Ole Reliable

By Keith Denoncourt

The Yearly Outdoor Education campouts were always my favorite. The amount of specialized teamwork to successfully administer these campouts in immense. Thank you to all of those supervisors and team leaders that allowed these annual campout to take place. Bear Safety was paramount and without their professional support, these events could not take place.

It has been roughly 30 years since I have actively baited, and hunted, Black Bears for myself. Out of respect for a family that I know quite closely, and through a horrible tragedy that we shared, for many years I put down my rifle for actively hunting bears, and only used my skills as a Bear Guide just filming Black Bears up close and personal. I then created my own Bear Awareness Safety videos for my Outdoor Education classroom. I was Blessed to personally teach Bear Awareness to several hundred students for 33 years. It made Bear Awareness and Bear Safety real for the students as they knew that I was the one that I had created the Bear Safety videos, and the related Bear Safety content. This was many years before Google and You tube. It was my way of bringing this type of Bear Awareness and Bear Safety directly in to the classroom at a very personal level. Applying this knowledge at a practical level on our annual Outdoor Education Campouts was a task that required several very specifically trained supervisors. I am very grateful to the Professionals who, for many years, not only engaged my students in several key outdoor topics, but most importantly they helped me keep my students safe.

Although we will always need the basics of Bear Safety and Bear Awareness, now with technology, a lot has changed. Thankfully now, there is an abundance of high quality information and educational forums from true Bear professionals that can engage you safely, and respectfully, in all forms of bear adventures. Brad Fenson and “Harvest Your Own” website is an outstanding resource. For myself, although I absolutely loved filming bears up close, trying to harvest another for myself took a lot of Teamwork. The next bear that I harvested personally, I wanted to try to display many key educational points. As well, I need to complete the harvest in the most respectful manner possible. For several reasons, I wanted it to mean more than just a kill.

First and foremost I have to reeducate myself with the current regulations. Acquiring my license, and confirming where I was headed, is one of the initial steps. Although I have done the spot and stalk technique, my favorite is in a tree stand overlooking an active bait site. Ground blinds are nice for archery, however there is very little room for error. Brody and I did create a zone of operation directly around our ground blind. It is only a visual barrier, protected by only a few crossed logs and branches across our blind spots. The bait that we used was a combination of beavers, oats, grease, and a commercial sweetened molasses syrup. Stale bread and pastries, combined with old cookie crumbs is also an added attractant. For close quarters filming we also used a commercial scent shield inside our ground blind to help mask our scents. In our area, we are required to have indicator markers on either side of our bait site. This is for safety purposes as we have a wide variety of non-hunters that are currently active in our zone. We do not want to create an accidental close encounter. As well, it is also provides the local authorities contact information. I like to make mine very obvious. I use bright fluorescent colors, and place the marker inside a weather resistant transparent folder.

Although I have already gone to the gun range and confirmed my gun is still sighted in, I still practice the conditions in which I will be firing just to get myself 100 % ready for the upcoming close encounter. It is imperative to practice in the gear that you will be wearing. Reviewing harvesting kill zones and analyzing shot placements helps me prepare and focus. Dave Booth Taxidermy will always be part of my adventures. This time, I am looking forward to expanding my memories with the possibility of custom made mitts or hats. That along with Bear sausage, smoked ham, and the Medicinal cream will bring this adventure to its peak. Special shout out to Brody Teale for all of his hard work helping me bring this adventure to life !

Thank you for respectfully engaging wildlife. Always remember to be safe, and sponsor a Non Profit Conservation organization.

Keith