SIBBG at a glance
- Covers
- Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon, Inyo NF
- Maintains
- An allowed container list
- Tests against
- Black bears
Why the Sierra needed its own group
The Sierra has a specific problem: decades of habituated black bears that learned campgrounds and trailhead parking lots are food. Managing that needed the agencies who share the range to agree, so the National Park Service units, the Forest Service and California state agencies coordinate through SIBBG.
The container list
The most visible output for hikers is the container list. SIBBG maintains an allowed list of food storage containers, and it's the list that matters if you're hiking in Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon, or Inyo National Forest, including the Mount Whitney and John Muir Trail corridors where canisters are required.
Why it differs from the IGBC list
It's a different list from IGBC's, which is the point worth internalising. IGBC tests against grizzlies and covers a wide product range; SIBBG focuses on black bear country in the Sierra. A container can appear on one and not the other. If your trip is in the Sierra, the SIBBG list and the specific park's own page are the authorities to check, and both can change between seasons.
What this means when you're choosing
- Your exact model on the SIBBG allowed list, not just the brand
- That you are checking SIBBG rather than IGBC for a Sierra trip
- Any local addendum for the specific park or forest
The common mistake
Bringing an IGBC-certified container to the Sierra without checking
The two lists are not the same and neither is a superset of the other. IGBC tests against grizzlies; SIBBG tests against the specific habituated black bears in the Sierra. A canister accepted in Montana can be refused at a Yosemite trailhead.
Common questions
Which canisters are allowed in Yosemite and the John Muir Trail?
The ones on the current SIBBG allowed list, which the parks link from their own wilderness pages. It changes, so check it when you plan rather than relying on what was allowed last season.
Is the SIBBG list the same as the IGBC list?
No. They're separate programmes with different scopes, and a container approved under one isn't automatically accepted under the other. For Sierra trips, SIBBG and the park's own page are what count.
Where this is defined
- Food storage and bears in Yosemite, National Park Service
- Certified bear-resistant products list, Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee