AMERICAN FORK CANYON, Utah — One food-conditioned black bear that learned to raid coolers and dumpsters shut down the popular Granite Flat Campground for five days last summer, a costly reminder to park operators that an unsecured trash lid can upend operations overnight. The 5-year-old male was euthanized July 30, 2024, after repeated close encounters with campers, according to state wildlife officials.
Granite Flat closed July 23 and did not reopen until July 28, 2024, forcing refunds, relocation of guests and lost store sales. Although the site has remained open through mid-2025 without further incidents, the episode still resonates with campground and RV-park managers across the West who face the dual challenge of guest safety and revenue protection.
The saga began July 18, 2024, when a collared bear was first reported roaming American Fork Canyon, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, or DWR, said in the same report. Five days later, the U.S. Forest Service’s Pleasant Grove Ranger District ordered Granite Flat’s precautionary shutdown after multiple sightings of the animal, a move confirmed by a notice in the American Fork Citizen.
While wildlife officers set culvert traps, a separate closure on July 24 affected Soapstone Campground in the Heber-Kamas Ranger District, and on July 26 the Forest Service also blocked the Deer Creek Trailhead and its parking lot, according to KPCW reports.
The strategy paid off July 27, when the bear walked into a live trap at nearby Timpooneke Campground. Granite Flat reopened the next day after officials deemed the immediate threat had passed, KPCW said.
DWR staff ultimately chose lethal removal July 30 because the animal had lost its natural fear of humans and even bluff-charged officers, a violation of the agency’s safety threshold. Relocation is considered first, but euthanasia becomes mandatory once a bear is determined to be food-conditioned and poses a continuing risk, the agency told KSL-TV.
Preventing that level of habituation is far cheaper than recovering from it. Operators can adopt seven proven, low-cost steps: install certified bear-resistant dumpsters and lock them after each pickup; add storage lockers or hanging cables at primitive sites; train seasonal staff to log early warning signs such as daytime bear sightings and claw marks; post multilingual signs with clear icons.
Embedding a 30-second bear-aware video in the reservation portal and sending a day-of-arrival text reminder, conducting weekly cleanliness audits tied to host bonuses, and keeping a direct wildlife-agency contact for rapid consultation can also make a difference.
During the July 23-28 closure, Granite Flat forfeited five full nights of campsite fees, retail revenue and labor hours spent cancelling or shifting reservations. A written crisis-communication and revenue-protection plan can blunt those losses. Key elements include a wildlife-closure standard operating procedure that spells out who contacts guests and media; templated email, text and social posts that deploy within minutes; automatic rebooking or gift-card options to keep revenue in-house; a pop-up information hub where displaced campers can regroup; reservation-system links to sister properties; a short list of vendors for temporary fencing or restrooms; and a 48-hour debrief to update protocols and support insurance claims.
Meanwhile, Soapstone Campground remained shut as of July 29, 2024, and DWR officers were also tracking a second bear frequenting campgrounds in the Kamas area, according to the KPCW and KSL coverage.
Granite Flat has logged no additional closures through late July 2025, but DWR continues to urge visitors to keep food locked away, maintain clean cook sites and report any sightings immediately.
With peak season underway, the Granite Flat episode offers a clear blueprint: disciplined food management and a practiced crisis plan can keep both guests and wildlife out of harm’s way.