05/13/2026
This message is intended for local (Gallatin & Park County) community members, vacation rental owners/managers, and others who travel or send travelers to Tom Miner Basin to view the grizzly bears.
What was once a concern is now headed toward a crisis. The growing volume of wildlife tourism in Tom Miner Basin is directly and negatively impacting wildlife populations and the Basin as a whole. From late May through early November, there are daily trains of vehicles, some driving too fast, placing wildlife as well as families and pets at risk, and often stopping on the road to view bears in the upper basin. The Tom Miner road has become an extension of Yellowstone Park road systems, but without the Park service staff or funding to enforce rules, protect and manage people and wildlife, and maintain roads.
YNP’s Superintendent, Cam Sholly, YNP’s bear manager biologist, Kerry Gunther, and Tom Miner Basin Association recently met to discuss the specific growing concern in Tom Miner Basin. Superintendent Sholly and Mr. Gunther strongly agreed to require park employees- rangers, gate attendants, etc., to STOP sharing information and sending tourists to Tom Miner.
Another known way vacationers learn about bears in Tom Miner is by word of mouth and in the information packets local vacation rental properties utilize when welcoming guests to their spaces. If you care about Tom Miner and its wildlife, we respectfully ask you to remove information regarding the Tom Miner location. As tourist season is rapidly ramping up, we ask that you please do this now. For those who plan to continue viewing the bears and wildlife in the basin, please consider at least reducing the frequency of visits.
Why?
Increased human safety risk:
- Elevated possibility of human/bear conflict, especially with unmanaged groups of people parking, getting out of their cars, in proximity to habituated grizzly bears.
- The now-typical traffic ‘bear jams’ stopped on the same county (dirt) road, which large livestock and log trucks frequent during the same season.
- Unnecessary speed, increased dust and noise from tourism traffic on a rural county road.
Increased wildlife concerns:
- Grizzly bear habituation. The bears of Tom Miner are showing clear signs of habituation- no longer cautious around humans and increasing their chances of human/bear conflict and inevitable bear fatalities.
- The constant and consistent ‘train’ of vehicles is significantly impacting how elk, moose, deer, bears, and all other wildlife move through the basin, a fragile wildlife corridor as well as a private, quiet ranching community.
Increased risk of human-caused wildfire:
- Especially given a likely extra dry season likely upon us.
- This includes cigarette butts, hot engines and dry grass, and more.
As residents, we sincerely hope that together as local community members, we can take this request seriously enough not “to love the place to death”. We ask for your understanding, as we too, understand how amazing it is to see the bears in Tom Miner Basin.
If you still choose to travel to Tom Miner, please drive slowly, keep moving, and park only in the pullouts. Pick up trash, even if it’s not yours, educate yourself about regenerative agriculture in wild places, and be accountable about how we conduct ourselves on public roads and private lands.
Lastly, we have great appreciation for those who clearly demonstrate their respect for this landscape, when visiting the Basin.
Thank you,
Tom Miner Basin Association
