Bear Smart Community Resource Program

People and Carnivores is providing resources for community-level human-bear conflict prevention programs through the Bear Smart Community Resource Program. We offer:

• Consulting, support services, and guidance through the BSC process,

• Bear safety and conflict prevention educational materials, and

• Funding, if it meets shared goals of direct conflict prevention outcomes.

The geographic area is approximate and will depend on projects, but is focused in western Montana, the Greater Yellowstone (MT, ID, WY), and central/northern Idaho.

The resource program is meant to support initiatives that (1) are supported by or will gain the support of various stakeholders, (2) become community-wide, (3) will be sustained over time, and (4) are physically connected on the landscape. We welcome inquiries and requests from organizers or leaders of communities, municipalities, or neighborhood groups or HOAs who have started or are interested in starting a collaborative initiative to prevent human-bear conflicts across their local area.

We will accept inquiries on a rolling basis through 2024 but encourage interested community representatives to reach out sooner rather than later, as resources are limited. The applicant should be a community member representing the effort, not an outside representative. To apply, fill out the project request form and send it to bearresources@peopleandcarnivores.org.

This program is made possible by generous support from the Volgenau Foundation.