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October 27, 2021 5:28 pm Proposed bear-feeding ban under fire Bear-feeding supporters turn out in droves at Eagles Nest board meeting A black bear feeds on sunflower seeds and other foods put out at the Vince Shute Sanctuary near Orr. The sanctuary would have been impacted by the bear-feeding ban. M. Helmberger Posted Wednesday, October 27, 2021 5:28 pm Jodi Summit EAGLES NEST TWP- Opponents of a proposed bear-feeding ban in Minnesota turned out in force at the Oct. 19 town board meeting here, despite the fact that the legislator who proposed the bill has since withdrawn his legislation. The issue has long been a lightning rod in Eagles Nest, where large numbers of residents feed bears and other wildlife. It appears an equally large number of township residents object to that activity and that contingent turned out in force at a town board meeting in September to hear from District 3A Rep. Rob Ecklund, who had offered to carry a bill to ban bear feeding in the state. Ecklund had found support for his bill at the earlier meeting, but he faced considerable opposition from other residents of Eagles Nest as well as supporters of the Vince Shute Bear Sanctuary, a major tourist draw near Orr. That facility has long fed wild black bears, providing an opportunity for the public to safely view the animals as they interact.While the tradition of bear feeding in Eagles Nest has attracted large numbers of bears to the township, located halfway between Tower and Ely, it has relatively few bear problems, according to Dr. Lynn Rogers, who has been studying bears in the area for decades.“ What this area is known for is no attacks, no aggression, and almost no home break-ins,” said Rogers during the town board meeting last month. While Rogers was in the minority at September’s meeting, he had plenty of support at the latest meeting, with numerous residents speaking out in favor of bear feeding and urging their neighbors to learn to live with their “bear neighbors.” Judy Thon, a township resident who works at the North American Bear Center (NABC), was the first of many residents who spoke up on the subject. She thanked State Rep. Rob Ecklund for deciding to withdraw his legislation that would have prohibited bear feeding statewide. She also urged the board to revisit and publicize the locally written study they have published on the township website, titled “Living with Bears in Eagles Nest Township” that was put together back in 2007. “My concern is that we went from what is on the website to all of a sudden, after two years of drought, talk of a bear-feeding ban,” she said. “I didn’t see any concerns voiced over the summer.” The recent drought has meant fewer natural foods in the woods and has meant more bear-people interactions through the region. Thon said that what she heard at the last meeting was mostly that people seemed afraid of bears. “Fear can be debilitating,” she said, and noted the remedy for that was education about bears and bear behavior. After last month’s meeting, Rogers decided to set up meetings with township residents at the NABC and has sent out invitations for the first session which was set for Oct. 23. The meeting was by invitation only, Thon said, so they could safely limit the crowd size, but they expect to hold additional meetings next spring and summer that would be open to a wider audience. Thon noted that fear is real, but not warranted. “We need to change attitudes and perceptions,” she said.“People can’t coexist with an animal they fear,” Thon added. “This community is one that does coexist.” Several other township residents who had moved to Eagles Nest on account of the wildlife, specifically bears, spoke to the board.“We are lucky to be here,” said Steve Barnish, who moved to the township in 2017 precisely because of the tradition of feeding bears. Barnish questioned the board on why the meeting agenda last month only mentioned feeding wildlife. “That seemed a benign subject,” Barnish said, “but they introduced an already-finished product from the DNR without input from citizens.” Town Board Chair Richard Floyd said the board had been approached by Ecklund who had asked to speak at the meeting. “He mentioned both bears and birds,” Floyd said. “We weren’t going to take any action on it. It was just information.” Floyd said he had contacted Rogers prior to the meeting, to let him know the issue was going to be discussed. Others also said they were unhappy