It’s the season to hike and camp which also means it’s the season to be Bear Aware. Utah’s mountains and forests are home to thousands of black bears and the Division of Wildlife Resources is urging the public to be smart for the benefit of all. “Summer is here and hikers and campers are out in full force,” shares DWR Outreach Manager Tonya Kieffer.“Be sure to clean up campsites and put things that smell into bags. Do not leave campsites littered with trash. Once a bear gets into trash it becomes habituated to people and you may be dooming the bear to be euthanized.” To make your campsite ‘bear safe’, consider the following steps: store food, drinks and scented items securely, dispose of trash in bear-proof dumpsters, wipe down picnic tables, burn food off stoves or grills, pitch tents away from trails, sleep inside your tent, never approach or feed a bear, and report bear sighting to the campground host.
