Residents urged to take precautions to reduce human-bear conflicts

Idaho Fish and Game has received multiple reports about a female black bear and three yearlings getting into garbages throughout Driggs.

According to a news release from Fish and Game, many of these reports come from Teton County’s Bear Conflict Zones. Residents are being asked to secure their garbage and other things that can attract bears in this area. All garbage containers are required to have bear-resistant certification.

Fish and Game is working with several organizations including Teton Valley Bear Wise, Greater Yellowstone Coalition and the Teton County Sheriff’s Office to keep the community informed and for the safety of both humans and bears.

The news release said Teton Valley is close to grizzly and black bear habitats. The bears often roam through Driggs looking for food. Garbage, pet food and bird feeders are things that often attract them. This leads them to associate humans with food, which leads to conflict between humans and bears.

Curtis Hendricks, a regional wildlife manager at Fish and Game, said in the news release that everyone needs to do their part in keeping bears and humans safe.

“As soon as a bear finds an easy meal like garbage, they will continue to seek out food rewards that bring them into close proximity of humans,” he said in the news release.

The news release said that when bears become comfortable finding food in human areas, they can become too comfortable around humans, which can lead them to get killed. Bears can also become more aggressive when they find a large amount of food.

In situations where bears become too dependent on food from humans, wildlife officers often have to kill the bears. If the bears are relocated away from people, the animals often will travel long distances to find food in human areas.

The news release said that these situations can be avoided if people living in these areas take proper precautions. Residents are encouraged to remove bird feeders between April and November, feed pets indoors, get a bear-resistant trash can and keep coolers, refrigerators and freezers indoors.

If a resident has a bear take food from their yard, following these steps will help. The bear may visit a few more times, but it will stop if it never finds more food.

All bear problems can be reported to the Upper Snake Regional Fish and Game Office at 208-525-7290.