Wildlife Promise » black bears

New Englanders Invade DC to Stay Tar Sands Free

Peter LaFontaine — Wed, 08 May 2013 17:24:31 +0000

I’m from New Hampshire, which (unless you listen to Texans) is the greatest state in the Union — I grew up fishing for perch off the dock at Lake Winnipesaukee, catching frogs in the woods behind my house, and skiing in the White Mountains. Although we have a few cities, NH is mostly defined by its small towns and a pace of life that’s a far cry from Washington, DC, where I live now. Until recently, there wasn’t much overlap between my background and my work fighting dirty fuels like tar sands, but all that changed when the oil industry decided to try to sneak a tar sands pipeline project through NH, Maine and Vermont.

Mt. Wonalancet, NH, not far from the route of the Portland-Montreal Pipeline (photo: Chris Schoenboem)

We’ve talked about the Northeast pipeline quite a bit on this blog, but here’s the basic story: Right now, the 60+ year old Portland-Montreal Pipeline transports regular oil from the coast of Maine up to refineries in Canada. The company (which is majority-owned by Exxon) wants to reverse the flow of this line and change the product it carries — instead of oil, they want to transport over 12 million gallons per day of tar sands, the same poisonous, corrosive stuff that was at the heart of the pipeline disasters in Arkansas last month and in 2010 in Michigan. This plan obviously has people worried, and making matters worse is that the company, which doesn’t have a “formal” proposal yet, seems to believe it has all the federal approval it needs to turn on the pumps.

Fighting back against Big Oil

Fortunately, New Englanders aren’t known to let themselves get trampled on. Local conservation groups, public health experts and many others has been fighting back against Exxon, bringing widespread attention to the project — enough that we have the support of nearly the entire Congressional delegation from those three states (Senator Ayotte, we’re still waiting on ya). We even managed to get 1,500 people to a rally in Portland back in frigid January, the biggest gathering of any kind in 25 years. Suffice to say, New Englanders care, and we don’t want this dangerous substance pumped through our rivers and forests, threatening species like moose and black bears and contributing to climate change.

The problem is, the US State Department (which is tasked with overseeing the pipeline) doesn’t necessarily notice anything amiss and hasn’t the told the company it can’t proceed without a new permit. The State Department needs to make it clear: if Exxon wants to bring poisonous, climate-wrecking tar sands across Northern New England, the impacts are going to be given a hard look and approval is going to needed. It’s a common sense requirement, just making sure we know the threats and the particulars before giving the green light to Exxon, but State hasn’t gotten involved yet because the company hasn’t made a formal proposal.

And that’s the catch-22: unless the State Department tells them to formalize their plans, Exxon might never get around to filing the paperwork — and they’ve already told regional officials they don’t have to. They’re more than happy to act like the cartoon cat burping up feathers, shrugging its shoulders when you ask what happened to Tweety Bird. But this is real life, and New Englanders want to protect their region and wildlife from spills and climate change. All risk and no reward does not interest New Hampshire, or Vermont or Maine for that matter.

Mr. Smith (and a bunch more) goes to Washington

New England and DC — culture-wise — may sometimes feel like oil and water, but when actual oil and actual water are in the mix, it’s worth a trip to the nation’s capitol. On Monday, a group from Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont came down to Washington, DC to tell their stories to State Department officials in person. It wasn’t your usual DC lobby trip: Fishermen, retired oil industry lawyers, and a handful of conservationists all made the rounds of Capitol Hill, meeting with agencies and Congressional offices with a simple request: Can someone PLEASE make sure this tar sands plan is carefully reviewed?

