The day started early with an email to Lynn from MN DNR Commissioner Tom Landwehr to arrange a phone call. We were optimistic. We hoped for good news. Then, before the call came, we received another email from Landwehr with an attached official letter stating that he would not protect radio-collared bears. We don’t understand the DNR’s reasoning.
We had been encouraged earlier to see a quote from Landwehr saying, “… we have to understand how people want to use natural resources, how that’s going to affect natural resources and how we can balance between those two. So, responsiveness means adjusting our programs to fit the needs of what people want.” We were encouraged because bears are a natural resource and the public wants protection for the radio-collared bears. An opinion poll in the Duluth News Tribune ran 9 to 1 in favor of protection http://www.northlandoutdoors.com/event/article/id/193217/publisher_ID/40/ .
We thought Landwehr would consider the desires of Ely residents since that is the area where the radio-collared bears live. The Ely City Council had voted unanimously in favor of protection, and 68 out of 70 Ely business owners had signed a petition for protection.
We had sent the commissioner information showing that we study how bears live, not how they die. So we were mystified why he would justify his decision by saying, “hunting is a function of their life cycle in a human-dominated landscape.” Long ago we studied hunter-caused mortality, but studies evolve. We now study behavior and ecology, and there is little we can learn about that from a dead bear.
The decision did not take into account that we can’t just take a collar off a dead bear, put it on another bear, and continue on. Short-term data don’t cut it in studies that require long-term data, and replacing a bear that has learned to accept us takes years.
We couldn’t understand why deer hunters are asked to see a 3-inch antler before they shoot but it is too much to ask hunters to spare bears with an array of gawdy ribbons.
Where do we go next? Commissioner Landwehr suggested we have protection debated in the legislature. Representative Phyllis Kahn is willing to author a bill in the house. There is no one we know in the senate. Chances of passage are slim without DNR support unless there is a huge public outcry. Will the silent public majority speak out? Are there enough Lily fans to make a difference? We suggest sending your letters to the media to see if they can generate support. We suggest sending them to our local Representative David Dill, whose support is critical. We suggest sending them to Representative Phyllis Kahn so she can gauge what is happening. Their addresses are in the Feb 25 update at http://www.bearstudy.org/website/research/daily-updates/1202-protection-.html. We suggest sending letters to Representative Denny McNamara, and Senator Bill Ingebrigtsen who are the chairs of their respective Environment and Natural Resources Committees in the House and Senate. Their addresses are:
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Saint Paul, MN 55155
651-296-3135
Saint Paul, MN 55155-1606
651-297-8063
On a bright note, Commissioner Landwehr wrote that he will work to “expand strategic communications to build more voluntary support from hunters” in advance of next bear season. This could help a lot, as it did when the DNR sent letters to every hunter in the study area in 2009—a year when no radio-collared bears were shot.
In the den, Lily and family continue to show us behavior we didn’t expect. In the video last night, yearling Hope grunts to a cub like we have only heard mothers do. Today was pretty quiet in the den. A brief video of this evenings activity is posted at http://ww
Today, when Lynn was wondering what to do next (between reporters’ calls), he stood on the deck with a handful of sunflower seeds. A flock of pine siskins appeared. Lynn hadn’t offered them seeds from his hand since last winter. Three immediately landed on his hand as if they’d been doing it every day. Last winter, it took them a long time to trust. These must have remembered. It was the highlight of an otherwise disappointing day.
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center