Yellowstone National Park • Visitors to the world's first national park — and the lands surrounding — this fall have a good chance of seeing grizzly bears. A poor year of whitebark pine nut production means grizzlies are not in the high country as usual in the fall. Instead, the bears are wandering around the lower country looking for ways to fatten up before seeking out a den and hibernating for winter.

Recognizing that many visitors from surrounding states prefer to make their annual trips to Yellowstone in the fall when crowds have diminished and some animals are more visible, park officials are encouraging people to play it smart if they are lucky enough to spot a grizzly.

"They are down in the meadows in the lower elevations. There will be more observations, more bear jams and more people encountering grizzlies," said Kerry Gunther, a bear management biologist with the National Park Service in Yellowstone. "That doesn't necessarily mean there will be more conflicts; only the potential for more conflicts."

Each fall, grizzlies head into the high country to search out caches of whitebark pine nuts harvested from pine cones that squirrels gather. The nuts are high in fat and protein and help the bears put on the pounds before settling in for their long winter naps. They also are an important food source because the bears don't have to work hard: The squirrels do the harvesting, and the bears just reap the rewards.

When the whitebark production is down, bears need to work much harder to find alternative foods. That often means bears wander into places — such as the communities surrounding the park — where conflicts are more likely to happen.

"We tend to get more human-caused mortalities in certain parts of the ecosystem on poor whitebark years," Gunther said. "On the fringe areas we see more interface and conflicts with bears getting into gardens and trash. It doesn't happen in the park as much because of our food and garbage storage regulations."

The grizzly population in the Yellowstone ecosystem was 579 in 2009. The 2010 count isn't finished. Gunther says the goal is 500 in and around Yellowstone.

Members of the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team are hitting the backcountry in the coming weeks to conduct an annual research study on grizzlies in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Bears will be trapped at remote sites in Yellowstone and checked for general health and other specific items as part of the long-term research. The work starts this week and runs through the end of October.

Two people have been killed in encounters with grizzlies outside the park this summer. Gunther said those incidents were not related to the lack of pine nuts.

No people have been hurt by bears inside the park this year, but the average is one injury per year. Meanwhile, one grizzly died after being hit by a car, and another bear death is suspected to have been caused by a vehicle.

Yellowstone also has a population of smaller black bears. Officials do not keep population estimates on black bears in the park, and they are not as likely to involved in deadly human conflicts.

"People think because the whitebark production is poor that grizzlies will be killing and eating people. The reality is that they are just coming into areas where there is more human activity. They are not starved and crazed and searching for people."

Gunther has these suggestions if you spot a grizzly in Yellowstone.

• If you see a bear from your car, stay in your car.

• Don't crowd the bear. "Every one wants front-row seats and pretty soon the bear is circled, and it wants to cross the road but it can't figure out how to do it, and it starts to get a little agitated."

• If you plan to hike or fish, carry bear spray and know how to use it. As you are walking, make noise — talk loudly, sing or yell every once in a while — so the bear knows you're coming and has a chance to move away.

brettp@sltrib.com —

Plenty of grub for black bears in Utah

A wet spring and good moisture levels throughout the summer means there is plenty of fall forage — like acorns — available for Utah's black bear population. There are no grizzlies in Utah. After several incidents of people shooting troublesome black bears in 2009, this year has proven quiet in comparison.

Justin Dolling, mammals program coordinator for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, reports that there have been 32 incidents thus far in 2010. The long-term average is 70. Incidents include everything from sightings to removals. Two bears were relocated and five were euthanized by wildlife officials.