>> Interest grows Last year, as summer began wind- ing down into fall, I began noticing a lot of interest in grizzly bears, pri- marily on the east side of the Rockies where populations have rebounded. Much like the discussion surround- ing wolves, the discussions regarding grizzly bears are often passionate. I was interested to know more. At one point in my life, I worked for sev- eral years as a technician on Stur- geon projects in our region. I have always loved understanding how things worked, especially the many ways in which nature works, which we do not fully understand. As fall descended into winter, I be- gan reading more and more about grizzly bears and their current pro- tected status. Then I started making phone calls. Throughout the winter I called multiple wildlife agencies to ask for further information and to the possi- bility of joining some field work. This was not easily due to the often-con- tentious nature about grizzly bears. While I was often shut down, I usually received suggestions on who I could contact that may be able to help. This went on for some time until I finally reached Wayne Kas - worm, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Bear Recovery Manager. Wayne was able to answer many of the questions I had and supplied me with many great stories about field work he has conducted in his long ca- reer working with bears. At the end of the conversation, I built up the courage to ask if I could participate in field work during in the upcom - ing season, specifically in the Sel - kirk and Cabinet Mountains where I was very familiar. Wayne agreed to let me join his DNA sampling crew in the early summer.
Bear attractants are poured onto sticks to draw in bears.
Photo provided by Jason Wilmoth
>> Searching for grizzlies Summer arrived and the time for field work had come. After weeks of emails, I was on my way north to the Pack River to meet up with Jake Ow- ens. I would be joining his DNA sam- pling crew for the day. We met at the bottom of the Pack River Road and discussed the proj- ect goals. We would travel far up into the Selkirk crest, hiking into lo- cations where barbed wire had been wrapped around trees that had pre- viously been found with bear hair on
them. These “rubs” are how bears communicate with other bears that they are in the area. At one location, we would hike into a sampling site called a “cor- ral,” where a special mixture of pig’s blood, fish and other awful ingredi - ents is poured onto a pile of sticks, creating a pungent smell that draws in bears. The corral’s perimeter is ringed with barbed wire, and game cameras are placed to capture imag- ines of the bears visiting the site. This type of work is the basis for es- tablishing bear populations in areas.
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