Teton County, Wyoming passes better wildlife regulations

Teton County, Wyoming contains Grand Teton National Park and is home to one of the most famous grizzly bears in Greater Yellowstone, Bear 399. This prominent and celebrated mother is often seen with her cubs in tow as she meanders through the park and along roadways. Last year, Bear 399 emerged from her den with quadruplets, a rare occurrence for a grizzly sow of her age.  

Bear 399, seen here with her four cubs, is well-known in Teton County, Wyoming and Grand Teton National Park. (Photo Heidi Pinkerton)

After many years of avoiding the many unnatural food sources in the Jackson area, 399 and her cubs began regularly venturing into town in 2021. Reports of 399 and her cubs finding food rewards such as garbage, birdseed, and other attractants were rampant. GYC, our partners, and concerned local citizens knew it was critical for Teton County to approve updated regulations to keep bears wild and people safe.  

On April 12, 2022, just ahead of 399 emerging from her den with her four yearling cubs, the Board of County Commissioners voted 4-0 to adopt new Land Development Regulations prohibiting wild animal feeding. This is great news for all wildlife. We hope that Bear 399 and her cubs will shift their behavior and remain away from town and in their natural habitat. 

Sadly, however, decades of experience and research tell us that once bears become habituated to human foods, they rarely return to natural food sources. Sometimes, bears can even become emboldened, which is a concern for human safety and eventually could mean a bear ends up euthanized, hence the saying, “a fed bear is a dead bear.” In the last few years, six grizzlies and two black bears were euthanized in and around Jackson due to human food rewards. 

Thankfully, with the new Teton County wildlife feeding regulations, it’s likely human-wildlife conflicts will be reduced due to less access to unnatural foods. The new rules were carefully crafted over the past few years by the county’s planning staff, along with a diverse group of stakeholders including GYC’s previous Wildlife Program Coordinator Chris Colligan, who now works for Teton County.  

Bringing people together to enact common-sense regulations is just one of the many things we do to keep bears wild and people safe. We are grateful to the commission for making smart decisions for the health of Greater Yellowstone’s wildlife. 

—Kathy Rinaldi, Deputy Director of Conservation

The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is the land of 49+ Indigenous Tribes who maintain current and ancestral connections to the lands, waters, wildlife, plants, and more.