From the July 6th, 2022 Billings Gazette: https://billingsgazette.com/outdoors/just-for-kids/hordes-of-army-cutworm-moths-invading-homes/article_f92af3ee-f970-11ec-a0a3-ef85cd42d2af.html At times, finishing my thesis felt like what the the character on the right looks like! The cartoon is the author's depiction of what his recent experience "fighting off" army cutworm moths at his cabin in the woods felt like. During their migration to the Rockies, the … Continue reading Thesis Defense
2021 Field Results
We documented 65 grizzly bear groups foraging in 9 of 29 survey units and recorded different levels of army cutworm moth abundance at two close proximity survey units
Honoring Burt Bjorling
Our friend and field technician, Burt Bjorling, passed away in September, shortly after completing his tremendous voluntary contributions to project field operations. Photo: Steven Gnam In the summers of 2019 and 2021 Burt worked in a full-time capacity, step-in-step with project field technicians half his age. https://videopress.com/v/IT8DuqMV?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata All who worked with Burt appreciated his goodwill, … Continue reading Honoring Burt Bjorling
Help us crowdfund for a summer field technician
Are you interested in helping to fund our field research? We've launched an online campaign at https://experiment.com/bearbutter to crowdfund $5040 to hire one full-time field technician this summer, our last season of data collection. Our operating budget for the summer will be using carryover funds from 2020 and is insufficient to support a paid field … Continue reading Help us crowdfund for a summer field technician
2020 Field Results
We covered a lot of ground and air in 2020! A dozen field techs contributed to one or more ground survey efforts in Glacier National Park. Due to COVID-19, we unfortunately weren't able to ground survey areas in Akamina-Kishinena Provincial Park or Waterton Lakes National Park. However, we conducted our aerial surveys as planned, with … Continue reading 2020 Field Results
Team Army 2020
Just like you, the last year has been full of challenges, stress, and uncertainty due to COVID-19. Particularly concerning for our project, 2020 was slated to be our 'big' field season, staffed by a squad of field technicians. Thanks to open dialogue among project collaborators and a shared interest in taking proactive mitigation measures, our … Continue reading Team Army 2020
What is an army cutworm moth & why do grizzlies eat them?
Army cutworm moths (Euxoa auxilliaris, ACM), also commonly called miller moths, are one of a number of cutworm moth species found in North America. The moths are migratory, splitting their annual lifecycle between low elevation plains/basin habitats and high elevation mountain talus slopes. Army cutworm moths possess a 1-2" wing span and are identifiable by … Continue reading What is an army cutworm moth & why do grizzlies eat them?
2019 Field Results
In 2019 our team conducted field research across the transboundary study area from mid-June through September. The vast majority of effort occurred in Glacier. Repeated survey effort in Waterton provided beneficial insights into army cutworm moth use of talus. This was achieved thanks to collaborating-assistance from WLNP staff. Access into Akamina-Kishinena Provincial Park in British … Continue reading 2019 Field Results
Team Army 2019
I want to recognize Team Army 2019. We were a small unit, but for this project I felt it was better to start small and manageable than be too big and potentially invite greater risk of accident. Fortunately, we all knew the Park's back country really well, so we operated about as efficiently as feasible … Continue reading Team Army 2019
Illustrated Summary of Project Field Work
Our research performs ground and aerial surveys across the study area to determine army cutworm moth occurrence and grizzly bear use. Technician support focuses on ground surveys, which entail scrambling into survey units to sample randomly-generated survey plots located therein. Typically, this requires technicians spend multiple days safely navigating mountainous terrain and bivouac camping on … Continue reading Illustrated Summary of Project Field Work
Bear Butter 