Several campgrounds located in Grand Teton National Park now have additional bear-proof food storage boxes.
The 52 recently installed boxes were funded by park concessionaires and aid from the Grand Teton National Park Foundation. They have been installed in campgrounds at the Flagg Ranch, Lizard Creek, Colter Bay and Signal Mountain.
Including the new additions, 208 boxes have been installed at campgrounds and picnic areas located throughout the park, officials tell NationalParksTraveler.com. The park's goal is to eventually reach 1,000.
The boxes cost $1,100 each and are easier for campers to use than bear poles or wires which hoist food and cooking items up off the ground.
Despite the recent box placements, officials say that nearly 75 percent of Grand Teton's front country campsites lack these vital food storage containers.
The park has identified approximately 800 front country sites that are suitable for the placement of bear-resistant food storage boxes.
More than 3.5 million visitors come to Grand Teton each year, and many of them picnic or stay overnight at one of the park's 1,230 campsites. Officials say that violations of the park's food storage regulations happen every day, making the possibility of bears becoming "human food-conditioned" greater.