Bear management in Yellowstone has changed since the early days of the National Park Service. In the past, bears ate human food at park garbage dumps and were regularly fed by park staff and visitors in campgrounds and along roads, resulting in injuries, deaths, and property damage. In 1970, the park adopted a new bear management plan focused on protecting and maintaining natural populations of grizzly and black bears while ensuring visitors could safely enjoy park resources. This approach remains in place today.
Our Goals
We protect and maintain natural populations of grizzly and black bears.
To do this, we preserve the processes affecting the genetic integrity, distribution, abundance, and behavior of grizzly and black bear populations within the park.
We educate visitors and employees about bears and how they can reduce bear-human conflicts.
By offering opportunities to learn about bear ecology and behavior, park visitors and employees can recognize the causes of bear-human conflicts and understand how they can prevent personal injuries, property damage, and bear removals.
We make all human food sources unavailable to bears.
Preventing bears’ access to human food and garbage is one of the most significant ways to reduce bear management problems and related public safety hazards in the park.
We alert visitors about the presence of bears and inherent dangers of recreating in bear country.
All of Yellowstone is bear country, from the park’s backcountry trails to the boardwalks around Old Faithful.
We provide opportunities for the public to understand, observe, and appreciate wild bears in their natural habitat.
Yellowstone is one of the best places in the world to see bears in their natural habitat, offering unique opportunities to learn and appreciate these wild animals.
Yellowstone has installed bear-proof food storage boxes in 79% of the park’s 1,917 campsites with the goal to complete the installation of bear boxes in every park campsite in 2026.
Reducing Bear-Human Conflicts
The park takes many actions to prevent bear-human conflicts. The availability of human food and garbage to bears is a major potential cause of bear management problems in Yellowstone. The park aims to eliminate unnatural attractants to bears by using bear-resistant dumpsters and trash cans, monitoring developed areas for litter and food waste, scheduling garbage pickups to prevent overflow of trash cans, requiring bear-resistant food storage in campgrounds, and using bear-resistant fencing around sewage lagoons and garbage transfer stations.
Foraging bears can sometimes be seen close to park roadways, causing significant traffic jams when visitors slow down or park their vehicles on the road. Park staff manage these situations by directing traffic and ensuring visitors maintain a safe viewing distance.
Additionally, to promote human safety, park staff may remove large mammal carcasses from high-use areas, post temporary warnings and closures in areas with recent bear activity, and haze bears out of developed areas. Park staff report all bear sightings, bear signs (tracks, scats, etc.), and bear encounters, as well as bear activity reported by visitors, to the park’s Bear Management Office.
The park’s bear management philosophy continues to be highly successful in reducing bear-human conflicts and human-caused bear mortalities. Yellowstone is one of the few places in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem where most bears die of old age and other natural causes rather than by human actions.
Bear Management Areas
To protect public safety and bear habitat in backcountry areas, Yellowstone wildlife biologists establish “bear management areas” in locations where grizzly bears are known to seasonally concentrate and where there is a high density of elk and bison carcasses. In these areas, certain recreational activities are limited at specific times of year to reduce encounters between bears and humans. Restrictions may include: area closures, trail closures, a minimum group size recommendation, day-use only, or no off-trail travel.
