In the Methow Valley, hotter summers, bigger wildfires, and more development are bringing black bears and people into contact more often. Natural foods like wild berries are changing with the climate, and bears are turning to human areas for food.

As part of a larger effort to help our community live safely with bears, we have been collecting data on the occurrence of five fruiting shrubs that bears eat: serviceberry, chokecherry, currant, elderberry, and dogwood. By monitoring the trends of each shrub over time and comparing them to the amount of human-bear conflict in the community, we can better understand how to coexist with bears in a changing climate. 

If you are interested in volunteering as a community scientist on this project, you can sign up here!