Interpretive center hosting grizzly event March 13
The Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center is hosting a new program March 13 on grizzlies.
Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. for the free event, Grizzlies of Montana: Then and Now, that begins at 7 p.m.
Interpretive Center Director Duane Buchi will open with highlights of the initial experiences of the Corps of Discovery with the grizzly bears that inhabited the upper stretches of the Missouri more than 200 years ago.
Spring in Montana signals the grizzly bear to awaken from their dens along the Rocky Mountain front and begin searching for food.
Chad White of Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks will provide information on grizzlies in Montana now, including FWP management practices and goals for mitigating human-bear conflicts.
White serves as a FWP bear management specialist in Region 4, which includes Great Falls.
White works with landowners and the public at large to navigate a successful balance between bear management while protecting landowners’ livelihood and the recreating public.
His interaction with and management of conflicts between the public and Montana’s bears began in earnest in 2018.
“He derives the greatest satisfaction in his role through face-to-face handshakes with landowners and random expressions of gratitude from the public at large as he brings awareness to Montana’s current bear situation and strives to mitigate human-bear conflicts,” according a release.
Buchi director of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Interpretive Center in Great Falls.
He was born and raised in Montana, where from an early age, he nurtured an affinity for the state’s varied history, cultural heritage, and natural resources. He has served in a variety of roles over the past ten years at the center, including ranger, education coordinator and now as director, according to a release.
The program is a part of the Ida Johnson Lecture Series and is sponsored by the Portage Route Chapter.
