Disconnected

Spring brown bear cubs (born earlier this year in the hibernation den) wait patiently for their mother to catch salmon on the Brooks River, Katmai National Park & Preserve, Alaska. Photo taken from the lower river bridge, Brooks River, Katmai National Park & Preserve.

I returned from an 18-day trip to Katmai National Park & Preserve yesterday. I usually visit Katmai at least once yearly to photograph its iconic brown bears¹ and expansive wilderness.

This year was very different for me. Bad weather was relentless. The pouring rain and high winds removed my motivation to backpack into remote areas, away from the popular Brooks Camp and famous Brooks Falls.

It is a strange year up there. The salmon arrived very late and in lower numbers. This resulted in many bears leaving Brooks Falls, where spawning sockeye salmon pool up before jumping the 6-foot high falls, only to get eaten in mid-air by skilled bears fishing the lip of the falls.

The lower numbers of sockeye salmon are likely related to the record-breaking high temperatures (89 degrees F) in the summer of 2019. Those high temperatures caused the spawning salmon to turn around and go into the depths of Naknek Lake. The bears left, too, until the temperatures reached their normals of the low 60s.

During this hot spell in 2019, I saw many dead fish. I headed to the backcountry, where I ran into bears, wolves, and lynx, all trying to find food in the extreme heat. Their regular feeding cycle was way out of whack.

The sockeye in the Brooks River are on a four-year cycle (one year in the river, three years in the ocean), so the 2019 impacts of heat on the salmon could be realized this year, 2023.

A double rainbow one morning over the Brooks River. You can see Alexander’s Dark Band in between the primary and secondary bow.

“The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.”

— Dolly Parton

My trips to Alaska are a retreat from being connected to the internet and social media. In past years, I would spend about half my time in the backcountry, solo, not seeing anyone for days.

This trip was different as I camped in the National Park Service Brooks Camp campground. It is really “glamping” more than camping. Even though I was around more people on this trip, I could still not connect to the internet, thankfully!

These periods of being disconnected are healthy. They allow me to think and focus better on the more essential things in life, bigger-picture stuff. Sadly, the first few days in the backcountry, I can sometimes feel a “phantom phone” vibrating in my pocket — when I have no phone!

However, the internet and social media negatively affect the bears and other wildlife and the ecology of Katmai. People are posting the names of remote locations, spreading the word of which bear has been seen in areas where bears go to get away from people. This year, social media influencers and many other photographers were approaching too closely to bears — to get “the shot.”

People on the Brooks Falls Platform viewing bears in the Brooks River, Katmai National Park & Preserve, Alaska

People viewing bears and bears viewing people? The Brooks Falls Platform July 15, 2015. Photographed from a long distance with an 840 mm lens.

In past years, a handful of photographers waded the Brooks River to photograph bears. Generally, people followed the rules and kept a respectable distance. Not this year. When I arrived, I was told by rangers and other employees that people were running towards bears with their iPhones.

Sadly, I do not think these behaviors will improve. Instead, they will get worse, as we see in other parks. Check out the “Tourons of Yellowstone” Instagram page to see the observational data.

The dopamine hit we get from having people like our social media posts, or the number of followers we accrue, is addicting. I fall victim to this way too often. When I am disconnected during these periods, I get a “reset.” Still, not long after returning to civilization, I rushed to get back on social media and see how many likes I got for a photo and, of course, post more pictures.

On one of my flights up to Alaska this trip, I could not help but notice a young woman in the seat in front and adjacent to me on Instagram. Her ability to navigate the icons on Instagram, keep checking likes, and see who liked her photos and who liked other Instagram users’ photos was mind-blowing. I was witnessing an addiction. I felt sad for her.

My prediction for the Brooks River is that soon, there will be an accident where someone gets way too close to a feeding bear, or worse, a bear cub.

A spring brown bear cub walking by a sign to keep people away from bears at Katmai National Park & Preserve.

Spring brown bear cub making sure the sign to keep out of the area where he and his family are resting is in good order. July 3, 2016, photo taken with a 640 mm lens from the Brooks Lodge deck.

At Brooks Camp this year, I watched groups of people (about 20 people in total) circle three spring cubs (the ones in the photo above) with their cameras and iPhones. They closed in on the cubs to get better pictures. They had the cubs surrounded. Luckily, the mother bear was fishing very far away, which is not the norm for moms of bear cubs. If, or when, mamma bear sees this, she will likely charge and defensively attack someone. All in the name of getting lots of likes on Facebook or Instagram.

