Lynn’s email was up and running by mid-afternoon, so today became a day of catching up the final preparations for Lily and Hope’s den cam. Verizon is firming up as a partner.
Another piece of news, the BBC’s Head of Scheduling saw the 1-hour TV program that was filmed last spring of Lily and Hope, and she loved it! She moved the series of three 1-hour programs to prestigious slots on three consecutive days starting the 3rd of January. That’s little more than 3 weeks away! The series will air on BBC2 in the UK at 9 PM on January 3rd, 4th, and 5th. The name of the series is “The Bear Family & Me,” with “me” being Gordon Buchanan of Scotland. All 3 shows star Lily and Hope and, to some extent, Juliet and her 3 cubs. Let your UK friends know these dates. The bigger splash it makes in the UK, the more likely it will air in the US and make a greater difference for bears. No air date has been set for North America, but our friend Tim Martin is currently here in the US working on it.
Today, we asked Betty Firth, head of the Ely Area Food Shelf, how Lily fans would be recognized for contributing to the Food Shelf. We were happy to hear that all donors are listed in the local newspapers and that people who identify themselves as Lily fans would have their own section in the newspaper. That kind of recognition of Lily fans and the importance of Lily, Hope, and the other radio-collared to this area can only help build support for protection.
It’s official, Lily fans succeeded in voting $20,000 for Ely’s Schools. The link is http://www.care2.com/schoolcontest/contest_updates.html . The article starts right out saying “Fans of Lily the Bear and the North American Bear rallied behind Ely Esy of Ely, Minnesota, and lifted them to the number one spot, winning them $20,000.” We were glad to see the Lily fans recognized for their efforts. Your power for good is becoming known, and is the main reason 68 of the 70 Ely business owners we queried signed in favor of protection for radio-collared bears. If protection becomes a legislative issue, rather than just a DNR issue, we’ll also want to have conservation organizations on board with us, and your good reputation will help that happen. It is amazing how difficult it is to get a small change in the law to protect about a dozen radio-collared bears in one part of the state, but with you working with us, we’ll never stop trying. Momentum is growing. We’ll be surprised if our maximum efforts this year do not result in the change needed for the good of science, education, and the state.
Thank you for all you are doing.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center