Hey Bear: Apparel for a Cause

Walking down the Pheasant Tail Lane in the town center of Big Sky, Montana, last fall, someone might have thought a wind storm hit the area. The majority of trash cans were knocked over, and debris was scattered throughout the streets.

On one side of the road almost every trash can had been tipped over—contents spilling into my and my neighbors’ streets and yards. On the other side of the street however, the asphalt remained clear of debris. This is all due to one small difference: bear-proof trash cans.

Hey Bear, an outdoor gear and bear safety advocacy brand in Big Sky is trying to increase the use of bear-proof trash cans through education and awareness. Hey Bear’s mission is to advocate for safe and responsible human and bear coexistence while actively giving back to nonprofits that support bears in their natural habitat.

My roommates and I were on the waitlist for a bear-proof trash can for a few months, and as the summer was ending, our outlook looked grim. Despite our best efforts to keep the bears out with bungee cords and cement blocks, every Monday morning would start with us putting on plastic gloves, holding our noses and scrambling to pick up all the past week’s trash before the dump truck arrived.

Aside from being messy, bears that are habituated to human sources of food, whether it be garbage, pet food, bird feeders or other attractants, lose their natural drive to find food in the wild and oftentimes cannot be rehabilitated, according to Morgan Jacobsen, Region 3 information and education program manager for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

“Keeping attractants secured not only helps keep you and your neighbors safe, it helps keep bears alive and promotes healthy bear behavior,” Morgan said.

Last year, Teton County, Montana, which includes towns just outside the Bob Marshall Wilderness Area, voted to require bear-proof trash cans and dumpsters countywide. Much of the push for the updated regulations stemmed from recent concerns about infamous Grizzly 399 and her cubs repeatedly getting into trash and other wildlife attractants before heading into hibernation in 2021. The new regulations are intended to help keep both bears and the community safe.

“Following these recommendations and being ‘bear aware’ adds layers of safety for people, but they also help keep bears wild,” Morgan said.

As more people visit and move to these wild areas, bear encounters will become more common. In addition to storing food properly, hiking in groups, and carrying and knowing how to use bear spray, it’s also key to avoid surprising bears. It’s often a good idea to yell out “Hey Bear” as you recreate in bear country, notifying bears of your presence on the trail.

The brand Hey Bear has harnessed the power of these words and turned it into a movement.

“There’s been this massive population growth in bear habitat areas,” said Eric Ladd, the brand’s founder. “You see more and more interactions with people and bears … and it prompted me to try and have an impact and create a solution for these problems.”

Hey Bear produces trendy and tactical T-shirts, hats, jackets and bear spray belts, and is subsequently creating a campaign around education and recreation as well as giving back to regional bear habitat conservation efforts. Hey Bear is more than just a brand of sustainable and fashionable products—it’s an organization that advocates for those beautiful apex predators with whom we live.

“We should consider ourselves lucky to be stewards and to be living with a creature such as a bear,” Eric said.

And we are lucky—lucky to share a space in this beautiful ecosystem with these bruins. As we head into the fall, remember to properly store all food and garbage that could attract bears to your home to help us better keep our community safe and the bears wild.

NorthWestern Energy supports Hey Bear

NorthWestern Energy supports Hey Bear’s mission of promoting safe and responsible human and bear coexistence.

This summer, we sponsored the Wildlands Music Festival in Big Sky, a fundraiser for nonprofits that support bears in their natural habitat. In addition, we are partnering with Hey Bear to create custom logo-wear that will be available soon to our employees.