Did you know that Teton County experiences an average of 71 human-bear conflicts per year? Sadly, in 2021 alone, six grizzly bears were euthanized because of human food-conditioning.
Now more than ever, we believe bears need our help if we are going to continue to coexist compatibly with our wild neighbors.
This is why we are thrilled to announce that over the holidays, JHWF received a generous grant from the Community Foundation of Jackson Hole to help fund a targeted expansion of our Bear Wise Jackson Communication Campaign during 2022.
Bear Wise Jackson is an ongoing partnership with Grand Teton National Park, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Bridger-Teton National Forest, and the Jackson Hole Wildlife Foundation.
This broad-reaching educational campaign will be aimed at protecting bears (and people) by providing outreach to residents on how to live safely and compatibly in bear country. It will include materials such as public service announcements, doorhangers, social media, informational brochures and tangible promotional assets.
Examples of assets to be produced include:
- A letter to Homeowners Associations placing emphasis on proper bear-resistant garbage storage plus, including a “Who to Call” list in case of emergency problem animal control.
- Revised Bear Wise Jackson informational pamphlet via a county-wide mailing.
- Management of Facebook and Instagram social media accounts for Bear Wise Jackson content
- Doorhangers developed and distributed by volunteers in neighborhoods about compliance with bear safety guidelines.
- Spring, summer, and fall public service announcements (PSAs) for airing on local radio stations.
- Print ads placed in local newspaper seasonally about the importance of being Bear Wise.
We hope that by raising public awareness we can reduce the number of undesirable human-bears interaction that result in injury or death to both humans and bears, as well as increase public support for both grizzly and black bear conservation.
We’d like to thank you for your commitment to preserving wild bears here in Jackson Hole!