When this accident happens, the bear will likely be shot to death, and new bureaucratic rules that aim for a one-size-fits-all strategy will be implemented.

The reality is that it is always just a few bad apples that ruin things for everyone. If the National Park Service would implement meaningful punishments and penalties for rule breakers instead of just giving them a warning, things might improve.

Brown Bear #821 ("Pepper") looks upstream while wading in the Brooks River, Katmai National Park & Preserve, Alaska.

Pausing for a moment as the river rushes by a brown bear. Photo taken with a 400 mm lens from the Riffles Platform, Brooks River, Katmai National Park & Preserve.

Mother brown bear with three spring cubs walking the bank of the Brooks River, Katmai National Park, Alaska

Mom is keeping closer tabs on her cubs in this photo. Photo taken with a 640 mm lens from the Brooks River.

People walking across the floating bridge at Katmai National Park & Preserve.

The old floating bridge has been replaced by a modern elevated bridge that allows bears to easily pass underneath the bridge freely and fish the lower river and mouth of the Brooks River into Naknek Lake. This photo was taken July 3, 2017, after a “bear jam”, where the floating bridge was closed due to the presence of bears in the area. The new bridge is a huge improvement for less impact on the bears, no more bear jams, and better locations to ethically photograph bears in the lower river.

Brown bear disturbed by wader on the Brooks River, Katmai National Park

Upon closer inspection of this bear’s eyes, after the fact, he was not comfortable with my position when I took this photograph from the river. Although I was far away (using a 640 mm long lens), I was in a position that interfered with his salmon fishing. The look on this bear’s face is one of concern.

What can be done to improve things?

Here are my views on the situation and some potential solutions.

Impacts on the bears

Approaching any bear too closely to get a photograph can cause a fear reaction in that bear or that bear(‘s) mother. A bear that feels threatened is more likely to attack defensively. We see this all the time with sows and cubs. These negative impacts from humans approaching bears in Katmai occur all over the park, not only in Brooks River.
Human presence affects bears’ behaviors. Bears adapt their movements and feeding patterns in reaction to human presence. Some bears are more comfortable (habituated) with human presence, and some bears avoid human presence. The dispersion in bear response to humans is wide. Some mother bears intentionally hang out or leave their cubs in trees by humans to help protect attacks on their cubs from other bears.
Bears are sometimes encouraged, hazed, to move away from places where humans conduct “essential” activities.

What has changed

Over ten years, I have observed these changes at Brooks Camp.

More visitors, although the adjacent graph shows that 2022 had less visitation than 2019. My personal observations are that the fraction of visitors that behave badly (not following rules) has increased significantly. In past years, there was usually one “bad apple” in camp for each of my visits; this past visit, the number increased to approximately 10. I blame the desire to post unique photographs on social media as the leading cause, a sense of being entitled, and the “rules don’t apply to me” attitude. This has increased the number of bad apples per bushel.
More photographers are wading the river.
People wading the river(s) who have zero previous wading experience. Water safety can be an issue depending on the river flows and locations in the Brooks River. Other streams are much more difficult to wade. A certain level of physical conditioning and mobility is required to wade the river safely. Please don’t just go out and “try it” on the rivers in Katmai.
The new bridge. This is a vast improvement over the old floating bridge, which blocked bear access in the lower river and caused many “bridge closures” due to bear presence. The new bridge provides excellent spots to photograph bears in the river.
More irresponsible behavior by photographers, both amateur and professional. Bad behavior by photographers is occurring both on and off the river. It is not just a “river problem.” You get too close to a bear, especially a cub, just so you post a photo on social media, momma bear mauls you, she gets killed, and the cubs either die on their own or are taken captive. Think. Is this worth a few hundred likes on social media?
Law enforcement in the past seemed to be more present and tougher on violators. This one case at Brooks Falls resulted in jail time and fines.
More photography workshops and guided tours, including more illegal guiding without a Commercial Use Authorization (CUA) permit. If you sign up for a workshop or tour, ask to see the guide’s permits before paying.
An increasing sense of entitlement by visitors. I am seeing more visitors talk back to authorities who ask them to move away from bears. Just because you paid big bucks to visit Katmai does not mean you have the right, the required experience, and the physical ability to safely go anywhere and do anything you want. Money does not equate to experience.
Limit the total of number of visitors per day to Katmai National Park, including day trippers, campers, guided trips, and lodge guests. Find out what the carrying capacity of Brooks Camp and Brooks Falls is per day and set a limit. The Brooks Campground has limits, but that is only a fraction of the visitors. Other parks are resorting to reservation systems to deal with the huge increase in visitation.