Our hometown lobby team at the State Department (photo: Peter LaFontaine/NWF)

To their credit, State sent their A-team to meet with us, including Assistant Secretary Kerri-Ann Jones, who’s also been in charge of State’s Keystone XL analysis and is also a former resident of Maine. We showed how the pieces stack up to make it clear that the Northeast project was moving forward. Lisa Pohlmann, Executive Director of the Natural Resources Council of Maine, talked about the pipeline’s zigzag route across the Crooked River, and Eliot Stanley of the Sebago Lake Anglers Association told how a spill would devastate fishing in the region. Denis Rydjeski, a Dartmouth College professor, drew the connections between the Portland-Montreal Pipeline and another Exxon holding: the Pegasus pipeline that caused havoc in Mayflower, Arkansas earlier this spring. His sister lives not far from Mayflower, and it brought home the fact that disasters aren’t something that just happen to “other people.”

Pushing toxic, spill-prone tar sands through Exxon’s pipeline across Maine is an all-risk, no-reward proposition. The health of Maine people, our economy, and our way of life, depend on clean water for drinking, tourism, our fishing industry, and recreation. - Lisa Pohlmann, Natural Resources Council of Maine

We plan to keep the heat on Exxon and the State Department, and our group also got a chance to sit down with (deep breath…) the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, to talk about updating our nation’s safety standards for tar sands projects like the Northeast pipeline and Keystone XL. After Mayflower — and Kalamazoo, before that — we can’t trust the industry to operate safely, or even to tell us what they have planned for our back yards.

It can be hard to tell with federal agencies, but I think State got the message.

Tell the US State Department to protect New England’s wildlife and communities from this dangerous and polluting project. Say “NO!” to the Portland-Montreal tar sands pipeline.

Twelve Tree-Mendous Wildlife Facts for National Wildlife Week

Suzi Letouze — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 12:08:51 +0000

Next Monday we’ll join children across the country in a celebration of trees during National Wildlife Week. This year, we’re teaming up with kids and hope to plant 75,000 trees in honor of National Wildlife Week’s 75th anniversary. Read about the ways wildlife interact with trees and learn how to help below.

Help us plant 75,000 trees for National Wildlife Week, and be sure to share this with your friends on Facebook.

Support National Wildlife Federation’s efforts to plant 75,000 native trees in celebration of National Wildlife Week! Make a generous tax-deductible donation today >>

If you’re an educator, you can find out more about about National Wildlife Week and all of the great educator resources we have available at NWF.org/NationalWildlifeWeek. If you have any questions about National Wildlife Week, contact us at nationalwildlifeweek@nwf.org.

3/18 Update: A prior version of this infographic incorrectly stated the height of trees from whence wood duck ducklings leap.

Photo of the Day: A Different Shade of Black Bear

Rachel Stemen — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 18:12:14 +0000

Photo by George Cheatle

See more of George Cheatle’s photos on Flickr >>

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Photo of the Day: Headed for the Top

Rachel Stemen — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 15:58:49 +0000

Black bear cub climbing a tree in Cades Cove, Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Photo by Flickr member Charlie Choc (cchoc)
See more of Charlie Choc’s photos on Flickr >>

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Photo of the Day: Grazing Black Bear

Rachel Stemen — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 14:16:06 +0000

Black bear munching on grass in Calcite Springs near Devils Den, Wyoming

Photo by Flickr member Darlene Bushue
See more of Darlene Bushue’s photos on Flickr >>

Black Bears are On the Move in Vermont

Christine Dorsey — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 12:00:02 +0000

When I moved to Vermont from Washington, DC a few years back, I was excited by the notion of living close to wildlife. We have a wonderful array of creatures big and small in the Green Mountain State, and thankfully, Vermonters have made protecting open spaces and wildlife a priority, so everything from migrating songbirds to moose have enough habitat to thrive.

Well, that habitat includes my back yard, and yesterday one of the wild neighbors came by to snack at my bird feeder–and it was a bit bigger than a hummingbird.

That's not a bird eating bird seed. Photo Credit: Dan McGowan

I’ll admit…

I should have known better than to fill the feeders this time of year, living in black bear country. We’d had some alerts that bears were on the prowl and I’d seen signs of bears earlier this spring.

The good news is, (s)he came and went without incident (except the mangled bird feeder), and I got a few great photos of a healthy, beautiful black bear.

