By Bob Clark
Alliance for the Wild Rockies Outreach Director

On May 27th, Great Grizzly Search volunteers met at the Clearwater Crossing trailhead on the North Fork of Fish creek to kick-off the summer 2000 field season with a 3-day excursion into the Great Burn proposed wilderness area, approximately 40 miles west of Missoula, MT. Snow melted out of the high country early this year resulting in swollen, turbulent rivers. Spring wildflowers and lush, green vegetation dominated the landscape.

Dr. Charles Jonkel, of the Great Bear Foundation, was on hand to talk about grizzly bear habitat, food sources, and range. Dr. Jonkel also gave instructions on gathering evidence, identifying bears and their sign. Each volunteer even had the opportunity to emulate a bear (and Dr. Jonkel) by eating ants right from the hill! After the training session volunteers split up into two teams. One team led by AWR outreach director Bob Clark consisted of Sierra Club board member, Jennifer Ferenstein; Wall Street Journal reporter, Jim Carlton; and Jim's father Bob Carlton. Clark's team moved up the North Fork of Fish Creek drainage. The second team, led by GGS volunteer coordinator Jen Nitz and consisting of GGS volunteers Rich Wachs, Briel Johnson, and Perry Wachs, made their way up Straight Creek.

The field teams had two goals: search for evidence of grizzly bear presence; and enjoy the wildness of the northern Bitterroot country. Bear sign was abundant in both drainages but Straight Creek probably provides better security for bears due to the lack of human activity. The North Fork team met a dozen people during the three days including many horse users while the Straight Creek team enjoyed complete solitude.

The North Fork team spotted two bears, of unconfirmed species, through binoculars and spotting scope. They also collected a sample from a large, fresh scat pile found on an avalanche chute. The Straight Creek team brought back four scat samples one of which measured a whopping 3 inches in diameter (black bear scat is rarely over 2 1/4 inches in diameter). The GGS advisory committee will determine whether DNA testing is warranted.

On the third day, the teams rendezvoused back at the trailhead where excitement mounted over the large scat sample that was found and the possibility of being grizzly bear excrement. Volunteers exchanged stories, made notes on maps, took pictures, turned in equipment, sample packets, and observation cards. There was a sense of accomplishment and camaraderie. GGS will be in the field throughout the summer searching for and documenting evidence of grizzly bears in the Salmon-Selway Ecosystem. To help with this exciting campaign contact Jen Nitz or Bob Clark at 406-721-5420.

GGS organizers would like to thank all of the volunteers who generously donated their time and energy to help grizzly bears and their habitat, especially Rich Wachs who skillfully guided several tricky crossings of the North Fork and Straight Creeks.

Next Great Grizzly Search training session:
DATE: June 16, 2000
TIME: 4:00 PM
LOCATION: Missoula Public Library, small public meeting room Missoula, MT.
LEADER: Dr. Charles Jonkel

For the booklet, "Grizzly and Black Bear Observation Cards," please e-mail or send us your mailing address:
PO Box 8983, Missoula, MT 59807

AWR's Grizzly Bear Page