Distinctly Montana Magazine

W W W. D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA NA . C O M 83 CHUCK JONKEL Few people have made a greater impact on modern day bear biology and conservation than Dr. Charles Jonkel, pioneer of bear biology and co-founder of the Great Bear Foundation. Jonkel entered the wildlife biology field at an auspicious and revolutionary moment — just as the newly invented dart gun became available commer- cially. Dr. Jonkel was one of the first five biologists — along with Montana's Craighead brothers — to develop capture and handling procedures for wild bears. Jonkel's work started on black bears in Montana's Whitefish Range, and continued with the first large-scale study of Canada's polar bears, followed by major, influential studies of grizzly bears in Montana. Jonkel also founded the International Wildlife Film Festival to pro- mote ethics and accuracy in wildlife media. Dr. Charles Jonkel passed away April 12, 2016 in Missoula. His legacy lives on through the Great Bear Foundation and his broad community work in Missoula. If his wish has been granted, he just might now roam the shores of Hudson Bay as a polar bear. He often spoke of a den he'd picked out on the northeast- ern tip of North Twin Island, lined with tundra flowers. Chuck puts his polar bear pin on the regaila of Allen Pierre at a Bear Honoring. A preview of a film on the life and work of Charles Jonkel www.distinctlymontana.com/jonkel164 DISTINCTLY MONTANA | DIGITAL home, teaching them to recognize the signs of wildlife around them. Programs are available throughout the year upon request, and can also be tailored to adults and all-ages groups. Bear conservation does not stop in Montana — GBF also works further north. e foundation offers summer and fall field courses in polar bear habitat, open to people of all ages and backgrounds. An August field course, Berries, Belugas and Bears, takes groups to Churchill, Manitoba when belugas bear their calves in the Churchill River, and polar bears have just come ashore from the sea ice. Fall field courses focus primarily on polar bears at the peak of bear season, just before Hudson Bay starts to freeze up. GBF has taken groups from Montana to observe polar bears for 32 years. In 2013, GBF opened a second office in Haines, Alaska, expanding the foundation's reach to a new audience. Programs in Alaska focus on the salmon-bear ecosystem, where GBF re- searches human-bear interactions on salmon streams.

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