A WAFWA Sanctioned Workshop

The Western Black Bear Workshop is held every three years by the Wildlife Chiefs Committee sanctioned by WAFWA.  The workshop provides a forum where leading black bear managers and researchers share research results, management strategies, and emerging issues in the realms of black bear management throughout North America.

Workshop Contacts:

Please reach out to the Workshop Co-Chairs of you have any questions:
Richard Beausoleil Richard.Beausoleil@dfw.wa.gov
Carl Lackey blackbearlogic.nv@gmail.com

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Travel Options to Leavenworth

• Pangborn Memorial Airport (EAT) in East Wenatchee is a small regional airport with two daily flights from Seattle (via Alaska Airlines).  If you want to fly as close as possible to the Workshop, you should book your flight way in advance to ensure a seat as there are only 2 flights per day. The airport is a 45-minute drive to the Icicle Village Resort in Leavenworth. Options for traveling from Pangborn Airport include:
  • Rental car
  • Uber/Lyft rideshare options
  • Link Transit bus routes
    • For those with flights arriving at 2:00 pm, the organizers will arrange a free shuttle from Pangborn to Leavenworth (TBA, watch the website)

• If you prefer to fly into Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), it is a 2.5-hour drive along Highway 2 through the beautiful Cascade Mountains to the Icicle Village Resort in Leavenworth.  Options for traveling directly from Seattle-Tacoma Airport include:
  • Rental car
  • Wenatchee Valley Shuttle from the Seattle-Tacoma Airport to the Peshastin Park & Ride (then bus/rideshare to Leavenworth, 10 minutes away).  One way cost is $79 and round trip is $158. Reservations must be made using the link above.
    • For those taking this shuttle from Seattle to Peshastin (one every 3 hours 5am -5pm PT) the organizers will arrange a shuttle from this drop off location to Leavenworth (TBA, watch the website)

• Spokane International Airport (GEG) is a 3.25 hour drive to the Icicle Village Resort in Leavenworth. Options for traveling directly from Spokane Airport include:
  • Rental car

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Workshop Agenda

This is a tentative schedule as the final agenda will be developed based on submissions.

Monday, March 29 – Registration opens at noon.  Exhibitors & Poster presenters begin setting up 12-5pm.  Welcome social for attendees begins at 6:00pm PT.

Tuesday, March 30 – Welcome and opening address begin at 8am PT followed by jurisdictional status reports. After lunch, there will be additional sessions & presentations.  Lunch and dinner are on your own.  Poster session will be included in the afternoon session.

Wednesday, March 31 – Opening remarks begin at 8am PT followed by additional sessions & presentations.  Lunch and dinner are on your own

Thursday, April 1 – Sessions & presentations continue all day.  Lunch is on your own & evening dinner banquet (free with registration) begins at 6:00pm

Friday, April 2 – Depart or stay longer if you wish. A list of activities is available here: Alpine Lodge Leavenworth Washington

Keynote Speaker

Dr. Steven Amstrup is chief scientist (emeritus since 2023) for Polar Bears International (PBI). Prior to joining PBI, he was Polar Bear Project Leader for the U.S. Geological Survey. From 1980-2010, he solved basic questions about polar bears, including where they den and how far they travel. In 2007, Steve led a USGS effort convincing the U.S. Secretary of the Interior to list polar bears as a threatened species under the US Endangered Species Act. Steve has over 170 publications including a 2010 paper in Nature, where he and his co-authors showed that preserving polar bears requires controlling human-caused temperature rise. In 2012, Steven was awarded the Indianapolis Prize, for animal conservation, and received a German Bambi Award, in the “our earth” category. In 2020, he and his team published the first ever quantitative link between declining sea ice and polar bear survival. In a 2023 paper in Science, he linked GHG emissions directly to polar bear survival addressing a long-lasting challenge to application of the Endangered Species Act.
Steve and the love of his life Virginia are residents of Washington and purchased property just north of Kettle Falls in 2007, shortly after a major wildfire moved through. They are actively involved in its landscape restoration and built their home on the property in 2011.

Thank you to our 2027 Sponsors

Workshop Proceedings

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