Who will win? The Black bear or the bird feeder? Photo Credit: Dan McGowan

And the Black bear won. Photo Credit: Dan McGowan

Lesson learned

I’ve removed the feeders, which I learned from this great National Wildlife article, is a good solution to avoiding regular black bear encounters. Fortunately, my Certified Wildlife Habitat is in bloom, so our birds and bees are still able to find plenty of food to keep them happy this summer. I’ll keep a look-out for the bear, since it looks like my raspberries and blueberries will be a bumper crop this season and I have a feeling the word will spread that it’s all-you-can-eat at our yard.

I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Wildlife in Peril: Nine Species in the Tar Sands War Zone

Peter LaFontaine — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 19:50:35 +0000

Up past our northern border is one of the most important wild ecosystems on earth: the Canadian boreal forest. This vast landscape stretches for thousands of square miles across the top of North America, providing habitat for countless animal species and the ancestral home for some of the original humans on this continent — known collectively as the First Nations.

Basically untouched until recent decades, the boreal forest’s great natural riches may also turn out to be its undoing: massive amounts of oil have been found in deposits known as “tar sands,” and the energy industry has kicked off a full-scale war on Mother Nature in their rush to boost their profits. Aided by a government that seems determined to wreck the country’s eco-friendly reputation, Big Oil is transforming huge parts of Alberta, Canada into something out of a nightmare, destroying vital wildlife habitat and putting whole populations at risk.

Read on to learn more about nine remarkable species that are directly threatened by tar sands development, then send a message to the President to help protect them.

Woodland Caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou)

Woodland caribou are being pushed out by oil development in their habitat (photo: British Columbia Forest Service)

Alberta is one of the last homes of woodland caribou, which have adapted to live in wintry climes with snowshoe-like hooves and antlers that they use to shovel aside snow to reach the moss and lichen beneath. Despite the fact that even the smaller females can outweigh an NFL linebacker (and males can top 400 pounds), woodland caribou are a painfully shy species that avoids humans as much as possible. But booming tar sands development in the heart of their range, coupled with industrial logging and other activities, has destroyed a huge part of their habitat and driven several populations to the brink of extinction.

The Canadian federal and provincial governments seem happy to turn a blind eye to the problem, and a stakeholder group that should be leading the charge to protect this iconic species — the Endangered Species Conservation Committee — is stocked with representatives from the energy industry, agriculture and timber companies, who watered down the caribou recovery plan to a toothless piece of paper. And even then, Environment Minister Peter Kent ignored a court order and refused to issue emergency protections for at-risk herds. Scientists fear that industrial development could cause Canada’s woodland caribou to vanish by the end of the century.

Gray Wolf (Canis lupus)

Our understanding of gray wolves has come a long way since the days of Little Red Riding Hood. They are impressively smart, social animals that spend as much time playing as hunting, and live together in close-knit packs of 4 to 7 animals.

Gray wolves are a keystone species in the northern ecosystem (photo: flickr/YankeeNovember3)

Now prepare yourself for some shocking news: gray wolves eat caribou. They eat a lot of things, actually, everything from moose to mice, part of the reason wolves are considered a “keystone” of the food web, helping to balance populations and allowing ecosystems to thrive.

But in the eyes of the Canadian government this makes them a threat, and an easy scapegoat for the recent rapid declines of the caribou herds. So the government has embarked upon a plan to “cull” wolf populations using poison-laced bait and aerial hunts from helicopters. The poison, strychnine, is known for an excruciating death that progresses painfully from muscle spasms to convulsions to suffocation, over a period of hours. As if that weren’t awful enough, other animals like eagles and even domesticated dogs have been unintended casualties of the baiting campaign.