with what they saw as underhanded tactics at the September meeting, and that so many who opposed bear feeding apparently knew about the meeting in advance and attended. “My point is that we were ambushed,” said Larry McCray, the township’s Fire Chief, but speaking as a township resident. “We heard statements of hate and statements of fear-mongering.” McCray urged the board to stay neutral and balanced on the issue. He said the board should be concentrating on things like improving roads and looking into grant opportunities for improving township buildings. “What we got is we are going to invade your backyard and tell you what you can do with sunflower seeds,” McCray said, speaking of the proposed bear-feeding ban. Since bears are attracted to sunflower seeds put out in bird feeders, this ban might have required taking down bird feeders in areas with bears. Floyd suggested that the effort to ban bear feeding had apparently backfired. “As it turned out,” Floyd said, “the opposite happened. He [Ecklund] got so much backlash that he won’t be introducing the legislation.” But others, including township supervisor DeAnne Schatz, said the large numbers of bears, many of which are no longer fearful of people, can cause problems. “We don’t live in fear,” she said. “But now you see a bear and they won’t run away.” Other noted that bears are daily tracking through the yards of those not feeding bears, to visit properties where food is being put out for them. Board members reiterated that, as a board, they didn’t feel it was their responsibility to take a stand either way and said they would refer any questions to the already-published study on the home page of the township website ( eaglesnestmn.com ). After over 45 minutes of public comment on the bear issue, Floyd asked if there were any other citizen concerns, not relating to bears. When one member of the audience suggested they talk about ATVS, almost everyone in the room laughed. The publication of a map showing an official ATV/OHV route using several public roads in the township has been a contentious issue since late summer. Supervisor Kurt Soderberg said that two town board officials would be meeting with representatives from the DNR, St. Louis County, and Prospectors Trail Club on Oct. 25 to discuss a possible compromise route, which would include old forest roads, keeping the route off township roads as much as possible. “We hope to find common ground and consensus,” he said. “And we will give a report at the next board meeting.” Floyd reiterated that the township was not against general ATV use in the township but was concerned over a published ATV/OHV route that the township had not approved. Fire Chief Larry McCray discussed repairs needed for a hazardous gas monitor. The board gave permission to purchase a new unit, at a cost of not more than $2,000, if it wasn’t affordable to make the repairs to the existing unit. He told the board the department had received a donation from the Morse-Fall Lake Fire Department of a compressor they can use to fill their airpacks. McCray also updated the board on the last Tower Area Ambulance Board meeting and discussed the option of approving a one-time double subsidy payment in 2023, to allow the department to upgrade their second ambulance faster. He said this one-time effort would allow them to keep the subsidy rate at its current $15 per capital amount. McCray said he was confident that the department was being managed well at this time. Soderberg asked McCray to continue investigating this idea with the joint ambulance board and said the town board would discuss it when they are setting their 2023 budget in February. McCray also gave the board the go-ahead to send in their 2021 subsidy payments and sign the current contract. Other business In other business the town board:• Approved a two-year renewal of the website contract with Carolyn Quick for $3,100. This includes regular updates of information. There are additional fees for annual hosting and domain renewals, as well as a $40/hour fee for making changes/additions to the structure of the website.• Asked for a volunteer to serve on the Tower-Soudan Joint Powers Recreation Board. The township donates $200 a year to the group, which makes small grants for youth recreation and community education in Tower-Soudan.• Discussed options for allowing remote access to meetings for a supervisor who is out of town in the winter.• The next township meeting is on Tuesday, Nov. 16 at 5 p.m.

