Jewel Jim Stroner caught up with Jewel today and changed her GPS batteries for perhaps the last time this year. She should head for a den soon and we’re glad for that.
It’s difficult to shake the sadness and emptiness over the loss of June, Dot, and the wounding of Aster. The trail cam picture of the orphans Cole and Ember sharing food with their wounded older sister Aster brought it home to us yet again. June was of critical importance to the study and the Bear Center in many ways. So is Lily.
We considered both Dot and June to be research partners. We worked with them and learned from them. They knew us as well or better than we knew them. Their long and valuable histories are irreplaceable. Beyond that, many of the bears we’ve been forced to remove collars from or forego collaring are gone along with their data histories and their places in the social organization we are studying.
When we read in the Timberjay Newspaper that “DNR officials have indicated they are likely to enforce their decision against Rogers regardless of any ruling by an administrative law judge” we wondered what that meant. DNR officials have neither confirmed nor denied that Dot and June were harvested under special removal permits from the DNR. However, DNR officials have made it no secret that they had targeted June in the past, and they had issued a kill order for Dot earlier this year based on mistaken identity. There are many ways the DNR can end our study if they decide to circumvent any ruling by an administrative law judge. There will be more to this story.
Mayor Ross Petersen’s statements in today’s Ely Echo Newspaper were direct and to the point in his column “From the Mayor of Ely.” He wrote, “In an unrelated item, could someone please tell the rest of the world that Ely and its mayor are not the ones harassing Lynn Rogers and shooting his bears. I’m getting hate emails and phone calls from different parts of the world. If this anger should be directed at anyone, it’s the top officials at the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. In my opinion, Commissioner Tom Landwehr and wildlife manager Ed Boggess should both be fired. County Commissioner Mike Forsman and I asked them multiple times, beginning in January, to consider our tourism economy and to keep local elected officials involved when dealing with Dr. Rogers. Their disregard for our communities and elected government has created so much negative press, a million dollars in Explore Minnesota advertising won’t come close to offsetting the damage they have done. I think the Governor needs to explain to us why we are paying huge salaries to Commissioner Landwehr and Director Boggess to waste (millions?) tax dollars and hurt one of our most important industries. They have to go.”
Meanwhile, we fight on—feeling that more and more people are realizing the real story is not the one the DNR is peddling to the media.
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center
All photos taken today unless otherwise noted.