June keeps us guessing
September 14, 2010 – 9:56 PM CDT
With Lily and Hope still active, we thought June was all tucked in for the winter. Wrong. After spending a couple days in and around a nice rock den, she traveled an unbelievable 4.7 miles to another spot, spent a couple days and nights there, and early this morning traveled 2.1 miles to another rock den. She seemed in a hurry to get there, moving at least 1.4 miles an hour. The den didn’t look very comfortable to us. The entrance is 6-7 feet straight down to a bottom covered with lumpy rocks (photos). But it’s in her park, although just barely. We wondered if she would stay there when she knows better places, at least in our eyes. About 8:45 this evening she left it. What she will do next is anybody’s guess. We’re anxious to learn tomorrow what she does overnight tonight.
Thank you for your work to get protection for the radio-collared bears. The time has come. We absolutely need protection. We very much hope that Commissioner Holsten will give protection through a commissioner’s order and not force us to go through the legislative process. We will likely email as well as snail mail a detailed request to him tomorrow. Meanwhile, legislators are emailing and calling to express their willingness to introduce legislation. We are thankful for that.
You’ve probably seen Jim Braaten’s blog. If all hunters were like him, we wouldn’t need legislation. Perez Hilton has picked up the thread in his blog at http://teddyhilton.com/2010-09-13-research_bear_killed_in_minnesota_causes_hunting_community_uproar , quoting Jim Braaten and David Garshelis. All helpful.
Sarah inspired recent cartoons in both major papers. The Duluth News Tribune has a cartoon with a bear head mounted on the wall with a radio-collar and ribbons. The man’s wife looks angry. The man is saying, “Oh, I didn’t notice.” We heard that the Minneapolis Star Tribune had a cartoon of a man sitting drinking on a bear rug with a radio-collar on it.
We have also seen opposing views from people who express a number of misconceptions. You all know better, but one misconception is worth refuting. We get no tax dollars. Early in the planning stages, we received $50,000 planning money from Iron Range Resources, which I don’t believe is tax dollars. Maybe it is. If so, that’s all we’ve gotten. The rest is all private loans and donations plus admissions fees and retail profits. As you know, many of the donations and a lot of the retail profits are from you. Thank you again.
More tomorrow.
Thank you for all you are doing. Once again, you are going to make a difference. The need for protection for these radio-collared bears is long overdue.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center