Attachment_5_-Wildlife-Regulations.pdf

Wildlife Regulations

Grand Teton National Park

Fish and Wildlife

All project activities must comply regulations related to food storage and park recommended best management practices for living and working in bear country. Bear “attractants” include food, drinks, garbage, cooking utensils, dirty / soiled pots/pans/plates, stoves, grills (charcoal or gas), empty or full coolers, storage containers with food or previously holding food (except approved bear resistant canisters), beverage containers, pet food/bowls, and any odorous item that may attract a bear such as toiletries.

At all times in all locations, including the backcountry, all staff (NPS, Volunteers-in-Parks (VIPs), contractors, etc.) must ensure that all bear attractants are attended at all times. All unattended attractants must be stored securely inside a building, a bear resistant food storage locker (if available), in a hard sided vehicle with doors locked and windows closed, or in an Interagency

Grizzly Bear Committee (IGBC) approved portable bear resistant food storage canisters; or disposed of properly in a bear-resistant garbage receptacle. Backpacks and/or daypacks containing unsecured attractants (i.e. not in a canister) must not be left unattended.

All human-bear conflicts must be reported to Teton Interagency Dispatch Center immediately

(307-739-3301). All bear sightings must be reported to the park’s Bear Management Office within 24 hours.

Provide for proper storage and disposal of materials that may be toxic to bears. All potentially toxic attractants, including petroleum products, must be stored or disposed of in such a way that they are not available to bears.

All food and attractant debris must be disposed of in bearproof dumpsters that can be closed at night. Construction debris is to be disposed of separately in dumpsters available for this purpose.

All wildlife-vehicle collisions must be reported to Teton Interagency Dispatch (307-739-3301) as soon as possible.

Amphibians

Care will be taken not to disturb any wildlife species (amphibians, reptiles, migratory birds, mammals, raptors, or bats) found nesting, hibernating, estivating (in an inactive dormant state during hot, dry periods), or otherwise living in, or immediately nearby, worksites.

Birds

All project activities must comply with the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 (MBTA; 16 U.S.C.

703) and Executive Oder 13186. Under the MBTA, it is illegal to "take" migratory birds, their eggs, feathers or nests. “Take” is defined (50 CFR 10.12) to include “pursuing, hunting, shooting, wounding, killing, trapping, capturing, or collecting.” The MBTA does not distinguish between

“intentional” and “unintentional” take. Migratory birds include songbirds, waterfowl, shorebirds, and raptors. All project activities must also comply seasonal closure regulations for raptors, trumpeter swans, great blue herons, and other sensitive bird species.

Eagles are specifically protected under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act of 1940 (16

U.S.C. 668-668c) and the MBTA. Project activities must not lead to the take of bald or golden eagles. The Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act defines “take” to include disturbing birds.