Today bears have a growing people-problem: their "backyards" are full of humans and people-provided food is everywhere. Discover practical solutions and real-world examples of how to prevent conflicts at home and at play so we can do a better job of sharing space with these intelligent, adaptable animals. CONTENTS- Understanding Bears and Bear Behavior- Bear-Proofing Your Home- Being Bear-Smart in the Outdoors- Attractant Management: Garbage, Bird Feeders, Fruit Trees, Beehives, Chicken Coops, Gardens, and more - Creating Bear-Smart Communities- Preventing Conflicts - Responding to Encounters and Attacks- A Bear Manager's World- Case Studies from the U.S. & Canada- North American Bear Populations, Extensive ResourcesFor homeowners, communities, wildlife managers, educators, and anyone who spends time in the great outdoors.
Beausoleil, Rich: - Rich Beausoleil has been conducting bear research since 1997 and has worked in Louisiana, Tennessee, New Mexico and in Washington, where he has been the statewide bear and cougar specialist for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife since 2002. He helped establish and was the original Chair of the Management Committee for the International Association for Bear Research and Management (IBA), is the co-chair of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) first North American Bear Expert Team, and a member of the IUCN's Human-Bear Conflicts Expert Team. Rich is also a frequent contributor to professional publications and journals, and has authored several agency manuals on responding to human-carnivore conflicts; his efforts contributed to the state of Washington passing an anti-feeding regulation.Rich co-founded Washington's Karelian Bear Dog program in 2003. The handlers use the highly trained dogs to help resolve conflicts between people and bears in non-lethal ways. He's a frequent speaker at both professional conferences and community events, although he freely admits that understanding bears is often much easier than unraveling the mysteries of human behavior. He holds degrees in wildlife biology, a BS from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and a Master's Degree from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.
Masterson, Linda: - Author and researcher Linda Masterson has been motivating people to peacefully coexist with bears since she joined the Colorado Division of Wildlife's Bear Aware team in 2001. Living with Bears Handbook, first published in 2005, completely revised in 2016 and updated in 2021, has become the bear resource and reference book of choice for wildlife professionals, parks, forests, communities and people everywhere trying to do a better job of getting along with their furry neighbors. Linda is a member of the International Association for Bear Research and Management (IBA). She's been a featured presenter and member of the organizing committee for the Human-Bear Conflicts Workshops and works with bear biologists and state wildlife agencies on the BearWise program, which is focused on preventing human-bear conflicts.Linda loves the outdoors and has explored hundreds of parks and forests in the U.S. and Canada. She's a partner in marketing and communications firm Masterson & Phillips and has traded mountain living for Florida's southern Gulf Coast. Her award-winning work has appeared in the New York Times Sunday magazine, Animal Kingdom, National Wildlife's Ranger Rick magazine, New Pioneer, Log Home Living and many others.