Black Bears (Ursus americanus)

Black bears like this cub like to eat the garbage from dumps around tar sands mines, much to their misfortune. (photo: Noah Katz)

It’s hard not to like black bears, with their curious natures and rotund bodies. Just like other wildlife, though, it is best not to mess with them — despite being small by bear standards, these guys can still tip the scales at half a ton, yet still sprint up to 30 mph. And while they usually eat things like berries, fish, and honey (yes, that rumor is true), black bears are notorious for getting into garbage cans and campers’ food coolers.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise by now that tar sands development has directly encroached on bear habitat, leading to more interactions between humans and this species. Unfortunately, the government’s approach has been similar to their wolf plan: shoot ‘em and keep digging for oil.

Alberta Sustainable Resource Development says 145 black bears were killed by Fish and Wildlife conservation officers last year after being habituated to garbage in the oilsands region. The number of bears shot in the Fort McMurray district was nearly three times the count the previous year and the highest in recent history, said spokesman Darcy Whiteside. Nearly half — 68 bears — were shot in oilsands camps and facilities after being attracted to the camp by food, garbage or other attractants, Whiteside said Tuesday.

Canada Lynx (Lynx canadensis)

Canada Lynx near Whitehorse, Yukon (photo: Keith Williams)

In addition to having one of the coolest animal names on the planet, the Canada Lynx looks like something out of a superhero comic — long, black-tipped ears, a double pointed beard, huge paws and a beautiful silver-brown coat. They cover a lot of ground on their powerful legs and have been known to swim for miles across frigid rivers. The boreal forest is ideal habitat for these solitary hunters to track their favorite game, snowshoe hares.

Unlike bears, lynx shy away from contact with humans. Development in the eastern part of Canada has already forced out the big cats, and pressure from tar sands exploitation in Alberta is causing concerns there as well. And there’s a critical connection between gray wolves and lynx: wolves kill coyotes, which directly compete with lynx for snowshoe hare and other prey. So fewer wolves means more coyotes, which means fewer lynx. For a population that’s already threatened, that’s bad news. On the other hand, protecting wolves means lynx may rebound as well.

Sandhill Cranes (Grus canadensis)

Sandhill cranes face a double-whammy in Alberta and Nebraska (photo: flickr.com/nigel)

One of the oldest birds on planet earth (scientists think they evolved at least 2.5 million years ago), sandhill cranes are also some of the longest-lived, able to reach 21 years or more. Though hunted to dangerously low levels in the early part of the 20th century, the cranes have rebounded thanks to conservation efforts which have given them some breathing room in their unusually slow breeding cycle.

The big birds migrate thousands of miles each year from their breeding grounds in western Canada to as far south as Mexico, fattening up for a month in Nebraska’s Platte River valley. But this exposes them to a double-whammy from tar sands, with Alberta’s energy development destroying prime nesting habitat, and the danger of a spill in the Nebraska Sandhills region (from which they take their name) that could take away a crucial feeding ground. As it happens, their migratory pathway overlaps the route of the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline almost mile-for-mile, meaning that a spill at any point will put this iconic species in harm’s way.

Walleye (Sander vitreus)

An angler in Ontario holds her latest catch (photo: flickr.com/Rowdy Rider)

Walleye (named for their reflective eyes, which allow them to see in low-light conditions) are the “official fish” of Saskatchewan, Alberta’s provincial neighbor. A mature adult can be 20 pounds or more, making them a staple for northern fishermen.

But walleye and several other native species of fish might soon become a scarce commodity if Big Oil gets its way. Residents of Fort Chipeweyan, Alberta (most of whose residents are First Nations members) have reported a pretty scary development in the last few years: lots and lots of deformed fish downstream of the tar sands developments. In 2010, commercial fishing ground to a halt due to concerns about heavy metals like mercury and cadmium…as if anyone would want to eat a filet with a golf-ball sized tumor. The Canadian government, not surprisingly, contests these claims, but independent data shows that contamination has reached 30 times the federally-accepted levels.

In addition to all that, tar sands extraction requires a lot of water — up to three barrels of water for every barrel of oil — and this has disrupted the normal cycles of of the Athabasca river and surrounding watersheds.

