The other prongs involve the public and those who run campgrounds. DWR staff will continue to educate people about how to avoid attracting bears. They will also encourage the use of bear-proof garbage containers in campgrounds.

"The best way to avoid problems with bears is to not do things that attract bears to you in the first place," said Kevin Bunnell, mammals program coordinator for the DWR.

"When a bear gets into trouble, it's usually because someone has done something that's attracted the bear to them or to someone else."

The DWR is proposing a total of 296 black bear hunting permits for Utah's 2008 spring and fall hunts, which is a 20 percent increase from the 248 permits offered in 2007.

Most of the additional permits would be issued for the northeastern and north-central parts of the state. Those are the areas where most of the encounters between bears and people happened in 2007. They're also the areas where bears caused the most property damage.

The DWR will be holding five public meetings over the next two weeks to present their bear recommendations and gather public opinions.

Those meetings will be:

Dec. 11 — Southern region meeting at 7 p.m. at Beaver High School, 195 E. Center St.

Dec. 12 — Southeastern region meeting at 6:30 p.m. at John Wesley Powell Museum, 1765 E. Main in Green River.

Dec. 13 — Northeastern region meeting at 6:30 p.m. at Uintah Basin Technology College, 1100 E. Lagoon St. in Roosevelt.

Dec. 18 — Central region meeting at 6:30 p.m. at Springville Junior High School, 165 S. 700 East.

Dec. 19 — Northern region meeting at 6 p.m. at Brigham City Community Center, 24 N. 300 West.

For more information about the meetings, call the nearest DWR office or call 801-538-4700.