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your homegrown newspaper January 29, 2025
Vol. 21, No. 20
Polar bear research shared, adventures open to public By Beau Biggs for the Valley Journal
Capitol tours pg. 6
Dino nesting site pg. 8
Sports pg. 16
PABLO – Dr. Frank Tyro’s bear adventures began over 40 years ago with the non-profit organization The Great Bear Foundation in an effort to conserve habitats for bears around the world. Tyro hosted a community gathering on Tuesday, Jan. 21, at the Salish Kootenai College theater to share what he's learned from polar bear research done in the artic and subarctic. The Great Bear Foundation is a conservation group that guides participants in Churchill, Manitoba in Canada’s Hudson Bay for four days with guides offering information about ecology, culture and bear behavior. Graduate and undergraduate college credits are available. The foundation states that 100 percent of the proceeds from the trip go to bear conservation projects. “If you don’t have a passport and you want to come, you better get one,” Tyro said of the next up-
BEAU BIGGS PHOTO
Dr. Frank Tyro shared "40 years of observations of arctic and subarctic travels" with program attendees at Salish Kootenai College on Jan. 21. Tyro has co-led artic ecology field courses for the Great Bear Foundation for the past 4 decades. He currently serves as GBF president.
coming trip. Autumn Adams, Tyro’s daughter, was on a sim-
ilar trip with her father during the summer of 2016. w w w.va l le yj our na l.net
“I saw some amazing things including polar bears eating a whale car-
cass,” she said. Adams spoke about the importance of conservation: “I think we need to make a conscious effort to protect the bears.” She said she continues to spread the message about conservation from a warmer vantage point. “I am not a cold girl,” she said jokingly. “I don’t like the cold, but it was a trip I would go on again for the experiences.” Tyro shared information and photos about the trip to encourage conversation as well as to share what the trip might be like or to allow others to experience the event from a warmer location. Dr. Charles Jonkel, co-founder of The Great Bear Foundation and pioneer of bear biology, passed away in Missoula of natural causes on April 12, 2016. Tyro shared some of his story in his documentary “Walking Bear Comes Home,” about Jonkel’s life and work. “I had a bear fivefeet away and it sniffed see page 2