Moose (Alces alces)

It's hard to play hide-and-seek when you weigh more than a ton (photo: flicker/Benjamin 1970)

Unlike most vegetarians, the Western Moose is a certifiable giant — it’s the largest species of deer on earth, standing seven feet tall at the shoulder and crowned with enormous antlers that span six feet across. They’re also (not to be rude, but it’s true) pretty funny looking. But don’t let the giant nose and skinny little legs fool you, because moose can be pretty ornerywhen the stakes are high enough.

This species has been a major part of native culture and their diet for millennia, but with numbers near Fort McKay, Alberta declining 60% in recent years, First Nations elders now have to travel up to 200 kilometers to find moose during their traditional hunt. Moose meat has also tested high in arsenic and carcinogens created by tar sands mining, endangering the health of the region’s indigenous communities.

Like woodland caribou, moose are prey for gray wolves, and toxins in moose meat spells trouble for their predators.

Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis)

Scaup, also known as "bluebills," call the Athabasca River delta home (photo: Carol Foil)

Canada’s Boreal forest is the springtime home of half of North America’s birds. In particular, the delta formed by the Athabasca and Peace rivers is key habitat for hundreds of species of migratory songbirds and waterfowl like the Lesser Scaup, a smallish duck with a dark purple head and brilliant yellow eyes. Scaup love the delta’s rich wetlands, where they can find their favorite foods — mollusks, weeds and insects — and nest.

Scaup (pronounced “skawp”) are a favorite of hunters but, like so many other creatures, tar sands operations are taking a toll. In addition to direct habitat loss, Big Oil has created a particularly gruesome way for these birds to die. One of the dirtiest parts of oil mining is so-called “tailings ponds,” gigantic open pits where the industry dumps its liquid waste. There are lots of these contaminated tailings ponds in the delta region, filled with toxic chemicals and oil, but which appear to flying birds like just another good spot to land. And when they do, it’s not hard to imagine what happens: slow, painful death. The industry’s solutions have ranged from the simple (and ineffective), like scarecrows, to the absurd — supersonic “cannons” that boom loud enough to disturb animals for miles around, and scare off any birds from landing in the sludge.

You and Me (Homo sapiens)

Climate change threatens our oceans, shorelines, and every other ecosystem on earth (photo: Barry Keleher)

Okay, technically we’re not wildlife, but tar sands mining has a huge impact on human health as well. High cancer rates in First Nations communities near the industrial zone may be linked to pollutants in the air and water. Declines in local fish, caribou, and moose populations means less of the healthy, traditional foods these communities rely on, not to mention representing a profound cultural loss. Water for drinking and irrigation is well-documented to be at risk from pipeline spills.

And perhaps the biggest threat of all is the danger posed by global warming, which has already reached a tipping point and could be pushed over the edge by burning Canada’s tar sands oil. Rising sea levels, extreme droughts, flooding — it might sound like the Apocalypse but in fact it’s already happening.

Speak up now! Tell President Obama to stand up for wildlife in the tar sands region, and stand strong against Big Oil’s plans to destroy the boreal forest.

National Wildlife Federation is helping to lead the charge against tar sands and Big Oil’s dirty projects like the Keystone XL pipeline, which would help trigger even more development in the boreal forest. We need your help to make sure that this pristine ecosystem and its magnificent animals don’t vanish forever.

To donate directly to our tar sands campaign, please go to NWF’s “Choose Your Cause” website, or visit NWF.org/tarsands to learn more and find out how you can make a difference.

145 Black Bears Shot In Canada’s Tar Sands Region, More Deaths Likely

Peter LaFontaine — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 19:00:35 +0000

Environmental practices are so poor in Alberta, Canada, where the dirty fuel known as “tar sands” are being mined, that wildlife officials have been shooting bears that wander too close to the extraction area. Just recently, we reported to you that potentially thousands of wolves are destined for a similar fate in the region. NWF scientists say the wildlife killing is avoidable, but the Canadian oil industry and government are putting profits ahead of sound ecosystem management. From the Calgary Herald:

Alberta Sustainable Resource Development says 145 black bears were killed by Fish and Wildlife conservation officers last year after being habituated to garbage in the oilsands region. The number of bears shot in the Fort McMurray district was nearly three times the count the previous year and the highest in recent history, said spokesman Darcy Whiteside. Nearly half — 68 bears — were shot in oilsands camps and facilities after being attracted to the camp by food, garbage or other attractants, Whiteside said Tuesday.

