Utah wildlife officials said increased human-bear conflicts in the state mean changes to the bear hunt this year.
According to Division of Wildlife Resources Disease Coordinator Leslie McFarlane, black bears in Utah are thriving. She said booming bear populations lead to increased human-bear contact and conflict in some areas.
McFarlane said on average, the state euthanizes 50 bears per year, though Utah nearly doubled that number in 2014, when 91 bears were put down.
She said another factor contributing to increasing human-bear conflict are summer droughts, which concentrate bears in areas that are also seeing more human visitors.
To mitigate the potential for conflicts between increasing groups of people using land patrolled by growing populations of black bears, McFarlane said the DWR will issue more bear hunting permits and add a 2015 summer hunt along the Wasatch Front and southeastern Utah.
She added campers should do their part to decrease the potential for bear-human encounters by keeping campgrounds clean and storing and disposing of food in bear-safe containers.