BEARS IN THE NEWS Canadian Geographic By Trina Moyles January 29, 2025 The good bear Co-existence on Yukon’s Klukshu River Button The Minnesota Star Tribune By Karen Tolkkinen October 23, 2024 Tolkkinen: Why I lost my fear of black bears Button Lemonadist By Erik Ness July 03, 2024 The Black Bears Are Alright Button Duluth News Tribune By John Myers May 06, 2024 Forest Service imposes new food storage rules in Boundary Waters Button Washington Post By Kate Morgan October 10, 2023 Black bears in the backyard: Why they’re everywhere, and what to do Button The Conversation By Neil Carter August 22, 2023 Policy framework for coexisting with wolves, bears and mountain lions could benefit both people and the environment Button The Ely ECHO By Elizabeth Granger Mesabi Tribune August 19, 2023 North American Bear Center in Ely ranked No. 4 museum in Minnesota by Tripadvisor Button TIMBERJAY Marshall Helmberger July 19, 2023 BERRY ABUNDANT Button Mountain Journal by Todd Wilkinson May 18, 2023 Famous Jackson Hole Grizzly 399 Wows Again, But Now What? Button TIMBERJAY By Marshall Helmberger May 3, 2023 Late spring prompts more bear complaints Button TIMBERJAY By Marshall Helmberger September 14, 2022 Bear registrations drop sharply, as anticipated Button TIMBERJAY By Marshall Helmberger August 24, 2022 Advantage goes to bears as season opens Sept. 1 Button TIMBERJAY Marshall Helmberger July 22, 2022 Berry Bonanza Button TIMBERJAY By Marshall Helmberger March 30, 2022 Do bears need a break? Button The Ely ECHO Ely Echo Newspapers April 1, 2022 Prevent conflicts with bears with these spring tips from the DNR Button Timberjay Jodi Summit October 27, 2021 5:28 pm Proposed bear-feeding ban dropped under fire Button TIMBERJAY Marshall Helmberger September 22, 2021 Are bears in trouble in NE? Button Bring Me The News Shaymus McLaughlin June 15, 2021 Black bears at the bird feeder Button Omere By Gosia Bryja May 15, 2021 Black Bears Do Not Deserve This Fate Button Medium Gosia Bryja, PhD October 10, 2020 Human-Bear Encounters in Residential Areas: Management by Fear Button

COEXISTING WITH BLACK BEARS Can food lead bears out of trouble? Diversionary Feeding Button What should I do if there is a black bear in my yard? Understanding what attracts black bears and what you can do about it What should I do if I see a bear? Button Consequences of feeding black bears? To Feed or Not to Feed Button Strategies for those who love to attract avian and other sorts of visitors Bears, birds and wildlife feeding Button Simple straps can make your garbage can wildlife resistant Securing Trash Cans Button A simple setup can be effective wildlife deterrent Electric Fencing Button Bears often thwart our gardening efforts The Challenges of Gardening in Bear Country Button Learn more about capsaicin sprays and how they work Pepper Spray Q&A Button Learn how uncontrolled dogs can be unsafe Do bears and dogs mix? Button DNT - Forest Service imposes new food storage rules in Boundary Waters Bear Resistant Food Storage Button

NORTHWOODS Background on the township with a long running black bear study Eagles Nest Township Button Photos from Eagles Nest Township Northwoods photo gallery Button The residents of Eagles Nest Township and their black bears have long had a unique relationship. Meet Shadow's Clan - the bears of Eagles Nest Township Button

BLACK BEAR BEHAVIORS Listen to vocalizations and watch behaviors Vocalizations and behaviors Button Black bears leave clues about their travels if you know what to look for What is black bear sign? Button It's a lot busier than you think! Find out what happens in a black bear den Button What you should know about yearling and adolescent bear behavior Adolescent bear behavior Button While they look similar.... Are black bears like dogs? Button

BOOKS, DVDS, PAPERS, NEWS, MOVIES, WEBSITES Books you can borrow from the BearTeam lending library Books to Borrow Button DVDs you can borrow from the BearTeam lending library DVDs to watch Button Papers and journal articles about black bears and black bear behavior Research Papers Button Read about bears in the news Bears in the news Button Watch movies and videos about bears Watch movies and videos Button Websites to learn more about bears and bear habitat conditions Websites Button

KEEPING YOU AND YOUR PET SAFE A dog running and playing to his heart's content outside can be one of the most beautiful things you'll ever see. However, there are dangers for you and your furry family member outdoors. Button Many human/bear conflicts begin as scuffles with dogs Keep yourself safe Button Read the Minnesota Statute Dogs persuing big game can be killed Button Read the Minnesota Statute Protect yourself from possible fines

