Herbie - Jan 15, 2013Some days we just get bogged down. Today, we relied on the Den Watchers to record what’s happening in the dens. A Frontier Communications problem is preventing their customers in the Ely area from accessing bear.org and bearstudy.org. Much of the day was lost in attempts to resolve the issue. Not even the phone company could figure out the problem.
Fern - Jan 15, 2013It was another media day, which would have been a good opportunity for public education except that attention was diverted from Lily and the cubs to issues that have no place in a public forum. Mischief-makers from a rogue Facebook page dedicated to ending our research, obtained a copy of a letter to us from the DNR and distributed it to the media. Obviously, we’ll have a lot to say, but we’d rather say it to the right people. We’d rather not back the DNR into a corner by debating their issues in the media. It is unfortunate that the DNR and we were put in this position.
A pile of bears in Jewel's den - Jan 15, 2013We know we have solid support from many key officials and true Lily Fans. We know our research can stand up to scrutiny, as it did the last time (2008) we went through this. A disappointment is that this unnecessary controversy temporarily distracts us from the Hope Learning Center and the writing we need to do. We look forward to getting back on track soon.
Two news articles about the controversy are at http://tinyurl.com/researcher-under-fire and at http://tinyurl.com/DNR-concerned.
Thankfully a staff member has a cable modem so we can post this update from her house. And we understand she's making homemade pizza for the occasion—such a deal!
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center