Bear Awareness Gardiner

Bear Awareness Gardiner: Keeping People and Bears Safe in Southern Park County

Gardiner, Montana sits at the original entrance to Yellowstone National Park — one of the most wildlife-rich landscapes on Earth. That's what makes it extraordinary. It's also what makes it dangerous.

Grizzly bears, black bears, and the people who live and work alongside them share the same yards, roads, and neighborhoods every single day. Southern Park County has one of the highest concentrations of human-bear conflict in the lower 48 states. When conflicts happen, bears die. Families are put at risk. Livelihoods are disrupted. It doesn't have to be this way.

Bear Awareness Gardiner (BAG) exists to change the outcome — for people and for bears. We work on the ground, in the community, every season to remove the attractants that draw bears into conflict in the first place. Our programs are practical, proven, and urgently needed.

Our Programs

Bear-Resistant Trash Programs — Gardiner, Cooke City/Silvergate & Paradise Valley - Unsecured garbage is the #1 cause of human-bear conflict. We partner with communities across southern Park County to provide and maintain bear-resistant trash infrastructure — from residential can programs in Gardiner to coordinated solutions in Cooke City, Silvergate, and Paradise Valley. When trash is secured, bears stop coming. It's that simple.

Green Box Site Upgrades - Paradise Valley community dumpster sites — called "green box" sites — are a lifeline for rural residents, but aging and inadequate enclosures turn them into bear buffets. We fund and coordinate upgrades to these sites so they actually do their job: keep wildlife out and communities safe.

Electric Fencing Program - Paradise Valley, Gardiner, Cooke City / Silvergate - For homeowners, livestock owners, beekeepers, and orchardists, a properly installed electric fence is one of the most effective bear deterrents available. BAG subsidizes and installs electric fencing for residents throughout the region, protecting their property — and the bears that would otherwise be destroyed for accessing it.

Fruit Gleaning Program - Paradise Valley, Gardiner, Livingston - Unharvested fruit on backyard trees is an irresistible draw for bears — and most homeowners don't even realize the risk. Our gleaning program removes unharvested fruit before it becomes a problem, turning a conflict waiting to happen into a community resource.

Outreach, Education & Information - All of Park County - Conflict prevention starts with awareness. We deliver community education across southern Park County — in schools, at community events, and door to door — so residents and visitors understand how to live safely alongside bears. We also run a bear spray recycling program, collecting expired canisters and redistributing them to community members who need them, ensuring more people in bear country are actually prepared.

Bear Spray Recycling - Gardiner, Paradise Valley, Livingston - While getting bear spray into the hands of recreationist is important, where the can ends up at the end of its lifespan has become an ever increasing issue. Partnering with GYC, we are working on installing recycling recepticels as the Park County green box sites from Gardiner to Livingston. After our bear spray keeps us safe, lets make sure we keep our solid waste system employees are safe by keeping those cans out of the trash!

Why It Matters Now

Bear populations are healthy and growing. Human development continues to push deeper into prime habitat. Climate change is altering food availability, pushing bears to seek alternative sources closer to homes and communities. The pressure on these animals — and on the people who live near them — is only increasing.

BAG is the leading organization doing this work on the ground in southern Park County. We are lean, local, and deeply connected to the communities we serve. Every dollar we raise goes directly into programs that keep people safer and bears alive.

Please give today. Your support funds the fences, the cans, the education, and the people who make living with the bears that make this place special, possible. In Gardiner, Paradise Valley, Cooke City, Silvergate and across the greater Yellowstone ecosystem, this work isn't optional — it's essential.