BEAR-PROOF TRASH CANS: KEEPING HUMANS AND WILDLIFE SAFE

By Chelsea Carson, Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance

A special part of calling Jackson and Teton County home is living closely with wildlife. Of the many species that we consider our community members, bears may be one of the most revered and controversial.

We live amongst both grizzly bears and black bears here in Teton County, placing us in the heart of bear country. Unfortunately, human behavior, like leaving out attractants such as garbage, dog food, or bird feeders, leads bears into our neighborhoods and often ends negatively for the bear. In 2019, WY Game and Fish officials captured and relocated 20 black bears and euthanized 11 of those after they returned for human food.

With the exponential growth of people and development Teton County is experiencing, the Alliance along with many other organizations, agencies, and local government have discussed increasing proactive measures that could mitigate these interactions. While there are many strategies to mitigate conflicts between wildlife and humans, one of the most straightforward and effective tactics is the use of bear-resistant trash cans.

Outdoor trash storage is an attractant for bears and other wildlife who can easily tip and open standard trash cans. Bears can become habituated to accessing this food source, and this often results in monitoring, relocation, and/or euthanizing the bear. Bear-resistant trash cans prevent bears from accessing trashed food, eliminating that incentive to frequent residential areas, which protects both humans and bears. As part of a forward thinking initiative in 2008, Teton County used data collected from organizations, such as WY Game and Fish, to proactively map bear conflict areas, or “areas that overlap with, lay adjacent to, or are in close proximity to known bear-use areas.” The effort was in anticipation of an increase in the number of grizzly bears and black bears in proximity to town limits, as well as an expanding human footprint. The forecasted increase was realized, as we experienced this fall when grizzly 399 and her four cubs came further south than ever before and into residential areas. Increased proactive mitigation measures like wildlife feeding regulations and bear-resistant trash cans are necessary to keep our wildlife and our human community safe.

Please help keep our community, humans and wildlife, safe and follow the wildlife feeding regulations and consider renting a bear-proof trash container through your local trash hauling company, even if you’re outside the conflict area!

AUTHOR BIO + CONTACT INFO

Chelsea Carson is the conservation program manager at the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance, where she leads their wildlife and wildlands campaigns. If you are interested in learning more about bear-proof trash cans, please reach out to her at chelsea@jhalliance.org | jhalliance.org