Tag Archives: video

Cameras, video give new insights into bear behavior

January 2, 2016Environmental Issues, Newsbear bathtub, black bears, grizzly bears, photography, video, Yellowstone National Parknfpa

Bear bathtubs? Who knew? . . .

It takes a hike over high ridges and numerous toppled lodgepole pine trees to find the small pool of fresh water in Yellowstone National Park.

This is not some out-of-the-way hot springs that adventurous tourists seek out to soak in. Instead, the well-worn trails marked by tracks leading to the site attest to its use as a “bear bathtub.”

The first of these pools was discovered more than a decade ago by Yellowstone bear researchers as they searched for a tracking collar that had fallen off one of the bears they were studying, according to an article in the recently released issue of the journal Yellowstone Science. The signal sent by the collar led them to the small pond at the end of a narrow gully surrounded by forested hills, according to the article’s lead author, Kerry Gunther, Yellowstone’s bear manager.

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Longtime Montana FWP filmmaker has dream job

September 30, 2014Newsfilm, Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks, videonfpa

For 37 years, Mike Gurnett has been paid to do something lots of folks would do for free . . .

The question longtime Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks filmmaker Mike Gurnett gets asked perhaps most frequently is: “Wait, you get paid to do this?”

“It reminds me that this is a good gig I’ve got going,” Gurnett said. “I figure that every month I take the trip of a year for somebody.”

In his 37 years making documentary films and short videos for FWP, Gurnett has spanned the state, filming in some of the most beautiful locations Montana has to offer. One week he may be filming biologists collaring grizzly bears. The next, it could be elk rutting in the Missouri River Breaks or sage grouse dancing on the prairie.

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As Wilderness Act turns 50, dealing with new technologies

May 31, 2014Environmental Issues, Newsstill photography, video, Wilderness Actnfpa

Here’s a thoughtful article by Rob Chaney of the Missoulian concerning new issues technology brings to wilderness management . . .

When the Wilderness Act was passed in 1964, NASA was sending astronauts into space guided by an IBM 360 computer with 1 megabyte of memory. That’s enough to hold one minute of a video on today’s iPhone.

And that’s a conundrum for people like Pat Tabor. His Swan Mountain Outfitters lead paying customers into the Bob Marshall Wilderness for camping and hunting trips. That’s considered a “proper” commercial service under the special provisions clause of the Wilderness Act. But shooting a video of the experience with a smartphone for a movie about his company is not.

“Now with the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act, it calls into question the viability of what we’re doing,” Tabor said. “There are immense restrictions that come into play when a place is designated wilderness. The language in the Wilderness Act speaks of commercial activity ‘to the extent necessary.’ That means commercial services. But what’s the extent of that?”

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