Grizzly bears (Ursus arctos horribilis) were extirpated from central Idaho's Bitterroot Ecosystem (BE) in the United States by the 1940s. Since a failed attempt to reintroduce grizzlies to the BE in the 1990s, individuals have been documented in the region since 2007, indicating potential natural recovery in the future. Moreover, as of 2023, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is reevaluating its past record of decision on BE grizzly bear reintroduction. To proactively inform conservation and management amid potential natural recovery or reintroduction, an exploratory qualitive mixed-methods study, conducted using focus groups and interviews between August and September 2021, assessed (1) BE residents' tolerance toward and perceptions of grizzly bears and their management; and (2) the management institutions BE residents trust to manage grizzlies in accordance with their local values and preferences. Results highlight specific aspects and tentative causes of tolerance and trust expressed by BE residents and 2 emergent phenomena: social injustice and perceived costs (material and nonmaterial). Thematic analysis revealed consistent patterns of (a) BE residents' grizzly tolerance being based on negative attitudes and perceived costs; (b) BE residents' trust in management agencies being related to aspects of trustworthiness that stem from past experiences and subjective knowledge; and that (3) BE residents perceive an inequitable constitutive process that, in turn, promotes intolerance toward grizzly bears. Findings suggest improved engagement with BE communities, clear communication about management intentions, and a more equitable constitutive process, can address issues of tolerance, trust, social injustice, and perceived costs of grizzly bear presence in the BE region.