Bear Smart Missoula

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The buffer zone is now in effect for Phase 1 - the Grant Creek and Rattlesnake areas. Read more information under the "News Feed" below. The next phase will go into effect in April 2025 for those south of Rattlesnake to Pattee Canyon, and for part of Farviews.

Missoula County and the City of Missoula adopted the expanded Bear Buffer zone in the fall of 2023. View frequently asked questions about the expanded Bear Buffer Zone under "FAQs" on the righthand side.

Missoula and Potomac now have new Bear Buffer/Mitigation Zones where all garbage has to be kept away from bears. The old Bear Buffer Zone was established in 2010 and was limited to city properties. The expanded zone will encompass the upper Rattlesnake, Bonner, Pattee Canyon, Miller Creek, Big Flat, O'Keefe Creek, Butler Creek, Grant Creek and the Potomac area. The commissioners and city council voted to adopt these regulations in fall of 2023.

According to the bear hazard management plan, from 2018 to 2021, 49% of the recorded bear-human interactions centered around bears and garbage. The new rules will address this problem by requiring bear-resistant containers in the bear buffer zone. The requirement will roll out in three phases, with the first phase including the Rattlesnake and Grant Creek, the second phase including the University of Montana and Pattee Canyon and the third phase encompassing the rest of the bear buffer zone. This will give the garbage collection services time to acquire enough bar-resistant containers, while prioritizing those areas with the most bear conflicts. Further, bear-resistant garbage containers or enclosures are required by the following dates. The phased approach gives haulers time to purchase and distribute the number of containers needed to serve the whole area:

Missoula bear buffer zone:

  • Phase 1 - April 30, 2024 (Grant Creek and Rattlesnake)
  • Phase 2 - April 30, 2025 (South of Rattlesnake to Pattee Canyon and part of Farviews)
  • Phase 3 - April 30, 2026 (Rest of the bear buffer zone)

Potomac bear buffer zone: Sept. 1, 2024

The Health Board approved this proposal at their meeting on Aug. 17, and recommended that both the Missoula County commissioners and city council adopt the health code changes, as well.

The commissioners opened this hearing at their public meeting on Sept. 14, and they made a final decision at their public meeting on Sept. 28.

The Public Safety, Health and Operations Committee at the City met on Sept. 13, and the first hearing at city council took place on Oct. 2, and they made a final decision on Oct. 16.

The increase in human habitation into wildlands and the increase in the Missoula Valley’s population has led to increased human-bear conflicts. The County and City recognize that this creates a public safety hazard and leads to food-habituated bears having to be killed. City and County leaders are collaborating with the Bear Smart Working Group, made up of concerned residents, bear experts and agency representatives. The group has followed the Bear Smart Community program developed in British Columbia, Canada. The goal of this group is to address the root causes of human-bear conflicts, reduce the risks to human safety and private property and reduce the number of bears that must be killed or relocated each year.

Missoula can reduce these human-bear conflicts using a combination of public education, promotion, ordinance enforcement and public and private partnerships to remove bears’ access to garbage, birdfeeders, livestock and pet food, tree fruit and unsecured outdoor freezers. Learn more about how Missoula is working toward being Bear Smart in the hazard assessment, the hazard management plan and the Bear Smart resolution.

The resolution was approved by Missoula County and the City of Missoula to establish a Bear Smart policy to help staff implement best practices to protect residents and bears in the Missoula Valley. The Missoula County commissioners and the Missoula City Council heard this resolution at their joint public meeting on Oct. 3.

You can read over the resolution, the hazard assessment and the hazard management plan.

Banner and project tile photo credit: Gwen Florio

The buffer zone is now in effect for Phase 1 - the Grant Creek and Rattlesnake areas. Read more information under the "News Feed" below. The next phase will go into effect in April 2025 for those south of Rattlesnake to Pattee Canyon, and for part of Farviews.

Missoula County and the City of Missoula adopted the expanded Bear Buffer zone in the fall of 2023. View frequently asked questions about the expanded Bear Buffer Zone under "FAQs" on the righthand side.

