Nonprofits invite community members to share grizzly bear stories at Whitefish event

Three nonprofits are teaming up to honor the 50th anniversary of the grizzly bear being listed as an endangered species by asking the community to share their stories and encounters with Ursus arctos horribilis. 

Stories will be shared during an event titled, “Your Grizzly Bear Story — A Night to Celebrate and Continue to Protect the Great Bear,” on July 28, at 101 Central in downtown Whitefish. The event is presented by the “Whitefish Review” literary magazine, Yaak Valley Forest Council and Vital Ground.

All ages are welcome to participate, and no experience is necessary, just a desire to share a short tale and honor the continued protection of the grizzly bear and its habitat. 

“Share your best three-minute grizzly bear story, and we’ll link one story after another to weave together a narrative of human experience with the great bear,” said Brian Schott, founding editor of Whitefish Review. 

People wanting to participate are asked to email a brief synopsis of their story to [email protected]. Spontaneous stories will also be welcome. 

Rick Bass, author of “The Lost Grizzlies” and executive director of the Yaak Valley Forest Council, whose organization works to defend the most endangered population of grizzlies in Montana and the West, said even after 50 years, grizzly bears still have not recovered yet. 

“The loss of critical habitat becomes more severe each year, even in our beloved Montana, with climate change the deadliest of all stressors. Where would you go on a hot day if you were wearing a 70-pound fur coat?" Bass said. 

Douglas Chadwick, author of “Four Fifths a Grizzly” and founding board member of Vital Ground, spoke to the grizzly's habitat. Vital Ground envisions a permanently connected landscape that ensures the long-term survival of grizzlies. 

“Because grizzlies roam very large home ranges that stretch from valley bottoms to mountaintops, a landscape that is intact and secure enough to support a healthy population of these great bears is also going to provide habitat and a future for a broad array of the other native creatures that belong there,” says “And — with luck and care — those parts of the world will always remain good enough, big enough, wild enough, and free enough … for us.” 

Doors open at 7 p.m. for cocktail hour. The evening starts at 8 p.m. with 3-minute stories by Bass, Chadwick and Matt Holloway, fiction editor at the “Whitefish Review," when the microphone will be turned over to community members. 

A $10 donation at the door is appreciated to help offset event costs. 

The evening is sponsored by Whitefish Credit Union, 101 Central, and The Whitefish Community Foundation.  

For more information, email [email protected].