Milkweed gone to seed (AKA 'hairy alien')Now that the pregnant bears are in dens and the others have become less and less active as they approach hibernation, writing and reviewing takes center stage.
Along that line, we recently submitted our second paper of the year to the International Bear Association’s peer-reviewed journal Ursus. Earlier, a paper was accepted for publication in the peer-reviewed Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigations. We are currently analyzing data for more papers.
Work continues on the PowerPoint Presentation the Speakers Bureau created. It will be something we all can be proud of.
We are beginning work on exhibits for the new building which we learned today will cost a million dollars for construction alone. We had thought a million dollars would include two hundred thousand to cover exhibits and office equipment, so we and the contractor are looking for ways to cut construction costs. This is a bit of a setback, but construction will begin in a month.
Milkweed gone to seedTomorrow we will do the final editing on the ‘Bear Tales’ book of bear stories by Lily Fans. A few months back, we turned it over to Adventure Publications, Inc. They took charge of the book, cut the number of stories down to 77, and now sent it back for us to edit the introduction they wrote and to edit the bear myths and facts they interspersed. Their title of this $5.95 book is now “Bear Encounters: True Stories to Entertain and Educate.”
They grouped your stories into sections around common myths. The back cover says, “Bear Encounters is a collection of stories told by everyday people—from the one about the black bear at the cabin that was chased away by the 15-pound family dog, to the bear that harmlessly wandered through a Boy Scout tent. These brief—and often funny—encounters capture the true nature of bears, from grizzlies to black bears. Read these stories, and you’ll never see bears the same way again.” They plan to have it available in a month or two. We were a little disappointed that some of the stories were cut; but overall, this little 127-page book by Lily Fans is another thing we can all be proud of.
Thank you for all you do.
—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center