The last few days have been a joy with this Black Bear Field Course group. I hate to see the courses come to an end for the year. Each course is filled with a diversity of people with a common bond that brings us together and has brought so many thousands together as Lily Fans. 
MallardIt is a privilege to meet such people and feel the camaraderie that the bears have brought and see people responding to bears in ways they never could have thought. One of the reasons I switched from lecture tours to these courses is because through the courses I could be so much more effective in changing minds and letting the bears themselves make a difference for bears. No words can do what a bear can do to create lifelong memories and change lives. Life-changing is the most common word I hear about their experiences.
Lily and Hope's denIn thinking about what Lily and Hope did for bears worldwide, perhaps the most appropriate picture to include is a picture of where Hope was born. I can do that now because I don’t believe Lily or any other bear will ever use that den now that part of the roof has collapsed with age and it is is surrounded by unmovable rocks that prevent expansion. That’s likely the reason that Lily tried to dig two other dens before settling for this one to spend the winter and give birth to Hope. She ran into unmovable rocks in each of the other two she tried to dig before deciding to return to this den.
MallardsWhile Lily and Hope were in the den, we never revealed how close it was to the lakeshore. The rocks in the picture were thrown out of that den. The new owner of the land does not permit visits on land, fearing liability issues; but we can drive the boat up to the shore so participants can stand on the bow and see into the den. It is that close to shore.
On the boat ride there recently, we saw the ducks that are in the pictures. The young ones no longer have any fuzz. Some are wild and some are trusting. The pictures show some of each.
A good summer! I hope September is the same.
Thank you for all you do.
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center