife management plan. On October 16, the grizzly bear was captured by Grand Teton park staff and euthanized.

Timeline of conflict behavior
October 5, 2020: Based on GPS collar data, localized at a private residence south of the park.
October 9 – 16, 2020: Based on GPS collar data, localized at a private residence south of the park.
October 21, 2020: Based on GPS collar data, localized at a private residence south of the park.
September 3, 2021: Received food reward of chicken feed on private lands.
September 4, 2021: Received food reward of chicken feed on private lands.
September 12, 2021: Caused property damage on private lands.
September 14, 2021: Caused property damage on private lands.
September 16, 2021: Received food reward of bird and livestock feed on private lands.
September 24, 2021: Received food reward of garbage on private lands.
September 25, 2021: Received food reward of garbage on private lands.
September 26, 2021: Received food reward of garbage on private lands.
October 4, 2021: Caused property damage and received food reward of garbage on private lands.
October 5, 2021: Received food reward of garbage on private lands.
October 7, 2021: Received food reward of garbage from bear-resistant trash can in Grand Teton.
October 9, 2021: Received food reward of garbage on private lands.
October 10, 2021: Received food reward of garbage from bear-resistant dumpster in Grand Teton.

You can make a difference in a bear’s life by doing your part to ensure bears never obtain human foods, whether you call the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) home or are just passing through. Odors attract bears. By storing attractants so bears cannot gain access and securing all trash in a bear-resistant dumpster, you can make sure a bear does not receive human foods. As the grizzly bear population continues to expand in the southern end of the GYE, bears continue to disperse outside of Grand Teton National Park. Residents of local communities are encouraged to secure attractants around their homes. Store all garbage within bear-resistant containers. Secure livestock feed, compost, and beehives. Ensure bird feeders are ten feet up and four feet out from any building. Avoid planting fruit trees. Help your neighbors create a bear-wise community to protect wildlife. It may be cliché; however, more often than not, “a fed bear is a dead bear.”


Jeff
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Going-to-the-Sun Road Closes Early for Season

Due to continued winter weather, the alpine sections of the Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park will remain closed for the season. Currently, visitors can drive 15.5 miles from the West Entrance to Avalanche Creek, and 13.5 miles from the St. Mary Entrance to Jackson Glacier Overlook. The Going-to-the-Sun Road typically closes between Avalanche Creek and Jackson Glacier Overlook on or before the third Monday in October, depending on road and weather conditions.

A temporary road closure was first implemented on Sunday, October 10 due to inclement weather forecasted. Since that time, several inches of snow have accumulated at Logan Pass and the road remains icy. The National Weather Service forecasts additional snowfall Wednesday October 13 and wind gusts up to 20 mph. As a result, the Going-to-the-Sun Road closure between Avalanche Creek and Jackson Glacier Overlook will continue for the remainder of the season.

Visitors should be aware of road crews prepping for winter operations which include removing guard rails, displays, and signs, and installing snow poles along the road closure. Hiking and biking is permitted on most closed roads in the park as far as the hiker/biker closure signs, however risks include falling ice or rocks, and ice-covered or snowy road conditions. Closure points are determined by changing road crew activity and conditions. Bicycling is not permitted on snow covered roads.

The Many Glacier Entrance is closed at the boundary to all traffic due to construction. To stay up to date with changing road conditions, visit the park's Current Road Status webpage.

Highway 2 construction will continue into November along the southern border of Glacier National Park and visitors can check the Montana Department of Transportation website for updates. Camas Road remains under construction until the beginning of November causing 30-minute delays in both directions during the day.

Most visitor amenities in the park have closed for the season. Two Medicine, Bowman Lake, Kintla Lake, and one section of Apgar (Loop B) campgrounds, are open for primitive camping on a first come, first served basis until October 31, when they will move into winter camping and remain open as winter road conditions permit. St. Mary Campground opens to winter camping on November 1. Visitors may check campground status on our website.

The Apgar Wilderness Permit Office and Aquatic Invasive Species Boat Inspection Station close October 31. No boating in the park is permitted after October 31. Free winter wilderness camping permits are available November 1 – April 30 and can be reserved three to seven days in advance by email or phone (406-888-7857).

The Apgar Visitor Center is open on weekends through October 24, weather permitting, but Wi-Fi, restrooms and potable water remain available at this location year-round.