BearTeam: We are residents of bear country offering education and simple solutions to coexist with the black bears among us. BEARTEAM We are residents of bear country offering education and simple solutions to coexist with the black bears among us. We are a totally volunteer group, from all walks of life, who are willing to share our knowledge of black bears via educational information, simple solutions, and on-site visits. Contact Us Learn about tools and methods to coexist with black bears Coexisting with black bears Button Bears stink, mothers and cubs, bears lurking in the woods and more.... Common myths about black bears Button Black bears have predictable behaviors and vocalizations which help us understand them Learn about black bear behavior Button Learn more about their size and appearance, senses and physical abilities Basic Bear Facts Button Read about bears in the news Bears in the News Button Aaron Brown: Why the white pine matters in Minnesota Minneapolis Star Tribune Button Learn more about the variety of foods black bears find in the Northwoods What do black bears eat? Button The stages differ in biochemistry, physiology, appetite, and level of activity 5 Stages of Activity and Hibernation Button A month by month look at a black bear's life Typical year for black bears Button To black bears, not all trees are created equal. What makes white pines so special Button Coloring pages, puzzles, cartoons and funny videos Just for fun Button Books to read, DVDs to watch, research papers, bears in the news, video and websites Books, papers, movies, websites and more Button

WEBSITES Dedicated to replacing old myths with facts, it lets people learn from the bears themselves about bear behavior, ecology, and their relations with humans. North American Bear Center Button Conduct scientific research on bears, other wildlife, and their habitat, and provide that information to decision-makers, the scientific community, students, and the public. Wildlife Research Institute Button Advancing the long-term survival of bears worldwide by replacing misconceptions with scientific fact. Lily the Black Bear Facebook Page Button Charlie Russell, a Canadian naturalist who researched grizzly bears by living among them and argued for a view of the animals based on coexistence rather than fear. Charlie Russell Bears Button Official Facebook Page of the North American Bear Center located in Ely, Minnesota. North American Bear Center Facebook Page Button Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Bear Facts Minnesota DNR Button The Get Bear Smart Society has been a catalyst in bear education and bear smart community work, helping people manage attractants and encouraging managers to choose non-lethal options. Get Bear Smart Button We invite you to “Be Wise About Bears”. You may find that human and bear coexistence is not that difficult. Wise About Bears Button NIDIS is a multi-agency partnership that coordinates drought monitoring, forecasting, planning, and information at national, state, and local levels across the country. National Integrated Drought Information System Button People living in harmony with bears Bear League Button Promoting the understanding and respect for the bear family Bear With Us Button VANCOUVER’S NORTH SHORE - Welcome to bear country North Shore Black Bear Society Button

JUST FOR FUN Grab your crayons and color these nature themed coloring sheets created just for us Unleash your creativity Button Humor from our friend Dave Coverly Just for laughs Button Videos which show how timid black bears are Terriers and Tabbies vs. Black Bears Button We know you're curious.... Find the answers behind the signs Button Learn more about the bears of the world Bears of the World Button Solve a puzzle of bear related facts or navigate fun mazes Puzzles & Mazes Button

MOVIES AND VIDEOS The residents of Eagles Nest Township and their black bears have long had a unique relationship. Eagles Nest Bears Button Using food to divert animals from areas where they are unwanted or could cause conflicts with people Can food lead bears of out trouble? Button Charlie Russell at Vermilion College, Ely, MN June 28, 2013 Fifty Years Living with the Great Bears Button Filmmakers Jeff and Sue Turner profile a Canadian named Charlie Russell, who raises orphaned bear cubs in the Russian wilderness. The Edge of Eden: Living With Grizzlies Button Learn about all 8 species of bears All bear species Button This presentation and discussion with Gosia Bryja explores the gap between antiquated wildlife management policies and our growing knowledge about bears, and who they truly are. Black Bears: From Resource to Individual Button