Visitation statistics to Katmai National Park & Preserve are shown here up to 2022. The peak visitation was 84,167 visitors in 2019. COVID-19 impacted visitation in 2020 and 2021. In 2022, the number of visitors was 33,908. Source NPS.

NPS data on visitation rates by month to Katmai National Park & Preserve are shown here. July is the most popular month. These data are provided by Commercial Use Authorization (CUA) operators (guides, pilots, lodges). It is unclear if the visitation numbers of self-guided visitors are included here. The explore.org cameras at Brooks Falls started in 2012.

Paradoxically, the explore.org cameras allow many people to watch and enjoy the bears of Katmai without any direct impact on the bears. Yet, this increases the awareness and desire to visit the park, thereby increasing visitation as evidenced by these data. Recently, some people have been asking for more explore.org cameras to be installed in other (remote) areas of Katmai where bears go to get away from the crowds at Brooks Camp and utilize other fishing areas. I cringe at the idea of installing remote viewing cameras in any of these remote areas since it will drive more visitors to these areas and propagate the problems we are currently observing at Brooks Camp.

Float planes at Brooks Camp, Katmai National Park & Preserve, Alaska.

Brooks Camp is remote, requiring a float plane or boat to access. This does help keep the number of visitors lower than parks accessible by car.

The status quo

The drive to get unique photographs of bears for posting on social media will continue to grow. Sadly, this is now part of human nature.
Dopamine is addicting, and the effects of social media on intermittent reinforcement will promote more and more bad behavior by photographers.
The National Park Service is very risk averse but in the wrong way with this situation. They are timid when it comes to enforcing penalties. I do not expect any change until after someone gets mauled or attacked by a bear at Katmai.
Online forums and social media will continue to post the names and locations of remote areas where bears usually are not around people. This will increase visitation, impact the bears negatively, and increase the risk of attacks on rule breakers and uninformed, inexperienced wildlife photographers.

Potential solutions

Go after the bad apples and make it hurt. This is the fundamental problem absent from the status quo.
Heavy fines, including seizure of photography equipment for violators after they have one written warning. Follow the methods of the Alaska Wildlife Troopers in the seizure of all equipment involved in wildlife violations. Assign a special NPS judicial channel for cases involving violations.
More NPS law enforcement wading the Brooks River daily during peak season.
Enforcement based on camera monitoring. The technology exists to do this. Install NPS law enforcement cameras along the river and beach.
Close river access to photographers? Fishermen wade the Brooks River to fish for its rainbow trout (catch and release). Fishermen have a different incentive than photographers with regard to bears. Irresponsible photographers are intentionally approaching bears to get a “better shot.” Still, fishermen have the motivation to fish away from bears so they do not have to break their line when landing a fish and having a bear close by.
Implement a quota system on the number of people who can wade the river daily.
Establish a tiered system where permitted guides who have completed extensive training specific to the Brooks River are the only small groups allowed on the river during peak season—serious financial penalties to guides that break the rules. However, avoid a “pay-to-play” system since financial incentives can overtake incentives for responsible bear viewing.

Perhaps the photographer community can work closer together to self-police, but I have my doubts based on photographing bears in the river for over ten years. There will always be a few bad apples, which will ruin things for everyone, including the bears.

I am trying to be more mindful of the bears when I am in the river, but the truth is that it is challenging. Bears are everywhere; you get close to one when you least expect it. In recent years, I have accidentally come way too close to bears sleeping in the tall grass on the banks of the river, even though I was making lots of intentional noise (talking) and was on the lookout for bears. People accidentally get close to bears at Brooks Camp frequently. Note the big difference between accidental bear encounters and intentionally approaching a bear.

No matter how close I am to the bear, a bear that sees me in the river is affected. That bear sees me and changes its decision process on where to fish. On a low salmon year like 2023, the bears struggled to get salmon, and my presence affected the bears’ ability to fish.

There is no perfect answer, but that is the way life is. It is not black and white. The situation at Katmai is a dilemma.

Hopefully, the NPS can work closely with biologists to find a solution that works for the bears and does not impact the (fishing) guiding economy too much.