The park is open year-round and recreational opportunities can be found during all seasons. Learn more about winter operations at Glacier National Park on our Visiting in Winter webpage. For additional visitor inquiries, contact park headquarters at 406-888-7800.


Jeff
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Wildlife officers remove tire that was around a bull elk’s neck for over two years

An elk with a tire around its neck for at least the last two years was finally freed of the obstacle Saturday evening when Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers were able to tranquilize the bull and remove the tire. Wildlife officers Dawson Swanson and Scott Murdoch had to cut the antlers off the bull elk in order to remove the tire. That occurred Saturday around 8 p.m., roughly one mile south of Pine Junction on private property off of County Road 126.

Wildlife officers aged the bull as a four-and-a-half year-old weighing over 600 pounds and had five points on each of its antler beams.

“It was tight removing it,” Murdoch said of pulling the tire off the bull’s neck, even after cutting its antlers off. “It was not easy for sure, we had to move it just right to get it off because we weren’t able to cut the steel in the bead of the tire. Fortunately, the bull’s neck still had a little room to move. We would have preferred to cut the tire and leave the antlers for his rutting activity, but the situation was dynamic and we had to just get the tire off in any way possible.”

Once the tire was off, wildlife officers Swanson and Murdoch were surprised to see the condition of its neck after having that tire on it for over two years.

“The hair was rubbed off a little bit, there was one small open wound maybe the size of a nickel or quarter, but other than that it looked really good,” Murdoch said of the bull’s neck. “I was actually quite shocked to see how good it looked.”

It was the fourth attempt wildlife officers had made in the last week to try to tranquilize this bull. Saturday evening, officer Swanson was in a neighborhood looking for this elk that was reported in the area earlier in the day. He found it in a group of elk and maneuvered into a location where he thought it was going to cross. Swanson was able to successfully tranquilize the bull. Murdoch arrived to aid in the removal operation before the two set him free, many pounds lighter.

Swanson and Murdoch estimated that the bull elk dropped roughly 35 pounds between the removal of the tire, his antlers and the debris that was inside the tire.

“The tire was full of wet pine needles and dirt,” Murdoch said. “So the pine needles, dirt and other debris basically filled the entire bottom half of the tire. There was probably 10 pounds of debris in the tire.”

This bull elk has spent the past couple of years traveling back and forth between Park and Jefferson Counties. He would disappear for long periods of time, particularly in the winter, and was acting as expected from a wild animal, not wanting to be around human presence. That is much different than some of the resident elk people often see in towns such as Evergreen or Estes Park.

At the end of May and into June 2021, four attempts were made to catch up with this bull in the Pleasant Park area of Conifer. Sightings of him picked back up in September and early October near the town of Pine. Murdoch felt the rut (breeding season) played a helpful role in catching up with the bull.

“In the winter we weren’t getting any reports of him,” Murdoch said. “In the springtime, we would get an occasional report or see him in a little bachelor herd. The rut definitely made him more visible. There was a bigger bull in the group he was with on Saturday, but he is getting to be a decent size bull.”

The first time wildlife officers became aware of this elk with a tire around its neck was in July 2019. While conducting a population survey for Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep and mountain goats in the Mount Evans Wilderness, wildlife officer Jared Lamb saw the bull through a spotting scope. At the time the bull appeared to be a younger one, likely two years old. “Being up in the wilderness, we didn’t really expect to be able to get our hands on the elk just because of the proximity or the distance away from civilization,” Murdoch said. “It is harder to get the further they are back in there and usually the further these elk are away from people, the wilder they act. That certainly played true the last couple of years, this elk was difficult to find, and harder to get close to.”

Since the original sighting by wildlife officer Lamb, a handful of other sightings came in over the following year. A trail camera near Conifer picked up the bull with the tire twice in 2020, first on June 5 and later on July 12. A separate trail camera also captured it on Aug. 12, 2020.

The saga of this bull elk highlights the need for residents to live responsibly with wildlife in mind. That includes keeping your property free of obstacles that wildlife can get tangled in or injured by. Wildlife officers have seen deer, elk, moose, bears and other wildlife become entangled in a number of man-made obstacles that include swing sets, hammocks, clothing lines, decorative or holiday lighting, furniture, tomato cages, chicken feeders, laundry baskets, soccer goals or volleyball nets, and yes, tires.