January 29, 2025 The good bear: Co-existence on Yukon’s Klukshu River The ice bears of Klukshu have been living with people and salmon for millennia. Is this age-old balance under threat? Jan 29, 2025 | 3,081 words | 13 minutes | By Trina Moyles | Photography by Peter Mather A grizzly bear crosses a fallen tree over the Klukshu River in southwestern Yukon. On the wall of Chuck Hume’s cabin on the bank of the Klukshu River in southwestern Yukon hangs a photograph of a dominant male grizzly bear the locals called the “Mayor.” The photo was taken by Whitehorse-based wildlife photographer Peter Mather, who, with special permission from the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations, documents the grizzlies along the Klukshu using remote camera-trap technology. Hume, a Champagne Elder in Klukshu, first encountered the Mayor more than a decade ago, when the bear was about three years old, likely recently weaned from his mother. As Hume watched the bear feasting on soapberries by the road, a truck drove by and honked its horn to warn him, inadvertently spooking the bear towards him. Hume got in his truck and drove towards the village; the young bear followed. “He was treating me like the mother bear,” Hume says with a fond smile. “He trained that bear,” says his wife, Barb, as she pours me a cup of tea. Hume chuckles with a twinkle in his eye. “My son says, ‘we don’t have to worry about bears. My dad trains them all.’” In Klukshu Village, the right side of the river is for people, the left for bears. Klukshu is in the Dezadeash bear management unit, home to one of the densest grizzly bear populations in Yukon; the territorial government estimates there are 21.4 bears per 1,000 square kilometres. It also borders Kluane National Park and Reserve, which has one of the highest densities of grizzlies in Canada at 40 bears per 1,000 square kilometres. They’re drawn here by three species of salmon — king salmon, sockeye, and coho — that migrate 200 kilometres annually from the Pacific Ocean through the Tatshenshini and Alsek river basins to spawn in the Klukshu River and the outlet of Klukshu Lake. Salmon are the reason people are here, too. Klukshu is a name derived from a Tlingit word meaning “silver salmon, end of.” The Champagne and Aishihik First Nations call the village Łu Ghą, meaning “a place for fishing” in the Southern Tutchone language. It’s a fishing camp they and their ancestors have used seasonally to harvest and dry sockeye salmon. Historically, people camped in tents and caught sockeye in wooden traps and with fishing gaffs from June until late September. Women processed and hung the fish to dry in smokehouses built from spruce logs. The dried salmon sustained their families and dog teams through the long winter. Today, Klukshu is made up of small seasonal log cabins built along the riverbank. The smokehouses still stand, bleached silver from the sun, though it’s rare for salmon to hang from their rafters these days. It’s September, and the golden leaves on the balsam poplar trees flutter in the wind. Standing on the wooden footbridge that spans the narrow river, I count 20, maybe 30 sockeye, rippling ruby red in the river below. While there’s historical evidence that the returns of sockeye salmon have fluctuated considerably year to year — with numbers ranging from 30,000 to fewer than 10,000 — Elders say they’ve declined dramatically over the last century. A Klukshu “ice grizzly” with a salmon. Three species of salmon — king salmon, sockeye, and coho — migrate 200 kilometres annually from the Pacific Ocean through the Tatshenshini and Alsek river basins to spawn in the Klukshu River and the outlet of Klukshu Lake. According to Teresa Wallace, acting senior aquatic science biologist for the Alsek River drainage with Fisheries and Oceans Canada, sockeye runs have been highly variable over the past 25 years, and it’s difficult to pinpoint a reason for their surges and declines. It may be the result of changes in water temperature, spawning habitat and food availability, or a combination of factors the salmon face as they migrate. They’re also subject to commercial fishing, says Wallace, necessitating their monitoring and management in both Canada and the United States. She points to the 1985 Pacific Salmon Treaty, a framework in which both countries work together to try to ensure enough salmon escape to their spawning grounds. Wallace says Fisheries and Oceans Canada has been working closely with the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations “at the table and on the ground” to monitor and manage salmon since 1976. The century-spanning sockeye declines in Klukshu have had ecological consequences not only for the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations but for a species with which they coexist: grizzly bear, or shar shäw in the Southern Tutchone language. The community rarely addresses shar shäw by name. Instead, they refer to them with kinship and respect, with individual bears given names like “Big Grandpa” or “Brother” — or, the Mayor. The bear known as “the Mayor” was a regular visitor to Klukshu Village. “THIS AREA has been inhabited for a long