Improper Techniques Invalidate Bear Research

Several accusations have been made, that Dr. Lynn Rogers bear reseacrh is skewed, and therefore it is invalid. These accusations are being made because some people believe Dr.Rogers wants his bears protected from hunting, and therefore the research would not include the mortality rate of the bears; invalidating the study.

This is assumption is completely wrong. As a white-tailed deer researcher for more than10 years, and a turkey, waterfowl, elk researcher, and now a bear researcher for 3 years, I can unequivocally say that wildlife research projects do not have to include the mortality rates of the animals, to make them valid.

During my 14 years of research I have studied only the scraping activity of white-tailed deer, only the breeding dates of white-tailed deer in relation to the moon, only the vocalizations of elk and what they are used for, only the hourly, daily, weekly, monthly and seasonal gobbling activity of turkeys. I did not consider or include, the mortality rates of the animals- in any of those research projects, because it was not relevant to the study.

Dr. Rogers current research project is designed to study the hourly, weekly, monthly and seasonal activity of the members(particularly the females) of a related family of bears, and how they interact with each other during their lives. He is not interested in how or why they die. The study is designed to study the lives of the bears. It therefore is not invalid, and it is in fact extremely interesting and informative. It has made thousands of people, around the world, aware of the daily lives of bears, and the social interactions between them - throughout their lives.

Without his studies, using remote web cams, linked to the internet, and made available free, online, to anyone who is interested. We (and that includes bear researchers) would not know that a young cub could be left by its mother, and survive on its own, in spite of the fact that it could have been killed by any number of several species of animal predators, or by humans. And we would not know that the mother would take the cub back several months later, and then raise it with a newborn cub. This type of behavior has never been seen before, non-the-less noted.

If we add the fact that these few radio collared bears, have been watched by thousands of people, including hundreds of school children, who have become interested not only in bears, but in nature and conservation, we realize that Dr. Rogers research has done a great service to further our knowledge of bears, not to mention the invaluable information it has provided bear managers, who can apply what they learn through his studies, in their bear management efforts - worldwide.

There is also the impact that the bears ,and Dr. Rogers’ studies, in Minnesota, have had on tourism in Minnesota, Ely and the surrounding areas of the north woods. Tourism that is much needed for the economy of the State of Minnesota, the city of Ely, and the surrounding areas, in the form of dollars spent for gas, lodging, food, fishing, wildlife viewing, photography related sales, and memorabilia, much of which is the lifeblood of the citizens and the towns of northern Minnesota.

I urge the members of the Minnesota Legislature, and the Commissioner of the Minnesota DNR, to rethink their position, and extend protection from hunting to all of the radio collared research bears in Minneasota. With over 20,000 bears in the Sate, the protection of 20-30 bears will not negatively impact bear hunters in th estate.

If the Legislators and the Commissioner wish to see how people around the word feel about these bears, they can log on to the Facebook page I created, entitled "Protect Minnesota's Research Bears". It has generated 700 hits since about 5 PM last evening, and 99 heartfelt comments, from Minnesota hunters (none-the-less), and people as far away as the UK, Germany and Australia. Some of those people have expressed a wish to come to Minnesota, to see the bears, and meet Dr. Rogers.

To view that page log on to this link: http://www.facebook.com/search.php?q=protection%20ofresearch%20bears%20&init=quick&tas=0.3065089543556068&ref=ts#!/pages/Protect-Minnesotas-Research-Bears/160331730697185

Or simply Google "Protect Minnesota's Research Bears". The page has received enough traffic, that it is already recognized as one of the top topics for Minnesota.

I ask all of those who read this to log onto that page, and leave your name, state or country, and a comment about how the bears, and Dr. Rogers' research, has impacted your lives. Maybe, just maybe, the Legislators and the Commissioner will see the importance of the research and the bears, to the state of Minnesota.

Urge all of your friends to log on too. And contact your local legislator, and e-mail the DNR commissioner.

Here is list of a few people who should be contacted.

Sen.tom.bakk@senate.mn

Representative David Dill
273 State Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Saint Paul, Minnesota 55155
651-296-2190 or 800-339-0466
rep.david.dill@house.mn

Representative Denny McNamara
375 State Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Saint Paul, Minnesota 55155
651-296-3135
rep.denny.mcnamara@house.mn

Representative Phyllis Kahn
353 State Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Saint Paul, Minnesota 55155
651-296-4257
rep.phyllis.kahn@house.mn

Commissioner Tom Landwehr
Minnesota DNR
500 Lafayette Road
Saint Paul, Minnesota 55155
651-259-5555
Commissioner.dnr@state.mn.us

Governor Mark Dayton
Office of the Governor
130 State Capitol
75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Saint Paul, Minnesota 55155
651-201-3400
Fax: 651-797-1850

Senator Bill Ingebrigtsen
75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Capitol Building, Room 303
St. Paul, MN 55155-1606
651.297.8063
sen.bill.ingebrigtsen@senate.mn

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