Are there big bears out in the woods?

DEEP IN THE WENATCHEE NATIONAL FOREST -- "Go find it!" encouraged Danny Stone as he removed the yellow lab's leash in woods thick as fog. "Go to work!"

Carson leapt over decaying logs twice his height and ducked under fallen branches. The dog paused to sniff in the shade of Douglas firs tall as 10-story buildings. Almost instantly he raced off again, weaving and searching.


Hunting dog Carson, a dropout from narcotics work, leaps over fallen trees in search of his quarry while looking for signs of grizzlies in the Wenatchee National Forest. Mike Urban / Seattle Post-Intelligencer Click for larger photo

With luck, he would lead scientists to the Northwest's largest land carnivore, Ursus arctos horribilis. Grizzly bear. A silver bell affixed to the dog's bright red harness jingled maniacally, warning, "Here we come."

Carson is a member of the doggie elite, trained to sniff out bear droppings and help University of Washington zoologist Sam Wasser prove that grizzlies still trundle through North Cascade forests.

It's the first effort of its kind in a state where documented grizzly sightings are as rare as 6.8-scale earthquakes. If Carson and his fellow pooches -- Gator, Boon and Rick -- succeed in their hunt, the repercussions could be profound.

"The political climate would change tremendously," said Bill Noble, a wildlife biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which is caught in a decades-old debate over importing grizzlies to boost the native population.

Scientists estimate that only five to 20 grizzlies are left in Washington state. They are concerned that grizzlies will die out, eliminating an important piece of the ecosystem and an animal that for some represents the wilderness.

But some in the mining and timber industries, as well as some people who hunt, fish or hike in bear habitat, have expressed safety concerns about adding more bears.

On a recent June afternoon, the four dogs led their handlers and guides for miles through dense vine maples and tangles of willows. Tender fiddleheads unfurled in the woods, and wildflowers sprouted from tubers. On one side rushed the White River. On the other, an avalanche chute disappeared into the clouds.

In short, this was bear heaven.

"Go find it!"

Carson, whose fine-tuned snout can detect bear droppings more than 300 yards away, was off in a golden flash.

He wove rapidly through the trees. Then his furry arched tail began spinning like a plane propeller. He ran back and forth over the same patch of ground. Finally, he plunked down on the spongy pine needles and twigs, sitting tall and expectantly next to his found treasure.

He'd struck gold -- black gold -- in the form of a heaping pile of bear scat.

"Good job! Good boy!" praised Stone. The undergraduate from the University of Victoria rewarded his four-legged colleague with a game of tug-of-war with a tennis ball on a rope.


	Part of Meg Decker's job in analyzing bear scat is to sniff it. Unless meat is present, the smell is similar to cow dung. Dog handler Danny Stone and his dog Carson watch. Mike Urban / Seattle Post-Intelligencer Click for larger photo

Meanwhile, Meg Decker went to work. In a pair of Smurf-blue gloves, the contractor with the U.S. Forest Service squished the scat to determine what the bear had dined upon. This sample contained assorted vegetation and lichen. The bears are primarily herbivores, but in other droppings the teams found small hooves from young deer.

Decker sniffed and studied the scat to estimate how long it had been sitting in the woods. A mild grassy smell was barely detectable.

Then she took a hunk of scat the size of an Oreo cookie, plopped it in a plastic vial of ethanol and shook it to preserve it for DNA analysis.

It was one of more than 250 scat samples collected by the four dog teams during the recent search, which covered about 100 square miles.

The samples will go to Wasser's UW lab where, in his federally funded study, he will perform DNA analysis to show whether Washington grizzlies still exist.

Scat appearance alone does not distinguish between the smaller, more common black bears and the elusive grizzlies. The genetic analysis can establish the type of bear. It also can reveal the bear's gender, recognize individual grizzlies and study hormones to learn about stress levels.

Wasser's teams explored three likely bear habitats: North Cascades National Park, Pasayten Wilderness in Okanogan National Forest and the Wenatchee National Forest. Results from this summer's search are expected in August.

A recent attempt to find grizzlies in these areas by wrapping trees with barbed wire and snagging bear hair was unsuccessful. But Wasser identified scat found a few years ago near Mazama in Okanogan County as grizzly dung. The results will be submitted for scientific publication.

His technique also has worked in areas of Canada with sizeable grizzly populations.

There are more than 9,500 square miles deemed suitable grizzly habitat in Washington. Scientists say the area could sustain 200 to 400 grizzlies. But it doesn't.

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, their numbers were decimated by hunters and trappers. "There was a thought the predators were bad and the sooner we got rid of them, the better it would be," said Bill Gaines, a wildlife biologist with the Wenatchee National Forest.

In 1975, grizzlies in the continental United States were listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. For years a debate has raged over whether the North Cascades grizzly population should be boosted by bringing in new bears, most likely from bear-rich regions of Montana or Canada. Irrefutable, concrete evidence that bears are here, combined with the fact that there has never been a recorded grizzly attack in the state, could bolster the argument for importation.

However, plans already under way to relocate bears into parts of Idaho and western Montana were recently put on hold by Interior Secretary Gale Norton.

The Canadian government is considering adding more bears as early as this fall to its dwindling population in southern British Columbia. The bears are expected to cross the border and possibly mate with Washington grizzlies, but migration would occur slowly. Noble said local bears could die off before Canada immigrants reach them, eliminating their genetic background forever.

Wasser's study could help distinguish local grizzlies from their northern cousins. The scat searches could also identify where bears currently live and help U.S. agencies working to improve habitat. It might lead to more funding for restoration and give insight into the vegetation and geography of local grizzlies' preferred terrain.

"We're all hoping Sam (Wasser) comes up with something," Noble said.

Wasser believes sending dogs to find bear scat is the best shot at finding Washington's grizzlies.

Wasser likes the fact that the method should not disturb the grizzlies. It's cheaper than setting up cameras, he said, and superior to bait lures that may give a false impression of where bears live. Lures entice grizzlies more comfortable with human scent or tempted by a free meal.

The scat study is "bias free" and animal-friendly, he said. "These dogs are just driven by their tennis ball."

Tracking grizzly bears

Historically, grizzly bears lived throughout the 9,565 square miles now designated the North Cascades Grizzly Bear Recovery Zone, an area being restored and protected as bear habitat. This summer, University of Washington zoologist Sam Wasser led grizzly searches at three sites within the zone: the North Cascades National Park, the Pasayten Wilderness in the Okanogan National Forest and along the White River in the Wenatchee National Forest. The search was inspired by bear scat found near Mazama that Wasser recently identified as coming from a grizzly. DNA analysis of the more than 250 scat samples Wasser found this year are expected to be completed in August.

P-I reporter Lisa Stiffler can be reached at 206-448-8042 or lisastiffler@seattlepi.com

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