Timely G&F alerts vital to community

The recent report of a grizzly bear sow and two cubs in the Sage Creek and southeastern Cody area from Wyoming Game and Fish was a welcome change in the agency’s relationship with the public. However, we were disappointed that the notice came nearly 10 days after the initial sighting and encounter between a local hunter and the bear.

In such a situation, timeliness is paramount. While we appreciate that G&F were forthcoming with details and provided a warning to the broader public, we were first tipped off to the presence of the bears by members of the community – and it was known by other community members through similar means: casual conversation and local gossip.

Ultimately, we would hope a management agency tasked with acting as a go-between might take a more proactive approach to alerting the public in a more efficient manner. We know G&F posted paper signs and door-knocked in the area that was most directly impacted, but the wider public who hunt and recreate in the area continued unawares. For many residents, the first notification of the grizzlies came through that October 24 press release. We believe management could have done better and even gone further – sharing specifically in which areas to be most alert, what steps were taken and ongoing management of the situation. That our initial contact with G&F on this topic yielded no answers is unacceptable because this impacts not just public safety, but that of the bears.

We live and recreate in bear country and we should be taking appropriate precautions, but there are times when human arrogance and folly trump common sense. If someone took for granted the safety of where they were going to recreate and encountered those grizzlies, it could have ended in injury, dismemberment or death – that it didn’t for a local hunter is fortunate enough.

G&F have taken a number of steps to raise bear awareness over the last few years. The most obvious and successful program is the Bear Aware PSA that plays on gas station screens across the state – the positive impact of that program has inspired other agencies in bear country to consider novel approaches to how they reach hunters and recreationalists. We hope G&F is able to move forward and build on the success of that program, but also that the agency considers using its social media or geofencing to rapidly notify local communities by text message when grizzlies or other large carnivores are being monitored in a populated area.

Given the tenor of the conversation surrounding agency management of land and wildlife, it seems obvious that transparency and healthy, proactive communication between all parties is for the benefits of humans and animals alike.