"bear paws" fundraiser at Kroegers

Shop at Kroegers Ace Hardware at Town Plaza and buy a $1 or $5 "Bear Paw" to support Bear Smart Durango! Customers (county residents only) buying a $5 paw are entered in a drawing to win a FREE bear-resistant residential trash container, courtesy of the great folks at Phoenix Recycling! Drawing to be held soon - so don't miss out! Photo from 2010.

2011 elementary school classroom program

Bear Smart Durango has contracted Katie Maloney to serve as Educational Program Coordinator for “I’m a Bear Smart Kid!” elementary school classroom programs, starting this fall school season.

This free, educational, hands-on program on bear ecology and being Bear Smart is available to area 3rd thru 5th grade classrooms.

Katie has worked in environmental education throughout Colorado, for organizations such as Durango Nature Studies and the Environmental Learning Center in Fort Collins, CO.

For more information or to schedule a 50-minute classroom presentation:

Katie Maloney

Bear Smart Durango

Educational Program Coordinator

970-779-0277

bearsmart.education@gmail.com

meet here for Bear Hike on TH. July 7

Bear Hike participants are asked to meet TH, July 7 at 5:45PM at the gravel parking lot entrance of Perins Peak SWA at the intersection of Lightner Creek Rd and Dry Fork Rd (orange marker on map). Look for the Bear Smart truck and a black bear plywood cutout.

Bears in trash: June 2011

GPS mapping of reports of bears in trash within city limits for the month of June 2011. (Click on photos for larger views).

Bear Smart Durango Seeks Educators

Bear Smart Durango is seeking applicants for a part-time, seasonal, paid education specialist who can provide classroom lessons on black bears and living with wildlife to elementary school students. This position will begin at the start of the fall school year; volunteer opportunities are available for the summer as well.

For more information please contact Bryan Peterson at (970) 749-4262 or e-mail bp@frontier.net.

Note: photos courtesy of Bow Valley WildSmart, Canmore, Alberta, CAN.

Bear Botany Walk in Perins!

Bear Smart Durango is thrilled to team up with Eve Gilmore and the San Juan Four Corners Native Plant Society for a Bear Botany walk in Perins Peak SWA this Thursday, June 16 from 7-8PM. The walk is easy and attendees should leave with a better understanding of spring plants, black bears and the native foods they rely on to survive in the wild.

Attendees should meet by 6:30PM at the SE corner of Albertson's parking lot (map below) - for carpooling to the trailhead. Long pants are highly recommended.

This is a FREE event. Contact Bryan at Bear Smart at 970-749-4262 or bp@frontier.net for more information.

Website for "Living with Bears"

PixyJack Press has a new website for the book, Living with Bears: A Practical Guide to Bear Country, by author

Linda Masterson.

Living with Bears is the ultimate hands-on guide to living responsibly and playing safely anywhere bears call home. It's a book that's fun to read, easy to reference, and packed with practical information, useful tips, and advice from bear experts all over the continent.

"We recommend Living with Bears to all our property owners, and we sell it in the office. It makes it much easier to get people to understand what they need to do to prevent bear problems." — Jim Tiffin, Crystal Lakes Homeowner's Association, Colorado.

There's even a chapter in the book about Bear Smart Durango!

We have a number of the books available for sale and if you'd like a copy, or copies, let us know.