Missoula and Potomac now have new Bear Buffer/Mitigation Zones where all garbage has to be kept away from bears. The old Bear Buffer Zone was established in 2010 and was limited to city properties. The expanded zone will encompass the upper Rattlesnake, Bonner, Pattee Canyon, Miller Creek, Big Flat, O'Keefe Creek, Butler Creek, Grant Creek and the Potomac area. The commissioners and city council voted to adopt these regulations in fall of 2023.

According to the bear hazard management plan, from 2018 to 2021, 49% of the recorded bear-human interactions centered around bears and garbage. The new rules will address this problem by requiring bear-resistant containers in the bear buffer zone. The requirement will roll out in three phases, with the first phase including the Rattlesnake and Grant Creek, the second phase including the University of Montana and Pattee Canyon and the third phase encompassing the rest of the bear buffer zone. This will give the garbage collection services time to acquire enough bar-resistant containers, while prioritizing those areas with the most bear conflicts. Further, bear-resistant garbage containers or enclosures are required by the following dates. The phased approach gives haulers time to purchase and distribute the number of containers needed to serve the whole area:

Missoula bear buffer zone:

  • Phase 1 - April 30, 2024 (Grant Creek and Rattlesnake)
  • Phase 2 - April 30, 2025 (South of Rattlesnake to Pattee Canyon and part of Farviews)
  • Phase 3 - April 30, 2026 (Rest of the bear buffer zone)

Potomac bear buffer zone: Sept. 1, 2024

The Health Board approved this proposal at their meeting on Aug. 17, and recommended that both the Missoula County commissioners and city council adopt the health code changes, as well.

The commissioners opened this hearing at their public meeting on Sept. 14, and they made a final decision at their public meeting on Sept. 28.

The Public Safety, Health and Operations Committee at the City met on Sept. 13, and the first hearing at city council took place on Oct. 2, and they made a final decision on Oct. 16.

The increase in human habitation into wildlands and the increase in the Missoula Valley’s population has led to increased human-bear conflicts. The County and City recognize that this creates a public safety hazard and leads to food-habituated bears having to be killed. City and County leaders are collaborating with the Bear Smart Working Group, made up of concerned residents, bear experts and agency representatives. The group has followed the Bear Smart Community program developed in British Columbia, Canada. The goal of this group is to address the root causes of human-bear conflicts, reduce the risks to human safety and private property and reduce the number of bears that must be killed or relocated each year.

Missoula can reduce these human-bear conflicts using a combination of public education, promotion, ordinance enforcement and public and private partnerships to remove bears’ access to garbage, birdfeeders, livestock and pet food, tree fruit and unsecured outdoor freezers. Learn more about how Missoula is working toward being Bear Smart in the hazard assessment, the hazard management plan and the Bear Smart resolution.

The resolution was approved by Missoula County and the City of Missoula to establish a Bear Smart policy to help staff implement best practices to protect residents and bears in the Missoula Valley. The Missoula County commissioners and the Missoula City Council heard this resolution at their joint public meeting on Oct. 3.

You can read over the resolution, the hazard assessment and the hazard management plan.

Banner and project tile photo credit: Gwen Florio

  • Potomac bear buffer zone

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    As of Sept. 1, 2024, bear-resistant garbage containers are now required in the Potomac area. Storing your garbage inside until pickup day is not sufficient, as wildlife managers in the area have reported that bears become habituated to the pickup schedule.

    If you use a container from Grizzly Disposal or Republic Services and have trash hauled by them, you do not need to worry about purchasing a bear-resistant container. These haulers will switch out your container to a bear-resistant one soon, if they haven’t already

    If you use your own trash can but still have trash hauled by Grizzly Disposal or Republic Services, you will either need to lease a bear-resistant container from your hauler or purchase your own bear-resistant container. The container needs to work with the hauler's equipment. Grizzly Disposal uses Toter containers and Republic Services uses Kodiak containers. Click here for a list of approved containers and be sure to call your hauler before purchasing one. If you purchase your own container and it gets damaged, you will need to replace it. If you lease one from your hauler and it gets damaged, they will replace it.

