OGDEN -- Water isn't the only thing coming down from the mountaintops these days.
Black bears that recently came out of hibernation would normally be feeding in Utah's high alpine meadows this time of year, but because of an abnormally wet and cool spring, those areas are still buried under deep snow.
As a result, hungry bears are heading to lower elevations in search of food.
Throughout the state, people are seeing bears during one of the large mammals' most active times of year. In some cases, people are seeing bears where they never have before.
Several people have reported seeing a mother bear and her yearling cub in the Ogden Canyon area over the past several days, which locals say is highly unusual.
"I have lived in the canyon for 40 years, and this is the first time (I've heard of people seeing bears)," said Keith Rounkles, who owns The Oaks restaurant in the canyon.
Sgt. Mitch Lane, of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, said that as of Tuesday afternoon, there had been four reported sightings of the mother and cub.
The first, on Saturday, was near a residence along the southwest corner of Pineview Reservoir. On Monday, two callers reported seeing the bears near the road near Gray Cliff Lodge in the canyon. Then, on Tuesday, a group of people saw the bears while hiking the Indian Trail in the canyon.
There are two reasons people are seeing more bears now, said DWR spokesman Mark Hadley.
First, June is always the time of year when mother bears send their yearling cubs out on their own because the breeding season is starting.
The young bears, on their own for the first time, tend to wander as they search for an area to call their own. The more they move, the more likely they are to be seen by humans.
But the main reason is the persistent snowpack in the high country, which is preventing the bears from accessing the areas where they would normally be found this time of year.
"They can't get into those meadow areas, so we're seeing them where we normally wouldn't," Hadley said.
There have been increased sightings in other parts of the state as well, he said.
DWR employees are trying to trap two bears that have been trying to get into commercial beehives in the Green River area in southeastern Utah, and there was a recent sighting near Kolob Reservoir in Southern Utah, in an area where there are several cabins.
Lane said there have been no reported conflicts or other incidents directly involving people and bears in the state this year, but the potential for problems is always greater when bears go into areas inhabited or frequented by humans.
Bears will normally avoid humans, Hadley said, but when bears begin to see these areas as food sources, they will lose their fear and become territorial.
To that end, the DWR has produced a brochure containing safety tips for people who live or play in bear country. The U.S. Forest Service has distributed thousands of copies of the brochure at campgrounds and recreation areas statewide.
"When a bear gets itself into trouble, it usually means someone did something wrong," Hadley said. "We're trying to get a unified message out there about the things people should do to avoid problems."
People generally don't associate bears with Utah as much as with states like Wyoming or Montana, but the recent sightings serve as a reminder that the state truly is bear country, said Phil Douglass, DWR spokesman for Northern Utah.
"They're part of our past and most likely part of our future," Douglass said, "so we have to learn to live with them."
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