Chase Grant Reports

The peace of today was interrupted by a scream at 13:25:37.  Before that, one cub was nursing and the other was trying.  Lily moved a bit, maybe to help the cub that was not being successful.  Hope saw a chance.  She made her usual vocalizations wanting to nurse.  She put her nose under Lily.  A cub screamed—loud.  Had Hope pushed or worse pulled the cub off a nipple?  Lily turned to see what was wrong, grunting with concern to the cub.  She made no move toward Hope.  She just tended to the cub, turning 180 degrees in the process.  Hope stayed out of the way of all the movement.  A few minutes later, all three were nursing peacefully.

Bad as it sounded, we believe we are hearing less screaming from these two cubs than we heard from Hope last year.

Speaking of last year.  Today, we sent in the grant reports for the Chase Community Giving you secured for the Bear Center and the Wildlife Research Institute.  Working on those reports reminded us how hard you worked to get those for us and what a difference they made.  We remember you voting as much as you could and getting your family, friends, and your kids’ web friends to vote, winning the Bear Center a much needed $100,000 and WRI another $20,000.  It also reminded us how much you have contributed over this past year to bail the Bear Center out from what seemed like hopeless debt.   You have made the Bear Center’s future much more secure and set us on a track to nationwide Education Outreach.

This graph made by Jeri Gavic Quy shows what you have done to reduce the debt and how your voting for the Chase Community Giving grant made the big difference in November when we received the check.  

Here are the Grant Reports we sent today.

From the Wildlife Research Institute:

Please accept this letter as our Grant Report, including the Narrative Evaluation and Financial Accounting.  Our most recent financial report (dated April 12, 2010) is attached.

On behalf of the Wildlife Research Institute and the many who voted in support of our work, thank you again for the $20,000 grant from Chase Community Giving.  We are using it for general operations as directed in your letter.

We are conducting the longest and most detailed study of black bear behavior and ecology ever done.  We believe this study and your grant are making a difference for bears around the world—not only in advancing science but in changing attitudes.

As an example, a BBC documentary series about the work aired recently in the UK on January 3, 4, and 5.  Entitled “The Bear Family and Me,” it stirred many people to write that learning about bears made them want to do more to assure the future of these magnificent, intelligent animals.

We will continue to learn and share information about bears as long as we can.

From the North American Bear Center:

Narrative Evaluation and Financial Accounting: We are deeply grateful to Chase Community Giving and the many who voted to further the mission of the North American Bear Center.  The $100,000 is already making a difference.  Upon receiving your grant on November 24, 2010, we applied it to debt reduction in order to preserve capital for the items below.  We are moving ahead on these items as funds allow, knowing we can re-borrow from the Chase Grant, as prudent, when bills are due.  Our most recent financial statement is attached.

The items below are listed by priority.  A top priority is the nationwide bear education outreach program.  It developed this past year when 459 teachers told us they use our Den Cam (on bear.org) in their classrooms all or part of each day.  That led to a volunteer team of educators working with us to develop educational material that meets state education guidelines for different grade levels.  Progress on that and other projects since November 24 is listed below.

1. Nationwide Bear Education Outreach Program: To further this partnership between the Bear Center and educators, we are continuing the Den Cams, helping with curriculum development, and supporting the creation of educational Black Bear Boxes for classrooms.
   1. Den Cams:  Together with Verizon, White Wolf Entertainment, Pix Controller, Digi International, Ritron Corp, Wildlife Research Institute, and WildEarth.TV, we began streaming live video from a wild den on December 30, 2010, and a captive den on January 28, 2011.  Costs to the North American Bear Center are being determined.
   2. Curriculum Development: Biologists are reviewing 6 lesson plans for scientific accuracy while teachers develop more lesson plans and explore clever ways to engage students.
   3. Black Bear Boxes: Students in North Carolina and New York are pilot-testing 2 boxes while volunteers assemble 10 more for further testing.  Contents cost roughly $1,000 per box and vary with grade level.  We plan to make more boxes as demand dictates.
2. Upgraded bear.org: To accommodate increasing web traffic generated by the Den Cams, we upgraded bear.org on December 29, 2010, and committed to website fees of $899/month for 2011.  (Total $10,788).
3. Expanded education at the North American Bear Center:
   1. Build new exhibits: The Bear Center’s Exhibit Team is creating 2 new exhibits to open May 1, 2011, with artifacts, pictures, video, etc.  Costs will be under $10,000.
   2. Build an Education Building: A meeting with architects (DSGW Associates) and Kraus-Anderson Construction Company on December 2, 2010, revealed that a building needed to fully develop the Education Outreach Program will cost ~$600,000. Plans are on hold.
   3. Expand the interpretive nature trails:  To develop additional nature trails, we are assessing costs of boardwalks, interpretive signage, making trails handicapped accessible, and whether the trails would be affordable.
   4. Create the Hope Center for Rehabilitating Injured and Orphaned Bears To the Wild: We are assessing the costs and feasibility of this project

On behalf of the North American Bear Center and all who voted in support of this grant, thank you.

And we say again, thank you for all you have done and are doing.  It simply is amazing.

—Lynn Rogers and Sue Mansfield, Biologists, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center