It was March of 2016… Early one morning, driving into Yellowstone Park on a wildlife watching tour, Evan Stout got the radio call from a coworker: “Come to Blacktail, now.” Heart-racing, he did just that, reiterating to his wildlife watching tour clients that an epic sighting would likely be waiting for them just minutes up the road. As they rounded the corner and the ponds came into view, he saw it — a large grizzly, pulling a bison carcass from the water, likely its first large meal of the year. Little did Evan know, it would be the first of many days he’d spend over years watching the male bear, known to biologists and enthusiastic onlookers alike, as “769.” As Evan’s role in Gardiner, Montana developed from tour operator to heading the community’s bear safe program, so did the story of 769. Once a 600-pound symbol of the unfettered wild of Yellowstone’s northern range, the bear’s descent into a life dependent on human-derived food sources led to his lethal removal from the landscape in July of 2024—a failure on behalf of the entire community. To Evan, the solution is simple: bearproof communities from the ground up, and keep bears out of trouble. His goal to bearproof Gardiner and expand bear safe programs from Cooke City to Missoula, rests on building collective support and funding efforts on the ground. Gardiner’s bear-safe program has gained international recognition in recent years for its successes and failures, and straightforward, boots-on-the-ground approach.
In-production, intended release early 2027.
Directed by Kyle Dudgeon.