    If you use your own trash can and do not have trash hauled by Grizzly Disposal or Republic Services, be sure to switch your container to a bear-resistant one. These containers must be certified by the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee or approved by a Montana FWP bear management team biologist. You will also need to take your trash to the landfill at least once every seven days.

    Click here to view the map of Potomac bear buffer zone.

  • Phase 1: Rattlesnake and Grant Creek Area

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    As part of Phase 1 of the Bear Buffer Zone roll out, residents in the Rattlesnake and Grant Creek areas were required to have bear-resistant trash cans by Tuesday, April 30, 2024.

    If you use a container from Grizzly Disposal or Republic Services and have trash hauled by them, you do not need to worry about purchasing a bear-resistant container. These haulers automatically switched out your container to a bear-resistant one by April 30.

    If you use your own trash can but still have trash hauled by Grizzly Disposal or Republic Services, you will either need to lease a bear-resistant container from your hauler or purchase your own bear-resistant container. The container needs to work with the hauler's equipment. Grizzly Disposal uses Toter containers and Republic Services uses Kodiak containers. Visit https://igbconline.org/programs/bear-resistant-products/ for a list of approved containers and be sure to call your hauler before purchasing one. If you purchase your own container and it gets damaged, you will need to replace it. If you lease one from your hauler and it gets damaged, they will replace it.

    If you use your own trash can and do not have trash hauled by Grizzly Disposal or Republic Services, be sure to switch your container to a bear-resistant one. These containers must be certified by the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee or approved by a Montana FWP bear management team biologist. Visit https://igbconline.org/programs/bear-resistant-products/ for a list of approved containers. You will also need to take your trash to the landfill at least once every seven days.

    Learn more in the Phase 1 Flyer to Grant Creek and Rattlesnake residents under "Documents" on the right-hand side.

  • See where your property is in the Bear Buffer Zone

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    You can now view all phases of the Bear Buffer Zone implementation on the County's property information system.

    • To see where your property is located within the Bear Buffer Zone, visit this site and go to the world tab on the side (technically named "Open Layers Panel" when you hover your cursor over it). Expand "Base Support Layers" and then "Districts/Boundaries." There, you can choose to view the Bear Buffer Zone by clicking the eye icon.

    • Another way to find the Bear Buffer Zone is to go to the magnifying glass tab on the side (technically named the "Open Search Panel" when you hover your cursor over it) and put in an address you wish to view. You will have to choose the property if the box opens below with several choices.

      Once you have highlighted a property (whether you have turned on the bear buffer zone layer or not), you can choose “Facts” on the right hand panel, and it lists whether that property is in or out of a bear zone or phase. Note, if you zoomed into a property without using the search function, you can highlight the property and still get to the fast facts, but you’ll have to click on the little red box in the upper right that has a square with a dotted line and an arrow. Once that is green, you can highlight different properties.

  • Proposed Health Code Changes

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    CLOSED: This discussion has concluded.

    The Missoula County commissioners and Missoula City council voted to adopt the health code changes in fall of 2023.

    On Aug .17, 2023, the Missoula City-County Health Board approved changes to the solid waste regulations in the Missoula City-County Health Code. The changes include a requirement to use bear-resistant containers in an expanded bear buffer zone, in addition to some clean up changes to the rest of the regulation. They then recommended that both the Missoula County commissioners and city council adopt the changes by reference.

    The commissioners opened this hearing at their public meeting on Sept. 14, and they made a final decision at their public meeting on Sept. 28.

    The Public Safety, Health and Operations Committee at the City met on Sept. 13, and the first hearing at city council took place on Oct. 2, and they made a final decision on Oct. 16.

    Find the bear buffer zone recommendation and proposed changes to the solid waste regulations in the "Documents" section on the right-hand side.

  • As bears emerge from their dens, contain all attractants!

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    As of April 5, there are increasing reports of signs of black bear activity across the Fish, Wildlife and Parks Region 2 (which includes Missoula). There have also been reports of grizzly bears in the Seeley Lake area.

