Wildlife officers continue to search for bear in Soapstone Campground

KAMAS — Soapstone Campground in Summit County remains closed Thursday after multiple reports of a bear rummaging through campsites looking for food.

According to the Utah Division of Natural Resources, the bear first showed up in the campground the weekend of July 19 and returned on July 23.

“There were a couple different camp sites that had the bear come into their campgrounds and it had gotten into coolers, trash, things like that, as well as dumpsters on the campground,” said Faith Heaton Jolley, a DNR spokesperson.

Wildlife officials closed the campground on July 23 and placed bear traps with bait. As of Thursday, the bear hasn’t taken the bait.

“A big part of the issue was that initially, the dumpsters were really full of trash, food, and things from campers, and so rather than coming to our barrel trap with bait, the bear was going to the dumpster to get food,” Jolley said.

She said that the dumpsters were emptied, and wildlife officers hope to have more success with the traps.

On Tuesday, similar traps were successful in American Fork Canyon where a 5-year-old black bear was captured after it too had visited several campgrounds.

“Because we really haven’t gotten any reports of aggression from the bear, we are referring to using traps at this time, rather than bringing in hounds and taking a more aggressive approach to locating it,” Jolley said.

While the bear in American Fork Canyon was euthanized due to its aggressive behavior towards people, it’s unclear if the bear in Kamas will have the same fate. Once it’s captured, the animal’s health will be evaluated. Until then, the campground will remain closed, and people visiting the area should be on alert.

“We’re asking people to stay out of the area since the bear is still in the area from what we’ve been told at this point,” Jolley said.