Black Bear cub (photo: Noah Katz)

>> You can help protect black bears by telling Congress to stop the rush to Canadian tar sands. Take action now!

Fort McMurray, like other company towns that have sprung up over the last few decades, sits in the middle of Canada’s boreal forest, one of the last great intact ecosystems in the world. But unchecked industrial development is leaving scars upon the earth that are visible from space (seriously – take a look at satellite pictures on Google Maps and prepare to be blown away) and destroying habitat that supports caribou, millions of migratory birds, and other species like lynx, gray wolves and bears.

Is Wildlife an Afterthought?

According to NWF scientist Dr. Doug Inkley, the provincial government’s actions are deplorable:

Their approach seems to be, if it becomes a problem, kill it — rather than prevent the problem in the first place. Humans are destroying bear habitat and not disposing of garbage properly. So, we kill the bears.

Whiteside, the spokesman for Alberta Sustainable Resources Development, stressed that bears aren’t endangered and the shootings have had “no impact on the black bear population as a whole.” But Dr. Inkley sees it another way. “This is death by a thousand cuts,” he says, his voice edged with anger. “It may seem like there are plenty of black bears now, but look what’s happening: the tar sands area that could be developed is the size of Florida, and this is going to be repeated over and over and over if we keep encroaching on their habitat.”

Making the Right Choice for Bears

David Mizejewski, a naturalist with National Wildlife Federation, says it comes down to common sense.

We make the choice about whether these bears are a problem or not. We’ve chosen to destroy their habitat and turn it into a garbage dump. We can make smarter choices and avoid conflicts with bears.

It may sound simplistic, but that’s what has happened in Alberta. Black bears aren’t naturally inclined to linger in places where people are, but if they learn that food is accessible they lose their fear quickly. Without proper waste management, bears and other animals become urban scavengers, attracted to the easy pickings from uncovered dumpsters. NWF’s Mizejewski points out that solutions like bear-proof trash cans can help lessen the problem, but the only long-term answer is to put the lid on tar sands development and prevent outright destruction of their habitat.

These animals don’t have to die. They’re being slaughtered in part due to America’s addiction to dirty oil.

Black bears and other wildlife are becoming casualties of the oil industry's take-no-prisoners approach (Photo: Glenn Alexon)

And while it hurts to see a finger pointed at ourselves, our choices really do shape the fate of animals thousands of miles away. The U.S. Congress is trying to force construction of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline, which would pump oil from Alberta to the Texas Gulf coast, despite objections from landowners, Tribes, national security experts, conservationists, and millions of Americans across the country. If this pipeline (or others) are built, it will lead to even more rapid development of the tar sands region, further endangering local wildlife species, our global climate, public health, and our chances to put this country on a path to clean energy independence. It’s an easy choice. We’ve got to kick our tar sands addiction before it’s too late.

We need your help to protect wildlife! Get involved and help us stop this from happening. Take action to protect black bears and other wildlife caught in the line of fire.

You can also help fight tar sands by making a donation. Visit NWF’s “Choose Your Cause” page to see how your support can safeguard black bears and other wildlife in jeopardy.

Wildlife Inspiration: 5 Adorable Baby Animal Photos

NWF — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 16:55:36 +0000

At National Wildlife Federation, we take seriously our mission to inspire Americans to protect wildlife. Sometimes that’s as simple as sharing the beauty of wild animal and wild places through photography. We hope these images — in the middle of a busy day — will inspire you to help wildlife thrive.