Mary Mountain Trail
Closed March 10-June 15
Closure extends from the Nez Perce Trailhead to Mary Lake. Through-travel from the Canyon Trailhead is not allowed. However, travel is permitted between the Canyon Trailhead and Mary Lake. Streamside use is allowed from the point where Nez Perce Creek crosses the main road to a point 1 mile upstream along Nez Perce Creek. View/Download this Bear Management Area map
Richard’s Pond
Closed March 10-Friday of Memorial Day weekend
From the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend through Sept. 30, Duck Creek (from the park boundary upstream to the Campanula Creek/Richard’s Creek fork) is open to streamside travel. The area upstream from Campanula Creek/Richard’s Creek fork is closed from March 10-Sept. 30. View/Download this Bear Management Area map
Gneiss Creek
Closed March 10-June 30
From July 1-Nov. 10, travel is allowed only on designated trails and off-trail travel is prohibited. View/Download this Bear Management Area map
Gallatin
From May 1-Nov. 10, travel is allowed only on designated trails and off-trail travel is prohibited. A minimum group size of four or more people is recommended for hiking and camping. View/Download this Bear Management Area map
Washburn
Closed Aug. 1-Nov. 10
From March 10-July 31, the area is open by special permit only. Contact the Tower Ranger Station for more information. View/Download this Bear Management Area map
Antelope
Closed March 10-Nov. 10
The Dunraven Road and related turnouts are open. From May 25-Nov. 10, foot travel is allowed on the old Road Trail from Tower Campground to the Buffalo Picnic Area. View/Download this Bear Management Area map
Mirror Plateau
From May 15-Nov. 10, this area is open to day-use only except for overnight camping between July 1-Aug. 14 (for a combined total of 14 nights per summer at the 301 and 5P7 campsites). View/Download this Bear Management Area map
Clear Creek #1
From April 1-Aug. 10, travel is only allowed on the east shore from Nine-Mile Trailhead to Park Point. All other trails are closed, and off-trail travel is prohibited. Campsite 5H1 is open (no travel from site). On Aug. 11, all the campsites are open and off-trail travel is permitted. View/Download this Bear Management Area map
Clear Creek #2
From April 1-July 14, travel is only allowed on the East Shore Trail from Park Point to Beaverdam Creek. All other trails are closed, and off-trail travel is prohibited. Open campsites are 5E2, 5E3, 5E4, and 5E6 (no travel away from campsite). All other campsites are closed. On July 15, all campsites are open, and off-trail travel is permitted. View/Download this Bear Management Area map
Lake Spawn
From May 15-July 14, no off-trail travel allowed, and the trail between Cabin Creek and Outlet Creek is closed. Open campsites are 7L5, 7L6, 7L7, 7L8, 7M3, 7M4, 7M5, 6A3, 6A4, and 6B1 (no travel away from campsite). On July 15, all campsites are open, and off-trail travel is permitted. View/Download this Bear Management Area map
Two Ocean
From March 10-July 14 and Aug. 22-Nov. 10, travel is allowed only on designated trails (off-trail travel is prohibited). From July 15-Aug. 21, a permit is required for people wishing to travel away from designated trails. Contact the South Entrance Ranger Station for more information. View/Download this Bear Management Area map
Grant Village
The Grant Campground will not open prior to June 20 (actual opening dates may vary annually). If bears are still frequenting the spawning streams after opening, the campground loops adjacent to the streams will remain closed until bear activity ceases. Campground opening and closing dates are determined annually and can also be found in the park newspaper handed out at visitor centers and park entrance stations. View/Download this Bear Management Area map
Research and monitoring are also integral parts of bear management. The Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team (IGBST), formed by the Department of the Interior in 1973, is an interdisciplinary group of scientists and biologists responsible for long-term monitoring and research efforts on grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE). IGBST members include representatives from the U.S. Geological Survey, National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho Tribal Fish and Game Department, and the states of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. The main objectives of the team are to: (1) monitor the status and trend of the grizzly bear population in the GYE; and (2) understand the preferred habitat of bears and how human activities on the land affect their well-being.
The Yellowstone population of grizzly bears was designated, or listed, as threatened with extinction in 1975. Various agencies and stakeholder groups hold differing opinions about the status of the population and how it should be managed in the future.
In September 2018, a federal judge restored protections for grizzly bears within the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem under the Endangered Species Act. This significant decision came after the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service removed those protections, or “delisted” the bears, in July 2017. As always, hunting will remain prohibited inside Yellowstone National Park.
Grizzlies have made a remarkable recovery.
The growth and expansion of the grizzly bear population in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is a remarkable conservation success story. The population has grown from 136 in 1975 to nearly 1,000 in 2022 using a population estimate model called Chao2. Scientists think the Yellowstone area population is recovered and may have reached its capacity for resident grizzlies in many areas of the ecosystem. To restore the area effectively, it's crucial to minimize conflicts between people and bears, as well as protect habitat for bears to move around and connect with other bear populations beyond the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
Listening for bears in the area during an Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team bear capture operation.
Management of bears will not change in the national parks.
