The first thing I noticed the story was written by some Dr Stephen F. Stringham, so I did a google search, looks to me like the guy is just another biologist hugger with an agenda that's in love with predators....
Dr. Stephen F. Stringham, PhD
President, Wildwatch LLC
Wildlife Viewing & ScenicTours
Consulting
o Wildlife Conservation
o Environmental impacts assessment
Productions
o Educational software
o Videos
Publications
o Books
o Articles
Educational Services
o Tele-Teachers/Tele-Tutors (K-12)
in-home and distance tutoring
o College courses
o Public talks
* wildlife safety
* wildlife conservation
* environmental impacts
Senior Staff
o Stephen F. Stringham, PhD
o Jacqueline W. Stringham, MA
Sept 86- President, WildWatch LLC. An educational-services company :
present (Click on blue buttons at top of page of details).
* Consulting on wildlife, wildlife safety, and environmental impacts
(e.g., impacts by development of ski areas, a natural gas pipeline, and mines)
* Conduct research on big game mammals: ecology, behavior, and environmental impacts.
* Teach wildlife safety (K-12 and college lectures and courses; public talks.
* Tutor K-12 students in science and math
* Produce educational interactive software - science
* Write and publish books on Alaskan wildlife, ecotourism, and wildlife safety
* Produce videos on Alaskan wildlife, ecotourism and wildlife safety
Apr 98 - Director, Bear Communication & Aggression Research Program: This program investigates
present ways to minimize direct conflicts between people and bears. I do close-range observation
of grizzly and black bear behavior, particularly on the Alaska and Kenai Peninsulas of AK.
Apr 94 Polar Bear Conservation: Developed estimates of "Potential Biological Removal," as
- Oct 94 required by the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Collected indigenous knowledge on
polar bear habitat use from Alaska Natives. Helped develop the Polar Bear Habitat
Conservation Strategy. Analyzed laws pertaining to protection of polar bear habitat.
Marine Mammals Management Office, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Anchorage, AK
Sept 91 Director, Blackfeet Environmental Office, Blackfeet Indian Reservation. Co-founded the -
Sept 93 BEO. Wrote QA/QC plans, work plans, progress and completion reports, etc; implemented
adherence to environmental laws through programs in water quality (Lakes and
Wetlands), air quality, land quality (e.g., SuperFund; underground storage tanks).
Analyzed federal and state environmental laws; drafted tribal environmental legislation.
Served as an expert witness in federal hearings on environmental impacts.
Aug 85 Holistic Resource Management: ecology and management of wildlife (coyote, lynx, bobcat,
-Aug 86 fox, deer, bear, moose, hare, beaver, etc.) were approached from an ecosystem
perspective to facilitate multiple use management of the Adirondack Ecosystem (e.g.,
optimizing the combined yields of game, timber and recreation). Advised grad students.
Post-doctoral Research Associate: Adirondack Ecological Center, State Univ. of New
York, Newcomb, NY 12852.
OTHER PROPFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Responses by grizzly & black bear populations to adult male abundance and behavior and to
food supply and nutritional status. Assessment done by re-analyzing existing data sets.
Made behavioral observations of captive American & Asian black bears. Doctoral
Research, Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville. 37996
Analyzed impacts of trophy hunting through restoring near-natural ratios of adult
males vs. adolescent males and vs. adolescent and adult females in Chamois, red deer,
and roe deer: . This was one facet of Project Achenkirch, reputedly the most
comprehensive study of human impacts to the alpine environment ever done in Europe up
to that time. Our game management scheme was subsequently adopted throughout
Austria, certain other parts of Europe, and some parts of North America, including Alaska
(Dahl sheep and moose). Research supported by grants from World Wildlife Fund and Fund
fur Umwelt Studien. Post-grad research.
Moose: I researched mother-offspring relations, communication, calf
survivorship, and ontogeny of behavior. Information later used to assess likelihood of
calf survival after the death of the mother (e.g., from hunting) University of Alaska,
Fairbanks. MSc Research
Explored for along-shore deposits of gold and other precious metals.
U.S. Geological Survey, Division of Marine Geology and Hydrology.
Assessed ecosystem impacts by an insecticide used to kill spruce budworm.
U.S. Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station.
Screened organic compounds for potential use as pesticides.
Bio-products Division, Dow Chemical Co.
Designed and maintained marine aquarium systems for teaching and research, including
my own analysis of the effects of the toxin colchicine on embryogenesis of the sea urchin
-- which provided a key to understanding protein synthesis in embryos.