A legendary aggressive Bear 128 (“Grazer”) with her cubs. July 4, 2017. Photo taken from the Riffles Platform. Grazer would not put up with “tourons” approaching her or her cubs for photographs.

Fortunately, Katmai National Park & Preserve is large and contains remote areas seldom visited by people. This is changing quickly, though, as more people spread location information on the internet about such locations. One (unnamed) popular photograph a couple of years ago of a bear fishing amongst a school of red sockeye salmon has resulted in a huge increase in visitation to this remote spot via float plane to get a similar photograph. Please do not share any location information of remote locations or wildlife locations on the internet! The wildlife appreciates their privacy, too.

“At his best, man is the noblest of all animals; separated from law and justice he is the worst.”

— Aristotle

Follow In Light of Nature

22 replies

Mindy says:
September 4, 2023 at 11:51 pm

I agree totally with you. I have written to Supt. Sturm several times about concerns addressing photographers running all over the river, people too close to bears, not obeying rules, swimmers and fishermen in the LR where Moms and cubs stay, the number of visitors, etc. I do not like social media all over everything either. All the goonies on FB who know nothing about the bears or really care about them and yet they vote every year for Fat Bear? That should not be allowed either in my opinion. The huge bridge made a negative impact in so many ways too! It belongs somewhere else! What can we do? I am willing to sign a petition if you want to start one…
Reply
- Ed MacKerrow says:
  September 5, 2023 at 11:32 am
  
  Thank you Mindy for writing to Superintendent Mark Sturm. Mark seems like a very reasonable and professional ranger/superintendent. There are lots of complexities to access and what can and cannot be done. If we could wave a magic wand and get a lot more resources for law enforcement rangers in Katmai, court systems that can relate to park violations (currently someone who gets indicted for approaching too close to bear is tried along with other criminal cases like rape, murder, etc.). Judges in these bear related cases can be lenient when comparing to the other cases they hear. In this case the culprits were arrested.
  Reply
- Mollie Cook says:
  September 5, 2023 at 4:16 pm
  
  I too totally agree. Mankind is ruining this beautiful place just like they are so many other areas. It’s all about the money!! I would LOVE to sign a petition!!!!! The picture of the beautiful Bear with concerned eyes made me cry.
  Reply
Amy Bahruth says:
September 5, 2023 at 10:13 am

Hi – 100% agree with you – we need to advocate for the changes necessary to protect the bears. They are just trying to survive another year … they aren’t here for just for our enjoyment. I have the same fear as you that something is going to happen and the bears will suffer for it. I’ve been twice to Katmai – and have seen people violate the rules repeatedly. I’m not shy and have yelled at people for their stupidity and will do it in any place where I see people think they’re above the rules. I think more needs to happen then a petition, but it’s a place to start. This is the bears’ world and, while I feel lucky to have witness to it, I’d gladly give it all up if it meant protection for these beautiful creatures.
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- Ed MacKerrow says:
  September 5, 2023 at 11:24 am
  
  Thank you for your comments, Amy. Good point, “they aren’t here just for our enjoyment”.
  Reply
Vikki Miller says:
September 5, 2023 at 10:22 am

It is sad that it has come to this. Here in Sonoma County, CA, I stay for the organic farms and the beauty. I live on a property with some acreage and the wildlife here is plentiful. I always enjoy it from afar but I have noticed on the wildlife groups the photos are more and more… dare I say close and Im not attributing it to the cameras. It is disconcerting. On the coast here the sea lions mate and there are ropes around the sand to keep the passersby from being overly intrusive but even that doesn’t seem to be enough. We have to get into the solution. I appreciate your blog… and you!
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- Ed MacKerrow says:
  September 5, 2023 at 11:23 am
  
  Thank you for your comments Vikki. The challenge with too many people pushing the rules and limits is happening in so many places, unfortunately there is also a new attitude of entitlement, “I can do whatever I want.”. I am not sure where that comes from.
  Reply
Tracy Cohen says:
September 5, 2023 at 1:52 pm