We are grateful to the photographers who have generously donated the photos below. These images and countless others remind us why we do what we do. Through our partnership with FotoMoto, now you can own these photographs yourself, as a full-sized print or postcard. Just click on the buttons underneath each photo. Or, to browse through more striking imagery, go to photos.nwf.org. Enjoy!

A family of red squirrels moved into Lori Deiter's mother's bird house in Tower City, PA. The squirrels were very skittish so Lori watched very quietly and took pictures using her zoom lens.

Rich Phalin wanted to photograph black bears and their cubs in northern Minnesota. He found this little guy taking a rest on top of a wood duck house.

Photographer Dan Witt saw a family of raccoons travelling down a road. This little guy ran to a fence and climbed the post while his family went in the other direction.

Photographer Ric Kessler captured this picture of a baby bobcat.

Dick Forehand saw this bison calf be born long before sunrise at Yellowstone National Park. This photo was taken minutes before sunrise the same day. The calf had played all day with other calves in the nursery herd.

Adopt Your Own Wild Animal Baby

Symbolically adopt a baby animal today! Choose from one of 16 adorable baby animals, including a baby elephant, panda, dolphin, polar bear and more.

99% of Bear Encounters Continued – Some End in Scat

Jim Adams — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 17:26:21 +0000

This story and pictures were sent in by Jeffrey Willius in response to an earlier post about Milo (the dog) and my encounters with bear sign and scat. The story and pictures are all taken directly from Jeffrey’s’ website, where he has a host of stories and essays on carefully observing the world: http://www.onemanswonder.com/. In this post I foresee fear, excitement, and bear scat.

ALL THE COMFORTS
When my kids were in their twenties I took them on a fall canoe trip in northern Minnesota’s amazing Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW).

One cool, damp afternoon, after paddling and portaging our way through five or six lakes, we were ready to find a good campsite for the night. The map showed several possible spots within a short distance along the left bank of a narrow bay.

Keeping your eyes, ears and other senses open increases your enjoyment of being outdoors far from crowds, calls and cars.

The first campsite we came to looked unoccupied, so I got out to survey it out for the key amenities: a good, flat, root-free spot to pitch our tent, a well-made stone fire pit, enough dead and fallen trees for firewood, a good branch for hanging our food pack beyond the reach of bears, and, of course, a decent Forest-Service-built latrine.

Following the path back into the woods, I found the wooden “throne” to be in good shape. On the way back to the landing, I realized I hadn’t had a “pit stop” all afternoon. Still out of sight of the kids, I stepped off the path, unzipped and watered a large, rotting, moss- covered stump. It’s always nice to have a target.

My kids had already decided the campsite merited only about three stars. So we hopped back into the canoe and paddled a few hundred yards down the shore to the next campsite. Unfortunately this one, with its lumpy tent site and poor landing area, rated only two stars. It was getting late and we were feeling the chill. So, instead of going on to check out a third site, we opted for the far-from-ideal, though certainly adequate, first campsite, and paddled back.

STEAMY SCENE
While the kids put up the tent and unpacked their sleeping bags, I headed into the woods to collect some firewood. In no time, I had a nice double armload and headed back toward the campsite to build the fire.

That’s odd, I thought. Just ahead, next to the trail, I thought I saw a wisp of steam.

On the way, I connected once again with the latrine path. After a few steps, my happy whistling came to an abrupt stop. That’s odd, I thought. Just ahead, next to the trail, I thought I saw a wisp of steam. I slunk a few steps closer. Could it be the breath of a small animal, I asked myself. No, it didn’t come and go like breathing would.

Wait…this looks familiar. I recognized the stump I’d just used as a urinal fifteen minutes earlier. And there on top, in the very center, was a fist-sized pile of still-warm bear scat.

What do you do when a North American black bear acknowledges you in this most personal way? You can run. You can feel insulted. You can ignore it. Or, as I did, you can look around for a big brown-and-black face peeking out from behind a tree and smiling. And then you just laugh out loud.