Program Night: Bears in Your Backyard?

Interested in learning about the bears in your backyard?  Join us for an informative interactive presentation with Julie (Hayes) Hopkins, a biologist with the Grizzly Bear Outreach Project.  Julie is a Threatened and Endangered Species Specialist with more than 15 years experience working with many large mammals and birds, whales and dolphins in the Pacific Northwest and around the world.   

You may not have bears in your own backyard, but there are bears in the Cascades.  Grizzlies and black bears.  In fact the North Cascades, from I-90 to Canada, is one of only six Recovery Areas for the Threatened grizzly bears in the lower 48 states.  Julie will share with us some of the latest information on how grizzlies are doing in some of these recovery areas.

Statewide there are an estimated 25,000 black bears and less than 20 grizzly bears. These large omnivores eat a diet of 90% vegetation and insects. They have to pack on a lot of calories to make it through the winters and are always on the search for food sources.  Julie will discuss the biology of both grizzly and black bears, how to live and recreate safely in bear country, and how to keep your backyard from being one of their food sources.   She will also bring skulls, claws, and fur from both bear species to share with us.

The goal of the Grizzly Bear Outreach Project team is to provide an educational resource to the public about bear behavior, safety and sanitation issues associated with living and recreating in the beautiful outdoors of the Cascade Mountains.

Please join us Thursday, September 27 for Julie’s stimulating and informative discussion about bears.  Come at 6:30 for the social hour.  Enjoy a brief monthly meeting and refreshments from 7:00 to 7:45, followed by Julie’s presentation. 

The social hour, meeting, and presentation are free and open to the public.  Invite a friend or anyone who will enjoy learning about bears in Washington.

Directions toNorthlake Unitarian Universalist Church, 308 4^th Ave. S. (corner of 4^th Ave. S. and State). Take I-405 exit 18 (NE 85^th, Kirkland).  Drive west on Central Way to 3^rd St. (stoplight). Turn left (south) on 3^rd St. and follow it as it bears left and changes name to State St.  Turn left on 4^th Ave S.