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Sustained funding would also allow for expansion of the public educational and preventative work that is critical to the success of reducing human/bear conflicts. The development and implementation of bear shepherding workshops, KBD training and obedience courses, clinics and certification programs for agency personnel would allow for the methods to be used in other areas where human/bear conflicts occur. Long-term funding will allow the continued development of this unique methodology which when expanded can serve as a model for teaching other "problem " wildlife species such as wolves, tigers, mountain lions or even, perhaps, elephants. Through these efforts WRBI hopes to protect bears and to further public and agency education toward the preservation of intact ecosystems.
The Program and its partners have received a generous amount of publicity through documentary films, TV newscasts, magazines and newspaper articles (see Support Materials). Several feature articles, news stories and documentary films have been completed or are planned for 2000 that will present the Program and its partners to the public, including stories that will be covered by Time Magazine, Reader's Digest, National Geographic, the BBC and Animal Planet. This publicity should help WRBI educate the public, fund the Program and provide exposure for partners.
The proposed budget (attached) represents the level of funding that will enable the Wind River Bear Institute to complete the field work and necessary research to establish "Bear Shepherding" as the preferred bear management technique in Montana and hopefully, by example, throughout North America.
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