TEACHING (Click above on "Educational Services" for details)
11 years classroom instruction (1 high school, 10 college)
9 years tutoring
COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES
* Member, Wolverine Creek Management Committee
* Former member, Fish & Game Advisory Council for Kenai/Soldotna (Alaska)
* Former member of and advisor to the Alaska Native Brotherhood on environmental issues.
* Former advisor to the Sitka Tribe of Alaska on environmental issues.
* Former member Board of Directors of the Alaska Communities Economic Coalition
* Former advisor to the Stakeholder Committee for conservation of brown bears on the
Kenai Peninsula of Alaska
* Former advisor to the Technical Committee for the cleanup of the Alaska Pulp Co. mill site
in Sitka, AK.
* Advisor to various conservation groups.
DOCUMENTS AUTHORED: Scientific journal papers, Consulting Reports,
Legal testimony, Legal Analyses, Popular articles, etc.
Technical Documents (To read a pdf copy of a document, click on its title)
Stringham, S. F. 1964. Effects of the alkaloid colchincine on embryhogenesis of the sea urchin
Strongylocentrotus purpuratus. Unpublished.
____. 1969 Estuarian ecology
____. 1974. Mother-offspring relations in moose. Naturaliste Can. 101:325-369.
____, and A. B. Bubenik. 1974. Physical condition and survival rates of chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra
L.) as a function of maturity-sex class ratios in the population. Implications for ungulate harvest
plans. pp. 123-158 in W. Schroder (ed.): Tagungsbericht: Internationales Gamswild-Treffen,
Institute for Wildforschung und Jagdkunde, Oberammergau, Germany.
____, and A. B. Bubenik. 1975. Condition Physique et Taux de Survie du Chamois, Rupicapra
rupicapra L., En Fonction des Classes d'Age et de Sexe de la Population. Bulletin de l'Office
de la Chasse, Etudes Scientifiques et Techniques, Paris. Special No. 3:199-224.
____. 1980. Possible impacts of hunting on the grizzly/brown bear (Ursus arctos), a Threatened
species. Int. Conf. Bear Res. and Manage. 4:337-348.
____. 1983. Roles of adult males in grizzly bear population biology.
Int. Conf. Bear Res. and Manage. 5:140-151.
____. 1984. Responses by gizzly bear population dynamics to certain environmental and biosocial
factors. PhD. Disseration, U Tennessee, 495 pp.
____. 1986a. Effects of climate, dump closure, and other factors on Yellowstone grizzly bear litter size.
Int. Conf. Bear Res. and Manage. 6:33-39.
____. 1986b. Ecosystem perspectives and modeling for Adirondack mammal predator-prey
interactions. unpubl. 58pp. + 48pp. of appendices.
____. 1987. Consequences of bears eating garbage at dumps: an overview.
Northwest Terr. Dept. of Renew. Res. pp. 36-42.
____. 1988a. Evolving standards for the legal admissibility and judgment of scientific evidence about
the impacts of human activity on bears or their habitat. Address to the Ninth Eastern Black Bear
Workshop. Ontario. April 1988.
____. 1988b. What are "necessary habitat" and "undue adverse effect on the natural environment?" An
ecologist's view of Vermont Acts 250 (8a) and 248 (b5). Prefile testimony presented in hearings on
Champlain (natural gas) Pipeline before the Vermont Public Utilities Board, administrative hearing.
____. 1988c. Is the Vermont black bear population crashing? Implications of a population
reconstruction analysis. Prefile testimony presented in hearings on Champlain (natural gas) Pipeline
before the Vermont Public Utilities Board, administrative hearing.
____. 1990a. Black bear reproductive rate relative to body weight in hunted populations.
Int. Conf. Bear Res. and Manage. 8:425-432.
____. 1990b. Grizzly bear reproductive rate relative to body size.
Int. Conf. Bear Res. and Manage. 8:433-443.
____. 1994a. Legal Protection for Marine Mammals and Habitat. USFWS report.
____. 1994b. Legal Basis for Protecting Polar Bear Habitat. USFWS report.
____. 1994c. Comments on the Marine Mammal Protection Act. USFWS report.
____. 1994d. Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act: annotated Synopsis. USFWS report.
____. 1994e. Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act: basis for decisions. USFWS report.
____. 1994f. Marine Mammal Protection Act - comments. USFWS report.
____. 1995a. Aggregation of bears at food concentrations (ecocenters).
Int. Conf. Bear Res. and Manage. 9(2):223-230.
