Managing interactions between humans and American black bears (Ursus americanus) has evolved from public feeding and viewing of garbage-habituated bears to nationwide bear education campaigns focused on removing food attractants. We conducted a self-administered survey to assess how wildlife agencies respond to human–bear conflict and identified techniques currently used to manage conflicts throughout US, Canada, and Mexico. Forty-eight agencies responded to the survey and answered questions about bear populations, levels of complaints, types of interactions, and agency responses. Most (75%) agencies surveyed relocated problem bears, but only 15% believed relocation was an effective tool. Half (50%) of the agencies always marked problem bears that were captured and released; 50% both monitored the results of relocated bears and maintained a database. Most (69%) agencies ranked garbage/food attractants the most common type of human–bear conflict. Our results suggest that management responses to human–black bear conflict can be strengthened by adopting protocols for marking, monitoring, and maintaining a database for all bears captured in association with conflict incidents; moving from reactive to proactive approaches for garbage management; and developing comprehensive bear education programs that strive to make education a more dynamic and interactive process. Despite the unique circumstances of local politics and laws, all agencies need to strive to develop systems to document and evaluate the effectiveness of their actions to prevent and manage conflict. By monitoring actions and results, agencies can design improvements and move forward in an adaptive management framework.