This elk would have gotten the tire around its antlers either when it was very young, before it had antlers, or during the winter when it shed its antlers. It could have been a big stack of tires that the elk stuck its head in, wildlife officers have also seen it where people feed animals who come in and put their heads in things that they then walk away with.


Jeff
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Illinois woman charged in Yellowstone case involving a grizzly receives four days in federal custody and fines

Acting United States Attorney Bob Murray announced today that Samantha R Dehring, age 25 of Carol Stream, Illinois, pleaded guilty to willfully remaining, approaching, and photographing wildlife within 100 yards. The other count, feeding, touching, teasing, frightening, or intentionally disturbing wildlife, was dismissed. Dehring appeared in front of Magistrate Judge Mark L. Carman in Mammoth Hot Springs, Wyoming on October 6, 2021, for her change of plea and sentencing hearing. She was sentenced to four days in custody, one-year unsupervised probation, and ordered to pay a $1,000 fine, a $1,000 community service payment to Yellowstone Forever Wildlife Protection Fund, a $30 court processing fee and a $10 assessment. Dehring also received a one-year ban from Yellowstone National Park.

According to the violation notices, Dehring was at Roaring Mountain in Yellowstone National Park on May 10, 2021, when visitors noticed a sow grizzly and her three cubs. While other visitors slowly backed off and got into their vehicles, Dehring remained. She continued to take pictures as the sow bluff charged her.

“Wildlife in Yellowstone National Park are, indeed, wild. The park is not a zoo where animals can be viewed within the safety of a fenced enclosure. They roam freely in their natural habitat and when threatened will react accordingly,” said Acting United States Attorney Bob Murray. “Approaching a sow grizzly with cubs is absolutely foolish. Here, pure luck is why Dehring is a criminal defendant and not a mauled tourist.”

According to Yellowstone National Park regulations, when an animal is near a trail, boardwalk, parking lot, or in a developed area, give it space. Stay 25 yards (23 m) away from all large animals - bison, elk, bighorn sheep, deer, moose, and coyotes and at least 100 yards (91 m) away from bears and wolves. If need be, turn around and go the other way to avoid interacting with a wild animal in close proximity.


Jeff
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Temporary closures scheduled for trails around Phelps Lake and Death Canyon Road

A temporary area closure will be in effect for several trails around Phelps Lake as well as the Death Canyon Road in Grand Teton National on Thursday, October 7, and from Tuesday, October 12—Thursday, October 14. The temporary area closure is necessary to ensure public safety during construction activities involving helicopter transport of heavy materials from White Grass to the Phelps Lake outlet bridge on the east side of Phelps Lake. Closures will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the provided dates.

For safety during the staging and hauling of construction materials, Death Canyon Road and some trails around Phelps Lake, including the Wister Draw Trail, the Woodland Trail, and Boulder Ridge Trail will be temporarily closed.

Staff will be located at junctions or trailheads where trails will be closed. Death Canyon Road will have staff on either end and will be closed to incoming traffic.

Schedules may change, or be delayed, due to weather conditions, equipment malfunction, or other extenuating circumstances.

History:

The Phelps Lake outlet bridge was closed for replacement beginning August 18. The closure is expected to be in place through fall 2022.

The bridge connects Lake Creek trail to the Woodland trail and therefore hikers will not be able to make a loop on those trails, although hikers can still hike the Lake Creek or Woodland trail one way to the lake and back. The Phelps Lake loop from the Death Canyon Trailhead will require an additional 1.5 miles to complete the loop. Signs will be placed around Phelps Lake to reflect the closure.

The bridge was originally built for vehicle use by the Rockefeller family more than 60 years ago, before being reconfigured for pedestrian use as part of the Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve. The bridge sits on untreated logs and over time the weight of the bridge has made the wood deteriorate. The old bridge will be replaced with a new bridge that will be less costly to maintain and will continue to reflect the attractive, rustic appearance of the historic bridge.

Jackson Hole Preserve Inc., one of Grand Teton’s longest standing partners, is helping to support the bridge replacement.


Jeff
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Female visitor suffers significant thermal burns in Yellowstone; Park warns visitors to keep pets under control

A 20-year-old woman from Washington suffered significant thermal burns between her shoulders and feet on the afternoon of October 4, in the vicinity of Fountain Flat Drive south of Madison Junction.

When the woman and her father exited their vehicle to look around, their dog jumped out of the car and into Maiden’s Grave Spring near the Firehole River. The woman entered the thermal hot spring to retrieve the dog. The father pulled her out of the feature and then drove the party to West Yellowstone, Montana.

Yellowstone National Park rangers and Hebgen Basin Rural Fire District provided initial care to the woman at West Yellowstone. She was then transported to the Burn Center at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center.

The dog was removed from the feature and the father intended to take it to a veterinarian. Its status is unknown currently.

This incident is under investigation and the park has no additional information to share.

The ground in hydrothermal areas is fragile and thin, and there is scalding water just below the surface. Everyone must remain on boardwalks and trails and exercise extreme caution around thermal features. Learn more about safety in thermal areas at go.nps.gov/yellsafety.

While in the park, visitors should protect their pets by physically controlling them at all times. Pets must be in a car, crate or on a leash no more than six feet long. They are not allowed on boardwalks, hiking trails, in the backcountry, or in thermal areas.

This is the second significant injury in a thermal area in 2021. The first occurred in September at Old Faithful. In 2020, a three-year-old suffered second degree-thermal burns to the lower body and back and a visitor (who illegally entered the park) fell into a thermal feature at Old Faithful while backing up and taking photos. In September 2019, a man suffered severe burns after falling into thermal water near the cone of Old Faithful Geyser. In June 2017, a man sustained severe burns after falling in a hot spring in the Lower Geyser Basin. In June 2016, a man left the boardwalk and died after slipping into a hot spring in Norris Geyser Basin. In August 2000, one person died and two people received severe burns from falling into a hot spring in the Lower Geyser Basin.


Jeff
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Ink Wells Cut-Off Trail restored west of Dubois

With funding from the Great American Outdoors Act, the Shoshone National Forest partnered with the National Outdoors Leadership School (NOLS) and the Montana Conservation Corps (MCC) to complete much needed trail restoration work on the Ink Wells Cut-Off Trail in the Fitzpatrick Wilderness on the Wind River Ranger District.

After the Dinwoody Fire burned the area in 2001, subsequent use and insufficient maintenance over two decades reduced this steep, rugged wilderness trail to a nearly impassable scramble over rocks, logs, and unmarked slopes.

Over the course of three eight-day backcountry trips, volunteers from NOLS and MCC worked with Forest Service employees to clear logs from the trail, re-establish the trail corridor in a heavily braided area, build rock cairns and signage, and cut new trail over the 2.5-mile trail system to restore this essential travel route. The final stage in the project work was the restoration of trail tread in the lower stretch of the burn area and installing signs at three critical junctions to alert Forest visitors that the trail has been rehabilitated and restored to pre-fire conditions; the trail will now be included in the annual maintenance cycle.

“Since the Ink Wells Cut-Off Trail is the quickest route from the Dinwoody Creek drainage to the Dry Creek watershed, this project was vital to improving public access to the Fitzpatrick Wilderness” said Wind River District Ranger Jeff von Kienast. “The hard work put forward by our South Zone Trails crew and partners with NOLS and MCC was essential to the completion of this extensive project.”


Jeff
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Interagency team conducting grizzly bear research trapping this month

As part of ongoing efforts required under the Endangered Species Act to monitor the population of grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, biologists with the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team (IGBST) will conduct pre-baiting and trapping operations within Grand Teton National Park October 4 – 31.

When bear trapping activities are being conducted, the area around the site will be posted with bright warning signs to inform the public of the activities occurring. For bear and human safety, the public must respect these signs and stay out of the posted areas.

Trained professionals with the interagency team will bait and trap grizzly bears in accordance with strict protocols. Once trapped, the bears are sedated to allow wildlife biologists to collar the bears and collect samples and data for scientific study. The bears are then released on site.

The Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team was established in 1973 to collaboratively monitor and research grizzly bears in the ecosystem on an interagency basis. The gathering of critical data on the bears is part of a long-term research effort to help wildlife managers devise and implement programs to support the ongoing conservation of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem’s grizzly bear population. The team includes representatives from the National Park Service, U. S. Geological Survey, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho Tribal Fish and Game Department, and the states of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming.

For more information regarding grizzly bear trapping efforts, contact the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team hotline at 406-994-6675. Information about grizzly bear research and monitoring is available from the IGBST website at https://www.usgs.gov/science/interagency-grizzly-bear-study-team.


Jeff
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