____. 1995b. Is grizzly bear reproductive rate depressed by aggregations at concentrated food
sources? Int. Conf. Bear Res. and Manage. 9(2):216-222.
____. 1995c. Is grizzly bear cub mortality rate elevated by aggregation at concentrated food sources?
Int. Conf. Bear Res. and Manage. 9(2):205-215.
____. 1995d. Endangered Species Act – annotated Synopsis. USFWS report.
____. 1995e. A meta-strategy for world bear conservation. Consulting report.
____. 1996. Buffered viability management of bear populations: a conceptual model for selecting
critical decision thresholds.
____. 1997a. Critical Deficiencies in Information-Gathering Under the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Grizzly Bear Recovery Plan (32 pp.) [Testimony to the USFWS]
____. 1997b. Why Abundance of Infant Litters is Not a Reliable Index of Population Size and
Sustainable Mortality for Yellowstone Grizzly Bears? (27 pp.) [Testimony to the USFWS]
____. 1998a. Does the Grizzly Bear Recovery Plan Exaggerate Sustainable Loss to Known Human Kills?
(10 pp.) [Testimony to the USFWS]
____. 1998b. How the Grizzly Bear Recovery Plan May Exaggerate Estimates for Total Population Size
and Sustainable Loss Extrapolated from Abundance of Adult Females. (19 pp.) [Testimony to the
USFWS]
____. 1999. Assessing importance of specific habitat areas. [Unpubl. Report to the Kenai Brown Bear
Stakeholders Committee] (3 pp.)
____. 2000a. Estimating Extinction Risk for Grizzly Bears or Other Large Mammals: Is Foley’s Model
Applicable? (69 pp.) [Testimony to the USFWS]
____. 2000b. Critique of Boyce (2000) Metapopulation Analysis for the Bitterroot Population.
[Testimony to the USFWS]
____. 2000c. Critique of the Draft Conservation Strategy for the Grizzly Bear in the Yellowstone Area.
(11 pp.) [Testimony to the USFWS]
____. 2006a. Critique of the USFWS (1999) Draft Habitat-Based Recovery Criteria for the Yellowstone
Grizzly Bear. (30 pp.) [Update of 1999 testimony to the USFWS]
____. 2006b. Are Official Estimates of Yellowstone Grizzly Bear Population Size and Sustainable
Mortality Critically Biased by Annual Variation in Thoroughness of Censusing Adult Females with Infant
Cub Litters? (103 pp.) [Update of testimony submitted in 1998 to the USFWS]
____. 2006c. Overview of my Comments on the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service DPS-Delisting Proposal For
Grizzly Bears (11 pp.) [Testimony to the USFWS]
____. 2006d. Crippling Vagueness of the Delisting / DPS Rule. (11 pp.) [Testimony to the USFWS]
____. 2006e. Are Yellowstone Grizzly Bears a Distinct Population Segment that is Ready for Delisting?
(25 pp.)
____. 2006f. Are Delisting Criteria Legal? (2 pp.)
____. 2006g. Analysis of Population Trend for Grizzlies (13 pp.)
___. 2010a (in press). Bear behavior & ecology: potential contributions by captive research to testing
hypotheses & answering questions generated by field research. Proceedings of the Second Bear Care
Conference.
____. 2010b (in press). Ursid ontogenetic responses to variations in nutrition and adult male
abundance. Proceedings of the Second Bear Care Conference.
____. 2010c (in press). Ursid pelage coloration: Ontogenetic, regional and seasonal variations.
Proceedings of the Second Bear Care Conference.
____. 2010d (in press). Cognitive ethology of ursidae. Proceedings of the Second Bear Care
Conference.
____. 2010e (in press). Ursid ethogram project. Proceedings of the Second Bear Care Conference.
____. 2010f (in press). Does habituation to humans really render captive bears unfit for release into
the wilds? Proceedings of the Second Bear Care Conference.
____. 2010g (in press). Distinguishing among North American bear species by hand- and foot-prints.
Proceedings of the Second Bear Care Conference.
____. 2010h (in press). Does behavioral maturation continue during hibernation or aestivation?
A possible method for distinguishing effects of maturation vs. Experience
Proceedings of the Second Bear Care Conference.
Wei, Fuwen, G. Yang, J. Hu, & S. Stringham. 2004. Balancing panda and human needs for bamboo
shoots in Mabian Nature Reserve China: Predictions from a logistic-like model.
in D. Lindberg (ed), Panda Conservation,. U. Calif Press.
