Bear Research and Management

Bears in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve

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Reports:

(New!) Bears of Glacier Bay, A summary of human-bear management in 2022-2024
Click here to read the report, released April 2025 (3.5 mb pdf)

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Bear Management Summary, 2020-2021
Click here to read the report, released 2021 (3.9mb pdf)

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Sightings, Human Interactions, and Research 2010-2017
Natural Resource Report NPS/GLBA/NRR—2020/2134
Click here to read the report, released June 2020 (3.5mb pdf)

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Bear research and management is a priority for Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve because visitors greatly value bear-viewing opportunities, bears are long-lived animals with low reproductive rates, and bear-human conflicts are a rare but significant safety concern.

 

Glacier Bay National Park Bear Goals

• Keep bears and human attractants (food and trash) separate to reduce conflicts and ensure bears retain their natural habits.

• Ensure opportunities for present and future generations of visitors to view and encounter bears safely.
• Obtain information on black and brown bears in the Park and Preserve necessary to manage bears and inform policies to minimize conflicts.
• Preserve and perpetuate natural bear populations.

Research Projects

The following projects help to better understand bears in the park:

Disturbance of Brown Bears by Vessels

Bear Distribution and Landscape Genetics

Blubber Bonanza: An Opportunistic Scavenger Study

Black and Brown Bear Activity at Selected Coastal Sites in Glacier Bay National Park

Gustavus Forelands Bear Population Study

International Management of Bear-Human Conflicts on the Tatsenshini-Alsek River. Poster

 

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  Studying Glacier Bay Bears

  follow glacier bay researchers as they learn about black and brown bears.

  Duration:

  8 minutes, 50 seconds

 

 

Bear scratching on tree captured by wildlife camera

NPS