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September 14, 2022 Bear registrations drop sharply, as anticipated Bumper berry crop has made hunter baits less effective A young bear looks down from a high perch in an aspen tree. FILE PHOTO Posted Wednesday, September 14, 2022 6:31 pm Marshall Helmberger REGIONAL—Fewer bear hunters are reporting success this year as abundant wild food sources appear to have given the advantage to the bears. As of Sept. 13, hunter registrations statewide are down 34 percent over last year. Last year’s harvest, which fell just shy of 3,000 for the season, was boosted by drought conditions that dried up most berry crops that bears rely on as they seek to put on fat reserves for the winter. Hungry bears are more likely to respond to the baits that hunters put out near their stands, so poor conditions give hunters the advantage. This year, a bumper crop of wild fruits, mushrooms, acorns, and other wild foods have made baiting less effective. “Bear foods are definitely the driving factor here,” said Jessica Holmes, Tower area DNR wildlife manager. This year’s abundant wild foods are helping female bears most of all, and that’s likely to aid in the effort to rebuild the region’s bear population. DNR wildlife managers have been trying to rebuild the bear population in the region, which was cut in half a decade ago by several years of high hunting mortality. But the rebound has been slower than expected, as a series of poor food years have left females more vulnerable to hunters. Female bears are typically more cautious about approaching hunters’ baits, but they tend to overcome that reluctance when natural foods are short. Last year, hunters took an even number of males and females. This year, however, males are making up about 62 percent of the registered bears. “This is quite a contrast to last year,” said Holmes. As of Sept. 13, hunters had registered a total of 132 bears in permit area 25, which includes northern St. Louis and the eastern half of Koochiching counties. Of those, 82 were males, while 56 were female. Hunters had registered 157 bears in permit area 31, which runs from Tower and Ely down to the North Shore, including 107 males and 50 females. Given the pace of the hunt, Holmes said she expects the final harvest will come in right around 2,000 bears this season, If so, that would be the lowest harvest since 2018. The bear season runs through Sunday, Oct. 16, although most bears are taken in the first ten days of the season.

609ddf2d-2005-4c3b-9235-497b828b3535 < Back Cub Screaming When cubs are afraid, they scream. That’s the sound that brings mom running.

a2ad3fdd-a92c-4401-92ae-a5c982f6e8d7 Tree Bites and Scratches Black bears bite trees to leave messages for other bears so they tend to be in conspicuous locations.

2db77871-00d1-47a4-bb33-3524610bad8e BLACK BEAR DIET Canada Bluejoint Calamagrostis canadensis May Spring Canada Bluejoint is a common native grass, long lived perennial grass that grows 2' to 6' tall. And is found in a variety of moist to wet places all across Minnesota as well as much of North America.

9b39d39c-a1ee-48ba-905e-41df8a3dbaed < Back Slide 45 of 83 < > Compared to other states, Minnesota has gone from first to last in white pine lumber production. For example, Minnesota started with twice as much white pine as New Hampshire but now has only a 20th as much. New Hampshire and other eastern states manage their white pines on a nearly sustainable basis and now produce 99 percent of the nation's white pine lumber. There's no nationwide shortage of white pine lumber, but there is a shortage in Minnesota where overharvest has reduced our output to the point where Minnesota now produces less than one percent of the nation's white pine lumber.

