DRIGGS — The US Forest Service has closed a popular campground in Teton Canyon, along with the trailheads of two popular nearby trails because of an aggressive bear.
According to release issued Friday, July, 1, 2016, Caribou-Targhee National Forest Supervisor Garth Smelser signed an emergency order on closing the Teton Canyon Campground because of “the presence of an aggressive bear attracted to potential food rewards.”
This order prevents public access to the campground as well “adjacent trailheads, dispersed camping, or other uses within a one-mile radius of the campground.”
That includes the access points for the Alaska Basin and Table Mountain trails. Spokesperson Lynn Ballard said forest service staff thought “long and hard” before implementing the closure.
He also clarified that the trails themselves are not closed, so if people can access them without going through the closure area, they are allowed to do so.
Ballard said signs will be placed on the trails to notify anyone currently on the trail of the danger as they come out.
The Wyoming Game & Fish Department has come out in support of the closure while it tries to trap the bear and remove it from the area.
The purpose of this order is to protect human life and safety from a potential bear-human encounter, while trapping is being conducted the USFS release stated. Displaced campers are being directed to other camping areas within the district.
The order will be in effect until July 14 or until the bear has been captured and the order is no longer needed. Anyone violating the closure could face a fine of up to $5,000.
This article was originally published in the Teton Valley News. It is used here with permission.
The post Teton Canyon Campground closed due to nuisance bear appeared first on East Idaho News.