Black bear research

This summer Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife biologists collected hair samples from black bears in northeast Washington. The effort is part of a larger statewide study aimed at determining bear densities in different regions of Washington. That information has never been collected in Washington before, with managers instead using notoriously unreliable hunter harvest reports and decades-old statewide population estimates, to set hunting regulations.

Section:Gallery

Sat., Aug. 3, 2019

A bear digs through a pile of logs placed inside a barb wire enclosure on July 8, 2019. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife biologists just finished a bear-hair capture effort in Region 1. The samples of bear hair will be used to determine the density of the population.

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A mother bear and two cubs dig through a pile of logs placed inside a barb wire enclosure on July 10, 2019. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife biologists just finished a bear-hair capture effort in Region 1. The samples of bear hair will be used to determine the density of the population. ELI FRANCOVICH/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW

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Carrie Lowe, a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife assistant district biologist, cleans a section of barb wire using a torch on July 23, 2019. Burning the wire removes any residue DNA from previous bears, which could compromise data collected by WDFW. ELI FRANCOVICH/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW.

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Carrie Lowe, a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife assistant district biologist, checks footage collected by a game camera on July 23, 2019. ELI FRANCOVICH/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW.

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Carrie Lowe, right, and Leslie King with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, collect samples of bear hair northeast of Chewelah, Wash. on July 23, 2019. ELI FRANCOVICH/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW.

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Carrie Lowe, left, a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife assistant district biologist, and Staci Lehman, a spokeswoman for WDFW, look for tufts of bear hair caught on barb wire on July 23, 2019. ELI FRANCOVICH/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW.

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Leslie King, a habitat biologist with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, cleans a section of barb wire using a lighter on July 23, 2019. Burning the wire removes any residue DNA from previous bears, which could compromise data collected by WDFW. ELI FRANCOVICH/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW.

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Carrie Lowe, a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife assistant district biologist, places a sample of bear hair into a envelope. The hair will be sent to a lab in British Columbia for DNA tests. Then, WDFW biologists will use the information to estimate the bear density in Region 1. ELI FRANCOVICH/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW.

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Carrie Lowe, a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife assistant district biologist, pours a foul-smelling concoction of cow blood and fish oil onto a pile of logs in Northeast Washington on July 23, 2019. The effort is part of survey of bears throughout the state aimed at gathering regional density information. ELI FRANCOVICH/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW.

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A sample of bear hair as seen on July 23, 2019 northeast of Chewelah, Wash. ELI FRANCOVICH/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW.

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A sign marks a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife bear study site on July 23, 2019. The statewide bear survey looked at bear densities in Region 1. Biologists attracted bears using a mix of cow blood and fish oil. They got hair samples by stretching barbwire between trees surrounding the blood and fish oil mix. The samples will be used to figure the density of bears in Region 1, information managers use to set hunting seasons and limits. ELI FRANCOVICH/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW.

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Carrie Lowe, a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife assistant district biologist, points to a map that shows the grid biologists are using to survey bear densities in Northeast Washington on July 23, 2019. ELI FRANCOVICH/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW.

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