KEEP BEARS WILD

During my time as a ranger for Kenai Fjords National Park, I was fortunate enough to work on art that would express messages of stewardship for our visitors. This design was turned into merchandise from Alaska Geographic that includes stickers, water bottles, and t-shirts.

‘Keep Bears Wild’ is an education initiative that supports wild spaces and the creatures that inhabit them. While we love sharing these incredible places with visitors and encourage people to connect with them in many different ways, it is of the utmost importance that we help our public lands retain their wildness.

Bears are evocative of deep feelings of wonder and excitement (and sometimes fear) in visitors to Alaska, yet their habitat and their lives remain threatened by human interaction. How do we maintain this balance? By remaining respectful of natural spaces and by practicing good stewardship.

What does good stewardship look like? For our wildlife this means keeping your distance, never allowing them access to human food (keeping wrappers, crumbs, etc off trails/campsites), and knowing basic behavior information that can help you make better decisions when you’re sharing a wild animal’s space.

A wild bear is a happy bear <3