Bear Aware

The Custer Gallatin National Forest is home to both black and grizzly bears, and provides important habitat for bears and other wildlife to use throughout the year. Learning about bears will help you become a more knowledgeable visitor to the forest, and will help keep both you and bears safe while sharing the woods. Be sure to check out the latest on the Forest's Food Storage Order in the section below and also our Food Storage Order flyer explaining the details of the order.

• Bear Spray

  

  Bear spray must be carried in an accessible location to be used effectively, as most encounters are a surprise and close-quarters. If it is inaccessible, you will have less time to react to an encounter.

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• Best Practices While Recreating

  

  Best practices while hiking, camping, fishing, and hunting on the Custer Gallatin National Forest.

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• Bear Encounters

  

  Bears communicate differently than we do. Knowing what a bear is trying to tell you can make you safer in an encounter with a bear.

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• Bear Identification

  

  Although black bears and grizzly bears have many things in common and your response in an encounter is the same for both species, it helps to know your bears.

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• Bear Behavior

  

  Bears will generally avoid humans if they can; often a bear will leave an area without humans ever knowing they were there, thus avoiding potential encounters.

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• Food Storage Order

  

  We want to keep our bears wild and healthy by reducing their ability to access human food and attractants.

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