time with salmon and bears,” says Hume. He grew up camping along the banks of the river and listening to the stories of his parents and grandparents, stories passed down over generations about the delicate balance between people, salmon — and bears. He points to archeological evidence of early human habitation on Champagne and Aishihik First Nations territory found in melting ice patches, including a 9,000-year-old wooden hunting dart. Indeed, Klukshu is one of the oldest examples of human-bear coexistence in North America — and it was the salmon that brought them together. Families fished for sockeye during the day in Klukshu until the late afternoon, explains Hume. By 4 p.m. they’d “get off the creek” to give the bears a chance to feed on the running salmon. On the banks, the community would process salmon for drying — de-gilling and gutting them, and saving the head, a delicacy, to later boil or bake in the fire — and throw the scraps back into the creek for the bears and other scavengers. There was enough for everybody, including bears. “He was treated with respect all the time,” says Hume, referring to the bears. Wolves also depend on the late-season salmon runs in southwestern Yukon. But lately, there have been few grizzly bear sightings along the Klukshu River during the sockeye run. As the runs decline, the “bear patterns are changing,” says Hume, with the bears coming to the river later in the fall. During my visit, villagers talk not of bears but of the wolves. They can hear a resident wolf pack howling at night. There’s been a sighting of the pack’s pups. The wolves, Hume says, help to keep the bear population in check; the females teach their young to prey on cubs. “My dad always said, ‘you have to watch that balance between wolves and bears,’” says Hume. “You kill too many wolves, and your bear population goes up.” Likewise, too few bears mean too many wolves. Hume believes the grizzly bears are adapting to the diminishing sockeye returns by feeding on the abundance of moss and soapberries in the mountains in September, then coming to the river in October and November when the coho salmon start to run, pushing the wolves out. “It’s an interesting balance,” he says. “The wolves and bears, they counteract one another, but they still know when to leave the other alone.” With warming temperatures and changing salmon patterns, Hume’s been seeing Klukshu grizzly bears out later into November, even early December, feeding on coho. Some call them “ice bears” for the way their wet fur becomes encased in ice, dangling from them like chandeliers. There’s even a word for “winter grizzly bear” in the Southern Tutchone language: uyekatth’u, or a bear forced out in winter. Research is showing that the effects of a changing climate — warming temperatures, melting glaciers and shifting food availability — have the potential to amplify conflicts between humans and wildlife. What can we learn from people in Klukshu about how to live with grizzly bears? “Even before firearms, Champagne and Aishihik First Nations people had the technologies and skills to exclude bears from the river if they had wanted to,” says Douglas Clark, a human-bear conflict specialist and professor at the University of Saskatchewan. “They chose coexistence.” Sharing the Klukshu River with bears could have positive benefits for both environment and humans. In the early 2000s, Clark worked as a park warden in Kluane National Park, and later, focused his PhD research on grizzly bear-human coexistence in Klukshu, asserting that Indigenous knowledge can provide guidance. He continues to partner with the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations on wildlife projects today. Clark’s research in Klukshu explored the concept of “practices of respect” for living with grizzly bears: rules for living with bears passed down through generational knowledge. But the notion of “respect” is not as ubiquitous as it may seem, he cautions. “Respect is a word that people from multiple cultures use and, as non-Indigenous people, [we tend to think] we’re agreeing on what it means — but we’re wrong,” he says. Respect for bears through a western lens, for example, could imply mutual avoidance, a strategy commonly used by wildlife managers to keep people and bears separate. But in Klukshu, Clark points out, respect doesn’t mean distance; instead, it refers to a dynamic relationship with bears. “Respect is a social relationship between individual bears and individual people.” And the details, says Clark, matter profoundly. Champagne Elder Chuck Hume has spent his entire life around the Klukshu bears. His family jokes that he “trains” young bears to observe the rules of coexistence on the river. A Klukshu “ice grizzly” looks toward a cabin in the village. Coexistence in Klukshu depends on respect rather than mutual avoidance. THERE ARE