Great Bear Foundation
Conserving the eight bear species and their habitats worldwide
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Bear Basics
The Bear Basics Program for K-12 schools is a free, interactive presentation that has educated thousands of Montana students on the natural history, behavior, and ecology of large North American predators. The focus is primarily on black, grizzly, and polar bears, but wolves and mountain lions are included, as learning to live with top-level predators is essential in Montana. Bear biologists review our factual curricula and educational packets that we provide to teachers.
Classes and seminars
Classes and seminars for the public include field trips (run at near cost) to the Churchill Northern Studies Center, Manitoba, Canada. Great Bear staff and Charles Jonkel also teach eight to ten classes a year in conjunction with The Nature Conservancy at their Pine Butte Swamp Grizzly Bear Preserve outside of Choteau, Montana, and with Glacier Institute, a non-profit organization based in Kalispell, Montana. Other seminars and conferences include the annual Bear Honoring in conjunction with Salish Kootenai College, and other slide shows and presentations.
Research projects
Research projects include the collection of DNA to document grizzlies in the Selway-Bitterroot WIlderness and film and oral history documentation of Kermode (Sprit) bears in coastal British Columbia. Great Bear helped develop a livestock loss payment system to landowners on the Rocky Mountain East Front, has worked in trans-border bear issues with Alberta and British Columbia, and has also been involved in litigation over delisting of the grizzly in the Yellowstone Ecosystem.
Polar Bear & Arctic Ecology Field Courses
Conservation-based educational field courses in polar bear habitat
Chilkoot River Brown Bear Monitoring Project
Monitors human-bear interactions and human impacts on brown bears' foraging success on the Chilkoot River Corridor near Haines, Alaska
Bears & Apples
Organizes volunteers to glean fruit from residential areas to eliminate bear attractants, prevent human-wildlife conflict, and make use of a healthy, local food source
Where we work
External reviews

Videos
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Great Bear Foundation
Board of directorsas of 06/18/2019
Dr Frank Tyro
Caribou Crossing
Mark Robertson
Glacier Park Inn B&B
Jeffrey B Stetz
Sinopah Wildlife Research Associates
John Chott
Jennifer L Rasche
Kenai Peninsula College