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Charlie Russell - UPDATE May 8, 2018

Yesterday, May 7, bears and bear lovers lost Charlie Russell (76), my friend of many years. We learned from each other. We both learned directly from bears. He lived with bears. He fought for bears. Lynn Rogers and Charlie Russell - photo by Jackie RunionsThere was nothing about bears we disagreed about. Charlie was one of the few people in the world who spent enough time with bears to really know them. It was always uplifting to talk with him or be with him. I remember the great time with him in June 2013 in the woods here with Lily and the great talk he gave at Vermilion Community College that evening. I remember how he flew to Minneapolis on his own dime to defend me in the DNR hearing of 2014. We’ve talked several times since, and I’d been wanting to call him lately when I heard the news today. A loss.

Charlie Russell and Lynn Rogers with Lily 2013Charlie captured our get together with bears of 2013 in this blurb http://charlierussellbears.com/Lynn_Rodgers.html#ArticlePlace

A 1½ hour documentary of Charlie with bears is here http://www.cutv.ws/documentary/watch-online/play/6781/The-Edge-of-Eden--Living-with--Grizzlies

Writer Sky England captured some of Charlie’s thoughts and included some nice pictures of Charlie with bears a couple years ago in this picture article https://crowfootmedia.com/2016/03/26/three-things-ive-learned-with-charlie-russell/

Here is a 2017 interview with him with pictures https://globalnews.ca/news/4194925/alberta-naturalist-charlie-russell-dies-at-76/

I’m looking for more pictures of our times together.

Thank you for all you do.

Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center


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