RULES to living with grizzly bears in Klukshu, says Doris Allen, an Elder who has come here every summer for the past 60 years to fish. We meet in her cabin in Klukshu. Outside, a ribbon of smoke rises up out of her smokehouse, only it’s not sockeye salmon that’s drying: it’s a moose, recently harvested by her grandsons. Originally from the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation in Old Crow, Allen first came to the summer fishing village to stay with her late husband, Grand Chief Harry Allen, and his family in the early 1960s. At that time, some people were still camping in tents. “The Elders would talk about the bears, how they’d come and go, and warn you: ‘don’t be wandering around bushes by yourself,’” says Allen, who admits she broke that rule only once. She can vividly recall a day in June while fishing for king salmon — a species of salmon that weighs four to five times more than a sockeye — near the community of Dalton Post. Allen took a short cut off the trail, bushwhacking towards the river to see the salmon, when she came face to face with a grizzly bear standing on his hind legs. She froze on the spot. “That guy was a big blonde — taller than I am,” she recalls. “He looked at me and I looked at him. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t even yell.” Her husband and another man came up behind and the bear ran off. “After that, I don’t run to the creek by myself like that,” chuckles Allen. The Elders had other rules, too, about not saying the bear’s name or speaking badly about him. They spoke about the importance of keeping the area clean of garbage because “they’ve got a good nose; they can smell a long way. “The Elders would always say, don’t cook bacon during fall time or you’re going to have somebody knocking at your door,” laughs Allen. “I got a kick out of that one.” Allen and her husband built their first cabin in Klukshu nearly 50 years ago. She never remembers having a negative encounter with a grizzly bear. “They just want fish,” she says, noting how the bears feed on the salmon’s head, neck and tail and leave the rest of the carcass to decay on the shore. A grizzly nabs a chum salmon on the nearby Kluane River. Sharing the Klukshu River with bears — and practising the rules of respect — could have many positive benefits for both environment and humans, says Clark. He points to studies in nearby coastal Alaska that have found brown bears play a key role in transferring salmon-derived nitrogen into terrestrial systems (by depositing carcasses and scat), which enriches the growth of trees and plants. While the same research has yet to be conducted in Klukshu, Clark wonders if the nutrient transfer from salmon to grizzlies to land is promoting willow growth and, in turn, improved moose habitat for hunting. “To this day, no researcher has looked at the human role in bear-salmon systems,” he says. But this example “allows us a much bigger, bolder way of thinking about coexistence between people and bears,” says Clark. “It’s more than tolerance; there can be mutual benefit.” Map: Chris Brackley/Can Geo PEOPLE IN KLUKSHU respect the wisdom of bears, says Hume. He’s sitting across from me at the kitchen table in his cabin, built only metres away from the river — so close that he and Barb can sometimes hear the salmon splashing upstream at night. “He was a kind of teacher to our people,” he says, noting how they’d observe the different plants that the grizzly bear fed on during spring, after months of hibernating and fasting in the den, to stimulate their digestive systems. “Our people used to have a diet of straight meat, straight salmon — so in the spring, you had to cleanse your system,” says Hume. There were protocols for moving through the bush: the bears sense if you have fear or you’re talking about them, which could imply human superiority over bears. If there’s a big scat on the trail, “you walk around — you don’t step over,” says Hume. Hume talks to the bears and asks them to stay on “their side” of the river. Sometimes he relies on the use of non-lethal deterrents, including rubber bullets, to dissuade the bears from crossing over. Occasionally, he recalls, when the sockeye salmon ran abundantly, bears that edged too close to the fishing traps would be shot. People built wooden stands along the river to target bears deemed too aggressive. But even when bears were killed, specific rules were followed to honour and respect their lives, including opening the stomach and pulling the intestines north, or placing the skull in a tree or other high place. As salmon runs have declined, people in Klukshu have noticed bears arriving at the river later in the fall, and staying into the winter. As the bears hunt for salmon in the freezing temperatures, their fur becomes encased in dangling icicles. Some of the grizzlies, however — often older, more