Teton County taking steps to coexist with wildlife

JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. — Teton County is getting tougher on wildlife feeding and bear conflicts standards after escalating issues, and a recent scare that had the most famous grizzly on the planet waltzing right down Broadway with her four cubs one night.

A proposed amendment to the county’s Natural Resource Land Development Regulation dealing specifically with wildlife feeding restrictions and bear conflict area standards includes myriad ways to help mitigate wildlife-human conflicts.

For starters, the draft calls for bear resistant trash containers to be required countywide. Previous discussions have noted the challenges with obtaining these special containers whether it has been concerns over higher costs or backlogged orders due to supply chain issues.

Also included in the draft are requirements for the keeping of food bearing gardens, compost piles, apiaries, bird feeders and others.

The proposed amendment, developed and released by the Teton County Planning & Building Services Department, will come before the county Planning Commission at their regular meeting Monday, December 13. It is then scheduled to be reviewed by the Board of County Commissioners during their January 4, 2022 meeting.