It is so refreshing to hear a voice of reason. I have known about the Katmai and McNeil brown bear viewing for many years. It was only this year, after joining a couple of Brown Bear Groups on Facebook, that I observed the anthropomorphic bear fandom, that is more about social media than it is about the bears.
After living in Alaska for 11 years and fishing in some fairly wild places, I was shocked to see a Disneyland for bear viewing occurring among what Alaskans approach in a much more serious manner. The bush is a wild place where one must proceed in a deliberate manner always keeping an eye out for potential danger. It insures not only the longevity of the people but also the wildlife that can be downright dangerous when guarding territory, offspring, and food.
I am certain that pressure on the Brooks bears can generate some unwanted outcomes. Bear behavior is innate and no one can be certain of how any bear will react, in any particular situation.
I also fear that bears used to seeing so many humans, will become habituated to us, will lose their caution and become an easy mark for hunters and poachers.
Reply
- Ed MacKerrow says:
  September 5, 2023 at 2:17 pm
  
  Thank you, Tracy, for your comments. Yes, for sure,they are wild animals and hopefully they will stay that way with minimal impact from humans.
  Reply
Gina DiGiallonardo says:
September 5, 2023 at 7:45 pm

Ed,
We also agree. I write comments in every year. It is almost like money see monkey do. I think photographers go in and now everyone does. Even if nothing occurs it causes shy bears to not be able to feed. I think politics cause lack of enforcement and decent rules. Good job posting and adding solutions.
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- Ed MacKerrow says:
  September 5, 2023 at 10:47 pm
  
  Thank you Gina for reading and commenting, and for providing comments to the NPS. Yes, politics for sure. There are issues with stream access laws, and of course lots of businesses fly clients in to fly fish the famous Brooks River, so that also has leverage. What I think is the best solution is increased law enforcement with stiffer fines.
  Reply
Lumar Alves says:
September 5, 2023 at 11:00 pm

Hi Ed, I am glad to see your email. I have to say stunning photos!!
I been thinking about your trip to Alaska and was curious to know how it went. As I was reading your blog I was thinking of solutions for that situation, and coincidently you mentioned both, which are the surveillance through cameras in the area as well as to limit the number os people (I would say photographers, since people would me more aware to no to get too close to bears) to access the area. I would suggest a system that would have the photographer’s profile and details and based on their behave in the area they would be allowed to explore the wildlife, and with the use of cameras they would be more concern no to break the rules in exchange of the best shot. So a data bank to monitor the number of photographers in that area would have less photographers in the area and that would not affect the wildlife.
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- Ed MacKerrow says:
  September 5, 2023 at 11:05 pm
  
  Hi Lumar,
  
  Thank you for your comments and suggestions. It does seem like they could cover a lot of the issues with surveillance cameras, afterall the river has lots of cameras up already for explore.org. I look forward to catching up with you soon.
  
  Take care,
  Ed
  Reply
Rob Harris says:
September 6, 2023 at 4:11 pm

Ed, thanks for “venting”. These issues have to be addressed and I agree the first steps should be better ranger enforcement at the locations and stiffer sanctions for the violators. Our species alone has the knowledge, power and ability to keep this planet safe for just about all other species, yet we continue to dismantle and ignore the natural safety nets and protections that keep us, the bears and other animal populations healthy. Sadly, too many of us just don’t care.
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- Ed MacKerrow says:
  September 6, 2023 at 4:19 pm
  
  Well put, Rob. We need to collectively change a lot of attitudes on establishing better safety nets and how our behaviors affect more than just humans. Thank you!
  Reply
Karl Chiang says:
September 6, 2023 at 9:34 pm

I have not visited Katami yet and may never now. I have friends who have and it has become a zoo of photographers. I think the best solution is to ban all wading photography in the waters. Too hard to patrol for bad apples! But l don’t it will happen until someone get hurt and bear dies. Government is too stupid in my opinion.
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Roberta Stolpestad says:
September 7, 2023 at 3:33 pm

Your thoughts on the current situation at Brooks Falls sums it up perfectly. As we discussed when we talked about this subject when we were both there in August, the problem is becoming unmanageable.
The problem is created from several sources all wanting to capitalize on the bears.
Explore.Org has done a great job letting ever know about “Fat Bear Week”. People want to see Brooks Falls.
The surrounding communities of Homer and King salmon now have B&B’s and flights throughout the day to Brooks Falls. This creates many “ day visitors “. When we attended our bear school session in August, the Ranger told us many days they were having 420 daily attendees for “Bear School”. Brooks falls I was told allows 64 tent campers and 60 cabin campers per night. This means most days 290+ day visitors came to Brooks Falls.
The National Park and Brooks Falls want to make money.
The environment and the bears are suffering. Limits need to be placed as other parks have done. I have written Superintendent Mark Sturm. He needs to take action.
Brooks Falls has become a Disney Land
Reply
- Ed MacKerrow says:
  September 7, 2023 at 3:51 pm
  