dominant bears — would learn to coexist along the Klukshu River, fishing along the opposite bank and keeping their distance from people. These are the bears people wanted around, says Hume. “We used them as protection,” he says. “The big grizzly bear wards off the younger ones, so we’re always respectful of the older ones. He kind of looks after the village and looks after the people.” Clark refers to the concept of the “good bear” in his research, citing a longstanding, sophisticated practice of the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations to observe and take advantage of the natural dominance hierarchy that develops when grizzly bears come together. “Those big males tend to be very smart and confident,” says Clark. “By tolerating a big male bear staying around the village, and giving it the space and time to fish, those potentially troublemaking younger bears tend to stay away.” The bear known as the Mayor was one of those. Over the years, Hume developed a special bond with him. “When I left [Klukshu] in the late fall, he’d still be fishing on coho in the water. He’d come and lay on the porch of my old house,” says Hume, gesturing to the cabin next door. Essential to these kinds of relationships, says Clark, is that people practise the rules of living with bears consistently. The bears, in turn, observe predictable and nonthreatening human patterns they can respond to. “The bears figure this out and as long as the people there learn the rules and follow them — which they have done for millennia and still do — it can all work,” Clark says. A scattering of coho salmon eggs makes a meal for many other species on the Klukshu, including birds and river otters. Research in Alaska has shown that brown bears play a key role in transferring salmon-derived nitrogen into terrestrial systems, enriching the growth of trees and plants. For nearly a decade, the Mayor fished along the banks of the Klukshu River, keeping younger bears — those more likely to take risks to obtain food — at bay. Then, on November 15, 2023, wildlife photographer Peter Mather was driving along the highway, checking his remote camera traps along the river, when he noticed a number of ravens circling. On the side of the highway, Mather discovered a bear carcass in the snow. The animal’s head, hide and paws were missing, a sign of a trophy hunt (legal in the Yukon, provided the hunter has a valid licence and permit). Days later, Mather received a screenshot from an acquaintance. The hunter had posted a photograph of the dead bear on his Facebook page. Mather showed the image to Hume, who immediately identified the bear as the Mayor. The bear hadn’t been seen in recent months. Hume suspects a long-legged black grizzly bear may have pushed him out of Klukshu. “His time was coming,” Hume says with somber resignation in his voice. Community members in Klukshu have been grieving the loss of the enigmatic bear. “It’s really sad,” agrees Allen. “He was a good bear. We’d see him every year. Somebody shot him just for parts. They left the carcass. It was bad.” Following the bear’s death, Yukon Conservation Officer Services charged the hunter with two violations of the Wildlife Act, including hunting a grizzly in an area where he was not permitted to and careless use of a firearm. But months later, in court, all charges were dropped because a conservation officer had originally told the hunter that the kill was legal. Hume is advocating for a three-kilometre corridor around Klukshu to be off-limits for hunting. Essential to coexistence is that people practise the rules of living with bears consistently. The bears, in turn, observe predictable and nonthreatening human patterns they can respond to. AT THE END OF SEPTEMBER, 10,343 sockeye salmon were counted through the Klukshu River, a far cry from the preseason forecast of 31,400 and below the 10-year average of 13,700 salmon, says Wallace. Meanwhile, in Klukshu, the memory of abundant sockeye runs — of the rivers overflowing with salmon — is still alive with Elders like Hume and Allen. Today, their former spawning areas at the outlet of Klukshu Lake have become crowded with weeds, says Hume. “There’s no room for them to spawn.” There’s uncertainty around how Klukshu will adapt to future ecological changes and what the loss of the Mayor will ultimately mean for the community. What remains the same, however, is people’s respect for the bears. Allen doesn’t bother to board up her windows or otherwise bear-proof her cabin. The squirrels, she says, are more bothersome than the bears. She heeds the advice of Elders who told her that, come mid-October, everyone should leave Klukshu so the bears can feed on the spawning coho. When the snow falls in November, the grizzlies wander down to the banks of the Klukshu River, now void of people. “It’s their territory, too,” says Allen.