Editor:

From Alaska to Wyoming, I've had the good fortune to live, work and recreate in grizzly country for more than three decades. Knowing that grizzly bears inhabit some of the same lands that I hunt enhances my experience and sharpens my skills. The wide-open spaces the bears require makes hunting elk in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem special.

One of the best tools available to help us enjoy outdoor activities is bear spray. It's as essential as a rain jacket and good boots. Along with other precautions such as appropriate food and carcass storage, proper use of bear spray -- which means having it accessible on one's hip or pack strap -- is widely known to be effective at deterring bears from harming people and saving bears' lives, too. All the agencies recommend it -- some require it -- and it's clearly the smartest and cheapest way to avoid tragedy for bears and humans alike. Information about proper use of bear spray, and correct human behavior in bear country such as food storage information and hunting tactics, is available via agency Web sites. Local newspapers carry the information each fall and there are free local workshops for residents and visitors to bear country.

Seeking better coexistence of bears and people in the important wildland/urban interface, conservation groups are engaging in projects in several communities in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, such as providing bear-proof trash cans and Wildlife Brigade personnel during tourist season. Businesses, outfitters, local elected officials, and countless other stakeholders are striving for coexistence with bears in this critical geography for wildlife conservation.

Big game hunters are in a position to encounter bears and we must do our part to act responsibly for grizzly bear recovery. This means seeking out information from the agencies about hunting in grizzly country and carrying bear spray. The recent tragedy where a female grizzly was shot near Ditch Creek on the Bridger-Teton Forest in Jackson Hole should be a sad tale of yesteryear. Hopefully the person in question can help promote bear safe behavior for all hunters. As practical as wearing our seatbelts in our vehicles while driving to the trailhead, bear spray works.

LLOYD DORSEY, Jackson

Greater Yellowstone Coalition