    Don't attract bears to your property. The food bears find on your property may keep them from denning. Bear attractants include garbage, birdseed, chickens, livestock, feed and pet food, tree fruit, gardens and compost, BBQs, coolers, unsecured outdoor freezers or other easily obtainable food.

    Below are some ways you can make your property Bear Smart:

    • Use electric fencing for attractants like chicken coops, gardens, compost piles, livestock and other attractants that are commonplace or come with the landscape. Learn more about deterring bears with electric fencing.
    • Use the recommended bear-resistant products for your trash, livestock feed, coolers and other food storage.
    • Make sure to thoroughly clean your BBQ after each use.
    • If you do not have a bear-resistant cooler, container for livestock feed, or other food storage, store them indoors where bears cannot access them.
    • Do not put birdfeeders out from March to Dec. 1, or longer if bears are still active. This year, as of Jan. 11, some bears are still active.
    • Don’t leave trash, groceries or animal feed in your vehicle. Bears can pry open car and truck doors or break windows to get at food.
    • If you have a fruit tree on your property, pick fruit as it becomes ripe and remove any fruit off the ground. Store the picked fruit in a secure building, garage or shed. Electric fencing may be effective at keeping bears from this attractant. Contact Missoula Valley Fruit Exchange, Garden City Harvest or Great Bear Foundation Bears and Apples program if you’re unable or need assistance picking your fruit.
    • If you garden, do not use blood meal, and use an electric fence to keep bears out.
    • If you compost, avoid putting meat, fish, melon rinds or other pungent scraps in the pile, or just don’t compost kitchen scraps. Keep the pile aerated and properly turned, and, again, do not use blood meal.

    All too often, bears find anthropogenic foods while in their quest for natural food resources. Bears that become used to being around people may be called “habituated”. Bears that receive “food rewards” like garbage or birdseed can become “food-conditioned” and exhibit behaviors like walking on porches and causing property damage that leads to their removal. By securing attractants on your property, you can keep bears wild, improving the safety of both bears and people. Learn more about being bear smart on MissoulaBears.org

    You can also learn more about being bear smart on Missoula County’s Tip of the Spear podcast The Bears are Calling: How the County and City are Becoming Bear Smart

  • What to do if you encounter a bear

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    Black bears are abundant in the Missoula Five Valleys area and are encountered frequently within urban settings along Missoula’s wildlands interface. Residents living within the Missoula Bear Buffer Zone should expect black bear activity and become aware that grizzlies are becoming more common. While recreating in the Missoula Bear Buffer Zone and Missoula’s outlying areas, carrying bear spray is recommended. If you encounter a bear while hiking or if a bear visits your home, stay calm, do not approach the bear, and report the incident to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, the Missoula Bears Facebook page or file a report at Missoula Bears.org.

    If you encounter a bear, the bear’s behavior, rather than its species, should determine how you respond. In any bear encounter, your behavior matters.

    If a bear is not actively engaged with you (looking away, ignoring you, running away or retreating):

    • Give the bear space by backing away slowly from the bear and going in the opposite direction of the bear.

    If a bear shows agitated/defensive behavior (huffing, jaws clacking, head swaying back and forth, bellowing, swatting the ground, and excessively salivating at the mouth):

    • Stand your ground, prepare your bear spray, and speak in a calm manner, until the bear retreats.

    If a bear charges or appears ready to charge:

    • Stand your ground.
    • If it charges, use your bear spray, when the bear comes within 30-60 feet.
    • If the bear is going to touch you, go face down on the ground, cover your neck and head as much as possible, and deploy your bear spray in the bear’s face. If you do not have bear spray, play dead if it is a grizzly bear, fight back if it is a black bear.

    If a bear follows you, or slowly, purposefully or methodically approaches you:

    • Stand your ground.
    • Get aggressive: wave your arms and shout vigorously.
    • Get spray out and ready.
    • Fight back if it makes contact.

    If a bear enters or reaches into your tent:

    • Use your bear spray.
    • Fight back.
Page last updated: 10 Oct 2024, 09:42 AM