Flathead Bear Aware

Hill and I had a pretty busy day yesterday. We headed out to the Whitefish Middle School for a program sponsored by the Glacier National Park Fund. Flathead Bear Aware presented "people helping people co-exist with bears", a program dedicated to bears. It really was an amazing day. We heard Carrie Hunt, the director of Wind River Bear Institute give a presentations on methods used in human-bear conflicts including using Karelian Bear dogs to assist in conditioning bears to not return to a certain area.

Gary Moses, Supervisory Ranger for Glacier National Park for over 17 years, did a fantastic presentation on hiking in bear country, how to avoid encounters, what to do incase of an encounter, what actions to take if you get attacked. He also covered grizzly bear management in the Park.

Joe Wiegan, Wildlife Resource Specialist for Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks spoke about the Living with Wildlife Grant Program. Joe’s work is in assisting communities in dealing with wildlife issues in a proactive manner. From bears in the birdfeeders to elk in the haystacks, his motto is there is always a better way for humans to manage their own activities that will in-turn benefit both landowner and wildlife.

Dr. Chuck Jonkel, President of the Great Bear Foundation in Missoula, a conservation organization dedicated to the conservation of all 8 bear species in the world and their habitat. He is a bear biologist with over 40 years of experience and one of the pioneers of bear biology. His professional career includes studies of the polar bears for the Canadian Wildlife Service, The Borders Grizzly Bear Project on the eastern front of the Rockies, and research on the North American Black Bear.

It was a great day and the information provided is priceless for anyone living or recreating in or around bear country. We will definitely let you know when the next Bear Aware will be.

We will also be speaking more with Bill Lavelle from Bear Aware Flathead and keep you posted on upcoming events in the area.



...and don't forget, Glacier Adventure is the source for all of your Glacier National Park and Flathead Valley information.






Be sure to carry bear spray!!

see you on the trail.






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