Donald and DaisyRC showed up with her yearlings Heinrik and Veronica. The sighting of RC alone a couple days ago just meant she was alone at that time and didn’t mean family breakup had occurred.
In the Northwoods Ecology Hall at the Bear Center, workers are carpeting the upper walls for better sound and as a background for pictures of nature highlights.
We’ll know on Monday how things turned out on the bill to ban feeding. We’re hopeful. In addition to the efforts of Lily Fans and legislators who are working behind the scenes, the Mayor of Ely has taken a strong stand in support of Ely and us that includes a City Council Resolution backed by surrounding townships. He talked to Commissioner Landwehr in addition to others. There is a strong group who don’t want the DNR Commissioner messing up the status quo just because he has a vendetta against me. I believe we will win this year and that legislators will be so aware of the DNR motives that any attempt by the DNR to use the legislature as part of the vendetta will be recognized and rejected. Thank you Lily Fans for educating so many legislators.
A followup on the mother and cubs crossing the bridge in Yellowstone is at Black Bears on The Yellowstone River Bridge - The True Story.
Carpeting WallsA big treat today was receiving a copy of a book that has been in the works since at least 1998 when I took a 7-hour walk with the authors as they interviewed me for the chapter on “Black Bears and the Tettegouche Oaks” that I had worked to save. The book is big (617 pages), beautiful, well written, and the most comprehensive work I have seen about the wildlife, ecology, and natural history of this area. It deals with the white pine issue, the oaks, bear behavior, habitat, history, and much more. I spent many hours today going through it (couldn’t put it down) because of its relevance to the Northwoods Ecology Hall. It succinctly brings so many topics together. I was constantly amazed at the depth of the research the authors did. No wonder it took them over 14 years to put it ltogether. We may carry it at the Bear Center.
Thank you for all you do.
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center
All photos taken today unless otherwise noted.