The conservation and management of grizzly bears inside Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks will not change significantly through this listing and delisting process. Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks will continue to prevent bears from obtaining human foods, preserve wilderness to minimize human-caused mortalities and disturbances, and maintain our long-term monitoring program. We value grizzlies as a dominant species in the ecosystem—and one that offers amazing wildlife viewing opportunities. Millions of people visit the park with the intention of seeing bears and connecting with the wildness of nature. Wildlife watching also brings economic benefits worth tens of millions of dollars to the region. We are proud that Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks will continue to be the heart of the grizzly population keeping this magnificent species in the wild.
Reducing conflicts with people is the key to grizzly conservation.
Employing best practices for safety in bear country doesn't just protect people, but the welfare of animals as well. When bears kill people or damage property, bears lose. To ensure grizzly bears’ safety, learn how to share the landscape with them responsibly.
We will work with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, surrounding states, communities, and American Indian Tribes as the delisting conversation continues in the future.
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is the federal agency that administers the Endangered Species Act. They make all decisions about listing and delisting in consultation with other agencies, Tribes, states, and the public. Yellowstone will continue to be actively engaged with these partners and provide scientific data related to population estimates, habitat, genetics, and population connectivity.
Questions & Answers
Since 1979, Yellowstone has hosted over 118 million visits. During this time, 44 people were injured by grizzly bears in the park. For all park visitors combined, the chances of being injured by a grizzly bear are approximately 1 in 2.7 million visits. The risk is significantly lower for people who don’t leave developed areas or roadsides and higher for anyone hiking in the backcountry.
Risk of grizzly bear attack based on type of recreational activity:
Remain in developed areas, roadsides, and boardwalks: 1 in 69.7 million visits
Camp in roadside campgrounds: 1 in 29.2 million overnight stays
Camp in the backcountry: 1 in 1.9 million overnight stays
Hike in the backcountry: 1 in 275,000 person travel days
Injuries:
Grizzly bear-inflicted injuries to humans in developed areas averaged approximately one per year during the 1930s through the 1950s and four per year during the 1960s. After the park began to implement a more rigorous bear management plan, grizzly bear-caused human injuries in developed areas decreased to one injury every two years during the 1970s. Since 1980, there have been only two grizzly bear-caused human injuries in developed areas, an average of approximately one every 20 years. Over the same time span, there have been 34 human injuries caused by grizzly bears in the backcountry (an average of one per year).
Fatalities:
Since Yellowstone was established in 1872, eight people have been killed by bears in the park. More people in the park have died from drowning (125 incidents) and burns after falling into hot springs (23 incidents) than have been killed by bears. To put it in perspective, the probability of being killed by a bear in the park (eight incidents) is only slightly higher than the probability of being killed by a falling tree (seven incidents), an avalanche (six incidents), or being killed by lightning (five incidents). Here is a summary of each grizzly bear-inflicted fatality:
August 2015: a day hiker, hiking by himself, was killed by an adult female grizzly bear with two cubs near the Elephant Back Loop Trail in Lake Village.
August 2011: a day hiker, hiking by himself, was killed by a grizzly bear on the Mary Mountain Trail in Hayden Valley.
July 2011: a day hiker in a party of two was killed by an adult female grizzly bear with two cubs on the Wapiti Lake Trail in Hayden Valley.
October 1986: a photographer was killed by an adult female grizzly bear near Otter Creek in Hayden Valley.
July 1984: a grizzly bear killed a backpacker in a backcountry campsite located at the southern end of White Lake near Pelican Valley.
June 1972: an old adult female grizzly bear killed a man in an illegally established camp. The man surprised the bear when he returned to his campsite at night. The bear was in his camp feeding on food that he had left out, unsecured, in the campsite.
August 1942: a bear killed a woman at night in the Old Faithful campground. The species of bear involved was not determined.
1916: a grizzly bear killed a man in a roadside camp.
1907: a possible fatality supposedly occurred when a man was attacked by a female grizzly bear after he prodded her cub with an umbrella. The account of this incident appeared in a popular book, “Book of a Hundred Bears” published in 1909 by F.D. Smith. However, the validity of this incident is questionable as there is no mention of it in official park reports or local newspapers from 1907. The “Book of a Hundred Bears” contains many stories without providing back-up documentation, and this story appears to be an unsubstantiated legend.
