Bear Box Update

Saturday, May 31st, 2014

Bear Boxes: Keeping Bears Wild and Visitors Safe

Each summer, Grand Teton’s 1,000 frontcountry campsites fill with visitors from near and far. With the grizzly bear population increasing in the park, it is more important than ever for campers to properly store food and toiletries. Bear-resistant food storage lockers, or bear boxes, are high-quality metal enclosures, spacious enough to fit your largest ice chest. People can open them with ease, yet bears cannot, making these boxes an incredibly effective tool that keeps bears from associating humans as a means to access food.

To date, Foundation supporters have funded bear boxes at nearly 300 of the park's campsites, with summer installation of this year's batch set to begin in July (depending on snow melt).

Bear box donors are helping the park accomplish its goal to outfit the most heavily accessed camping and picnic sites with these durable lockers. They also make great gifts! Recognize your friends, colleagues, or family members in a unique way by dedicating a box in their honor. We’ll send your gift recipient a teddy bear along with information regarding the importance of bear boxes and the location of yours. Plaque recognition is available.

You can fund an entire bear box with recognition for $1,500, or partially fund a box with a gift amount of your choice.