Bear season at Sun West Ranch runs later than usual this year. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks generally says bears den for five to six months, from about November through March. This fall, FWP's southwest Montana spokesman told KBZK that bears are expected to stay active until around December. For anyone along this stretch of the Madison, that means several more weeks of bringing in the grill, leaving the bird feeder in storage and making sure no trash gets left outside.
The ranch already has a visitor of its own. The Sun West Ranch owners' website carries this notice on its public homepage:
"A bear has recently been seen exploring the ranch and attempting to access garbage and BBQ grills. Please help prevent attracting wildlife by bringing your BBQ grill inside and keeping all garbage indoors."
The notice ends with the goal the rest of this post builds on. If the bear finds nothing to eat, it is less likely to come back and less likely to become what the association calls a "bad bear".
A Hungry Year Across Southwest Montana
The reason for the late season goes back to midsummer. On July 29, 2026, FWP put out a statewide release warning that the berry crop bears rely on in late summer and fall was falling short. Jamie Jonkel, the agency's longtime bear conflict specialist in Missoula, called it "one of the worst natural food failure years on record". In that same FWP release, the agency said bears that would normally be eating berries in the mountains were turning up around homes and communities looking for food.
By October the shortage showed up in the numbers for FWP Region 3, the southwest Montana region that includes Madison County and the Madison River. KBZK reported on October 3, 2026 that FWP information officer Morgan Jacobsen described bear populations in southwest Montana as "doing very well," and said that in some areas the berry crop had been "pretty poor, if not a failure". More bears and less natural food push more bears toward homes.
Set against a normal year, the 2026 figures look like this:
| Measure, per KBZK's October 3, 2026 report | 2026 so far | Typical year |
|---|---|---|
| Region 3 bear relocations | More than 16 | About 8 to 12 |
| Black bear euthanizations | 14 in the Bozeman area in one week, plus "a few dozen" earlier in the year | 8 to 10 |
| When bears begin to hibernate | Around December | About November, per FWP's general guidance |
One detail from that report is close to home. The latest entry on FWP's Region 3 relocation dashboard at the time was a black bear released in the Hebgen Lake area on September 18, upriver on the same Madison that runs past Sun West. Jacobsen said more relocations had happened since then.
Why One Easy Meal Matters This Late
A bear eating heavily before winter sizes up every deck and garage it passes. Jacobsen put it plainly in the KBZK piece: "There's a reason for them to stick around if they can find easy access to things like garbage and bird feeders". Once bears find food reliably in residential areas, he explained, they become a management problem, and that cycle can end in relocation or euthanasia. That is the outcome the Sun West notice is trying to prevent.
This matters at Sun West because of when things usually slow down. The ranch's July 2022 rules for renters and guests already address bears. They require garbage, rubbish and other waste to be kept inside a home in sanitary, sealed containers, except where allowed on construction sites, and they ask guests not to feed or approach wildlife. The same document permits propane grills and fire pits, so a grill on the deck is allowed. A grill on the deck that still smells of dinner is exactly what the current notice asks owners to bring inside.
FWP's guidance on living in bear country ties several of its recommendations to "active bear season." It advises against feeding birds during that time and suggests birdhouses, birdbaths and native plants instead. This year, by FWP's own estimate, active season runs to around December. A feeder that usually goes up when November turns cold is worth holding back a few more weeks.
The Routine That Carries Sun West to December
These steps come straight from FWP's published guidance and the Sun West notice, tied to the weeks still left before bears den:
- Bring the grill inside after every use. The owners' notice asks for exactly this, and FWP recommends cleaning grills thoroughly after use.
- Keep all garbage indoors. FWP recommends a secured building or an IGBC-certified bear-resistant bin, with trash set out only on collection day.
- Hold off on bird feeders until bears are denned.
- Feed pets indoors, or only during the day, and clean up any spilled food.
- Store livestock feed in a secure building, and keep chickens, goats or sheep behind electric fence.
- Brief renters and guests, since the ranch's guest rules already require garbage to stay inside.
If a home is closing for the season, the same list applies before you lock up. A trash bag left in an unlatched shed is still there in December. FWP says a hard-sided building with a securable door works, and a hasp with a carabiner or a latch is enough to secure the door.
Where the Trash, the Tools and the Phone Calls Go
Indoor storage only works if the trash leaves the property regularly. Madison County's solid waste site list shows the Ennis Container Site at 30 Recycle Way and the Ennis Landfill at 137 Jack Creek Bench Road. Check hours with the county before you load the truck.
For hardware, People and Carnivores is a Montana-based nonprofit that provides bear-resistant garbage cans, installs electric fencing around coops, pens and orchards, and loans temporary electric fence kits and scare devices. It says it helps find the right tools at no cost and helps cover some project costs. Its Southwest Montana contact is Julie Golla, at [email protected]. FWP also says it can help design and install electric fences and that partial cost reimbursement programs exist.
Ranch properties with livestock have one more local resource. The Madison Valley Ranchlands Group runs a carcass pickup program and the Norris Carcass Composting Site, mainly serving the east side of Madison County, and says ranchers and individuals can haul animals to the site themselves. The program details on its public page date from 2020 and 2021, so contact MVRG directly to confirm how it runs this season.
Then there is the phone. Jacobsen's request in the KBZK report was simple: "If you do see a bear that's happened to get into something that it's not supposed to? Give us a call early. The sooner we know about it, the more tools and options we have to deal with that conflict and that bear without having to put it down". The FWP Region 3 office in Bozeman is at 406-577-7900 and [email protected]. With relocations already above average in 2026, an early call gives the agency more ways to handle a bear before relocation or euthanasia is the only option left.
This post is general information, not legal advice. For what your lot's covenants and association rules require, check with the Sun West Ranch owners' association.
Owners who need help with questions about their Sun West property this season can reach out to Dawn Myrvik, a neighbor who has spent more than two decades in the Madison Valley.