Non-Technical Consulting Reports (To read a pdf copy of a document, click on its title)
[reports to consulting clients, legal testimony,
_
Stringham, S. F. 1993. Native American Environmental Institute - a Proposal submitted to Congress by
the Blackfeet Indian Nation.
Stringham, Steve & Bruce McCurtain. 2009. Annual Operating Plan 2010-2019 for Campgrounds
and Other Facilities in Chugach National Forest, Alaska. Alaska Recreational Management. 266 pp. +
attachments.
Popular Writing (To read about a book, click on its title)
* Beauty Within the Beast: Kinship With Bears in the Alaska Wilderness (book on bear-human
relationships). Seven Locks Press. 2002
* Bear Viewing in Alaska: Expert Tips for a Great Adventure. Globe Pequot Publ. 2007
* Alaska Magnum Bear Safety Manual: Don’t Risk Your Life to Live Your Dreams of Fishing, Hunting,
Hiking, Camping or Watching Wildlife in the Far North. WildWatch Publ. 2008
* When Bears Whisper, Do You Listen? Negotiating Close Encounters With Wild Bruins.
WildWatch Publ. 2009
* Ghost Grizzlies and Other Rare Bruins: The Art & Adventure of Knowing Wild Bears.
WildWatch Publ. (scheduled for release in summer 2010)
* Evolution of Bears. Online book. Click on title to read.
* Bear Aggression: Violence, Intimidation and Manipulation
WildWatch Publ. (scheduled for release in fall 2010)
WildWatch Publ. (scheduled for release in fall 2009)
* Surviving Bear Aggression: True Experiences & Effective Techniques
WildWatch Publ. (scheduled for release in spring 2011)
* The Language of Bears: Communication is the Key to Coexistence.
WildWatch Publ. (In prep.)
* Grizzlies Among the Glaciers: Adventures Researching Alaska’s Coastal Bears.
WildWatch Publ. (In prep.)
* Becoming Bear: Seeing Through the Eyes of Objectivity and Intuition.
WildWatch Publ. (In prep.)
* Loneliness is a Motherless Moose: Adventures Among Alaska's Antlered Giants
WildWatch Publ. (In prep.)
National magazine and local newspaper articles.
For example:
* 1992. How many grizzlies is enough: Is the grizzly still Threatened or Endangered?
Ursus 1(3) and 1(4):8-10, 13, 23-24.
* 1993. Trophy bull management: An alternate strategy. Bugle Magazine. (fall issue)
* 1999-2000. Conservation of grizzly/brown bears on the Kenai Peninsula of Alaska
-- Series of 10 newspaper articles related to development of a new Conservation Plan.
Peninsula Clarion
o Bear Watching on the Kenai Peninsula
o Bear Viewing vs. Bear Hunting and Fishing
o Brown Bear Conservation - An Investment in Our Future
o Making Good Brown Bear Conservation Good Business.
o Selecting Strategic Goals for Kenai Brown Bear Conservation
o Choosing Acceptable Risk to Kenai Brown Bears
o The Moose That Roared
o Competing for Moose & Caribou Against Wolvers & Bears
o Predators, Prey & People
* 2002. Opinion piece for Homer News, Homer, AK.
* 2002 Smokey & Mirrors. WildEarth Magazine. (fall issue).
* Recent: Several more newspaper articles related to wildlife safety or viewing
Video Production: 2 videos to educate the public about bear safety and social behavior.
(Click above on "Productions" for details).
Major Scientific and Wildlife/Wildland Conservation Projects
* Assessed impacts of human activities, including development of ski areas and a natural gas pipeline,
as well as logging, hunting, angling and wildlife viewing.
* Co-founded and -directed the Blackfeet Environmental Office for the Blackfeet Indian Nation
* Managed a wide range of environmental monitoring under EPA grants for the Blackfeet Nation. *
* Analyzed federal and state environmental laws; drafted Blackfeet tribal environmental legislation.
* Member of the federal team that developed the Polar Bear Habitat Conservation Strategy.
* Researched communication and aggression in bear and ungulate populations.
* Critiqued federal management plans for Threatened grizzly bear populations.
* Modeled single-species and predator-prey population dynamics; analyzed extinction risks.
* Assessed impacts of hunting on bear and ungulate populations.
* Developed interactive educational software relating to wildlife and environmental impacts.
* Critiqued Draft and Final EA’s and EIS’s by other parties.