  Hi Roberta, thank you for your comments and feedback. I think it is good to contact the NPS authorities. It was good to see you up there!
  Reply
Pat Nelson says:
September 11, 2023 at 9:51 am

Wonderful article summarizing the current Brooks situation, Ed!
My first trip to Brooks was in July, 2014 and some photographers were obnoxious THEN with only four bears at the falls sometimes. There will always be some of those types of people, unfortunately! My latest trip was last September and I MUCH prefer visiting in September. I was against the new big bridge before it was built, but like you, have found it to have had some very positive impacts on both the bears and visitors. It is now a great place to observe and photograph bears at any time of the day and allows great handicapped access as well. I don’t miss the constant radio calls back and forth monitoring the big crowds of visitors anxious about getting across the old floating bridge to meet flights, etc. The bears seem happy with the new bridge as well, often swimming and fishing right below you.
NPS will never have enough funding for adequate enforcement, but I worked four summers in Yellowstone and covering that vast territory is even worse. We all see frequent news reports of the latest “touron” behaviors. Absolutely stiffer penalties would help, but we can’t expect the behaviors to stop regardless.
My biggest issue on my latest trip in 2022 was the HUGE number of day visitors. Obviously, the average cabin is NOT filled by four people every night and the campground is limited to 60 persons. The real issue lies in the need to limit day visitors. I just returned from a visit to Glacier NP and it took some planning and luck to get the necessary three day permit to even drive the Going to the Sun road!. Also had to have a separate DAY permit to enter the Many Glacier entrance. Yes, it was a hassle and there still were crowds everywhere, but I see no reason this can’t be tried for Brooks. This was the first year for the car permit system as a trial for Glacier. I will be interested to see how the NPS judges its effect on attendance. (Note: you could still drive in but only before 6am or after 3pm without a permit). Attendance at Brooks is already “capped” in numbers for cabins and campground, it is the day trip situation that needs to be addressed and that wouldn’t be very hard to do at all.
I am also saddened by how many returning visitors now feel the need to hire a guide to walk the river. It is discussed and even encouraged on some social media sites, even by ethical photographers! I agree with you, Ed that it is very easy to “cap” the number of people having access to walking in the river just for photography and not fishing.
Thank you for taking the time to compose your article with your insights and suggestions. Hope to see you there again someday as it is always a pleasure to converse with you!
Reply
- Ed MacKerrow says:
  September 11, 2023 at 3:01 pm
  
  Hi Pat,
  
  Thank you for your comments and sharing your experiences. Yes, you are correct about the day trippers being a large component of the increased visitation. There is a tension between economic livelihood (jobs and funds coming into Alaska from guided trips and float plane visits) and impacts on the wildlife and environment.
  
  If NPS could increase enforcement and cite both poorly behaved visitors, and the guides they are paying, then I think behavior could change in a positive way, and still allow a relatively high visitation rate. As you say though, NPS does not have the resources to make this happen, and likely never will. To me, that is the place to focus first. Figure out how many more rangers and court appearances are needed to prosecute bad apples and confiscate their equipment, and then charge accordingly.
  
  I do hope we see each other up there in the future.
  
  Thanks
  Ed
  Reply
Margaret Lewis says:
September 26, 2023 at 1:07 pm

Ed, Thank you for this blog article. I agree with your potential solutions. I too have written to Superintendent Strum with concerns about the huge number of day visitors and poor behavior exhibited by some of them. Katmai belongs to the bears and other wildlife. Their needs come first. The bears only have a short window of opportunity to fatten up for hibernation. It is a matter of life and death for them. Day trippers should be limited. There is no excuse for not limiting them. Increased resources for law enforcement should be a priority. Law enforcement, biologists and rangers should be free to make suggestions and those suggestions given priority. Visitors who encroach on bear habitat or cause the bears to alter their behavior should be removed from Kamtai and face legal consequences. Bad behavior at Katmai or any of our national parks cannot be tolerated and must be stopped. Thank you for taking up this important issue.
Reply
- Ed MacKerrow says:
  September 26, 2023 at 2:20 pm
  
  Thank you, Margaret, for reading the article and for writing to Mark Sturm. Something needs to be done…
  Reply

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