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The Black Bear Institute

The black bear is a complex animal. The black bear population is complex. The bear is a potential resource, far greater than imagined as simply an animal or an animal population. Working with that concept of a complex, potential resource within the context of Lasting Forests is the work of The Black Bear Institute.

There is great interest in it as a game animal, a tourist attraction, a livestock killer, a bee hive and conifer pest, and an interesting component of the natural ecosystem. They, like the grizzly, work with young for several years. In this is an important message for families and youth needing care and instruction for many years in the future society. Much is known but the list of questions is longer than the answers. The Black Bear Institute is formed to gather knowledge, synthesize it, create powerful models, use the results in all of the enterprises for tourism, recreation protection, reducing costs and damage, and drawing a different clientele to the area for many purposes. The bear is an important part of the present system. It is un-used. It is seen as an un-exploited resource that can be preserved, stabilized, and net gains made by its presence.

The Black Bear Institute will likely do most of the following...
· Conduct hunts (local, nationally, internationally
· Process hides, flesh, bones, and body parts
· Conduct tooth aging
· Do food habits analyses (see the Unified Laboratory)
· Sponsor excellent taxidermy
· Conduct wildlife law enforcement research
· Prevent bear-related accidents and events
· Develop a GIS system relating to all aspects of the ecology and use of the bear
· Create a world-class population model of the bear and its benefit stream
· Sponsor alternatives to bear parts in Asian medicine
· Conduct prescribed burns for bear habitat production
· Develop trails (with Trails group) into bear country
· Conduct tours into bear country
· Conduct bear den tours
· Encourage photography, provide photo blinds
· Conduct a black bear photo contest with prize money
. Sponsor wood carving contest (bear or bear-related)
· Sell quality bear related art work
· Provide memberships with newsletter and services
· Hold periodic conferences on the black bear
· Present a regional and national lecture series
· Conduct contract research
· Provide a variety of consulting services
· Market a bear related educational game (see Gamma)
· Publish books on a variety of bear subjects (from folk tales to technical )
· Conduct horseback rides into ancient forests
· Sponsor ecotourism, both locally and internationally (see International and Tours) with participants seeking to see all of the bears of the world, perhaps photograph them
· Sponsor a membership class in which a black bear hunter progresses through 10 levels of increasingly rigorous standards and challenges
· Sell slide shows and photographs of bear and related systems
· Conduct a summer course for university students on bear systems (showing the Lasting Forests Concept by means of the black bear)
· Selling select software useful in the wildlands of the black bear.

There are now many biologists that have studied bear. Their work is not well integrated. Specialists have developed. We propose a series of in-depth interviews.. We propose to recruit a superior biologist/ecologist that is systems oriented and to develop a knowledge-based program and one to do all of the above things, unified. No simple limits can be set but a new, developing enterprise is expected to develop into a full time operation with the products, services, and opportunities of the Black Bear Institute.

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This Web site is maintained by R. H. Giles, Jr.
Last revision February 12, 2001.