August 19, 2023 North American Bear Center in Ely ranked No. 4 museum in Minnesota by Tripadvisor by Elizabeth Granger Mesabi Tribune Holly, 10, is from Arkansas. Separated from her mother by a wildfire, she was rescued by a man who cared for her for 6 months. She moved on to a rehabilitation facility, which determined she would not survive in the wild. She was rescued by NABC in December 2013. Her name reflects the time of year she moved to Ely. Also that the holly berry is a natural bear food. Photo courtesy of North American Bear Center. ELY—South Carolinians Evonne Swanson and her family were sightseeing along the North Shore recently when an artist they met suggested they visit Ely. “We turned around and came here on his advice." Swanson said. The suggestion took them to the North American Bear Center. "At first I thought. ‘Oh. that's not good—people interacting with bears,” she said. "But this develops respect and appreciation; this is educational. This is the way it should be done." It's a sentiment clearly shared by many, because Tripadvisor’s 2023 list of Minnesota's best museums has the Bear Center ranked No. 4. Ursine residents Lucky, Tasha and Holly welcome visitors from their attractive new enclosures, completed earlier this year, that include bear dens as well as plenty of foliage. A pond below the viewing deck invites the trio to take a dip on hot summer days, although not all three at the same time. When one of the bears blows bubbles in the water, you’ll hear laughter from visitors as they talk of their early swimming lessons. Each of the bears is a rescue. Lucky, the only male, is 16; Holly, 10; and Tasha, 8. They'll spend the rest of their lives at the center because experts have determined they would not survive in the wild. Ted and Honey were the centers first bears. Honey was 20 when she died in 2016: Ted was almost 26 when he died last fall. The current bear trio is the big deal here, to be sure. Behind the Scenes tours take visitors for a short, narrated walk along the enclosures to meet the bears. But small animals—Tuck the turtle. Sid and Sophie the salamanders. Spaghetti and Linguine the snakes—are among local animals that welcome visitors, especially the young set, to show-anti tell-and-touch opportunities during Critter Time in the Cub Room. A wide view of northern Minnesota wildlife is in the Northwoods Ecology Hall. "To fully understand any type of animal, you have to understand the area where it lives and what it lives with." said biologist/assistant director Spencer Peter. "When people first walk in. there’s a ’Wow!’ because the moose towers over the whole room. You never get the chance to be nose-to-nose to a moose like that." The center is the dream- come-true of Dr. Lynn Rogers. who has spent more than five decades studying the black bear. In addition to the bear center, the Ely area also accommodates his Wildlife Research Institute. Rogers is regarded by many as "the Jane Goodall of black bears." Rogers’ trust-based research methods combine scientific observation with modern technology. Attitudes change as bears themselves show humans their reality. Much of that information is presented in short, easy-to-understand snippets displayed throughout the museum. Bear habitat, habits, hibernation, reproduction, communication, .... More than a smidgin of information dispels myths about bears. Examples? No real bear likes honey as much as Winnie the Pooh does. Hibernation times depend on a bear's genetics. Bears from northern climes hibernate earlier and longer than do bears from southern climes. Tasha, from Kentucky, hibernates from late October through late March. Lucky, from Wisconsin, hibernates earlier and longer. So does Holly, from Arkansas. because it's been determined that she has some "northern" genes. Black bear attacks are extremely rare. Rogers has written: “What should people do if they see a black bear in the wild? Basically, enjoy it.” "There are many people who are fully supportive of this center." Peter said. “They love the bears, and they love watching them on the live cam if they can’t be here. We’ve been blessed to have a ton of supporters and a ton of volunteers who always step up to the plate.” In addition to the new fencing, areas throughout the building, including the ledge below the huge viewing windows, have been recently updated. There are a new nesting platform for a large bird of prey such as an osprey or eagle, a fisher nest box, a boreal owl nest box, a bat "hotel" that can hold quite a few bats. Plans are in the works for additional nature trails. “We want you to come learn about bears,” Peter said. “In a nutshell, that's our mission. We don’t want people to go to bear country, wherever it is. and be fearful about black bears. They're not an animal that requires that amount of tear. Come visit us and learn the truth about them.”

6f3aa18a-9d2d-4881-bdb4-38c41058c37a BLACK BEAR DIET Mountain Maple Acer spicatum April Late Winter Mountain Maple is the smallest of Minnesota's native maple species, growing as a tall shrub or small tree(up to 14' tall). In the early spring, black bears feed on the flowers produced by this tree.

6d1cb814-1756-4134-8b8b-e322c5e259c5 BLACK BEAR DIET Large-leaved Aster Eurybia macrophylla May Spring Large-leaved aster is a common dense ground cover in Minnesota’s forests. The plant has large heart shaped leaves. The nutrients in large-leaved aster are only available to bears before they are unfurled as they emerge through the soil in the early spring. After they are fully emerged, the leaves mature and become more fibrous and less digestible to black bears as their nutrients become incorporated into cell walls as cellulose.

63cc0722-64b3-4a83-a181-c4d841d956f9 Polar Bears - A Natural History of a Threatened Species Stirling, a Canadian research scientist, is regarded as one of the world's foremost polar bear authorities. In this text, he draws on his forty years of research as well as research by others to produce an in-depth examination of polar bears. Subjects covered include, among others, mating, denning, hunting, social interaction, physiology and habitat. Each topic is richly illustrated with photographs which show not only the beauty of these great animals and the environment in which they live, but the complexity of their lives and behaviors. The photographs alone could comprise a book worthy of praise, but Stirling couples these photographs with scientific-based, but comprehensible and engaging text. Ian Stirling May 17, 2011 300 Pages:

53314562-2cfb-46eb-aba8-3d0380ca85bb BLACK BEAR DIET Common Dandelion, Red-seeded Dandelion Taraxacum officinale, Taraxacum erythrospermum May Summer The dandelion is an introduced weed that today is widely recognized by all. Settlers who came to North America in the 1600’s brought dandelions to plant and cultivate in their gardens for food and medicine. This widely recognized plant with a yellow flower, blooms from April to September. Black bears eat the leaves and flowers in the month of May.

2d35f25a-9788-49d6-9682-eaab25697d99 < Back Slide 33 of 83 < > If a young white pine gets the disease, it usually dies.

63e6c65d-50c5-4b2b-aad6-a924fe23ef22 BLACK BEAR DIET Chokecherry Prunus virginiana August, September Summer, Autumn Shrub or small tree, often forming dense thickets, with dark red or purple fruit ripening from August to September. As the common name suggests, chokecherries are astringent.