Seeing a bear is often the highlight of a visit to the Columbia Mountains. These magnificent creatures never fail to make a big impression. If you are fortunate enough to encounter a bear, please keep the following in mind:

1) Approaching a bear may make it feel threatened and behave aggressively, especially if the bear is a female with cubs hidden nearby. Approaching a bear near the highway can cause it to run out onto the road and create a safety hazard.

2) Never feed a bear or leave food or garbage where a bear can reach it. Once a bear learns to associate food with people it never forgets and continues to expect food from the next person it meets. Food attractants create spoiled bears - the single biggest reason why conservation officers in British Columbia destroy 800 black bears and 50 grizzly bears annually.

3) The best place to see a bear is from the inside of your vehicle. Bears are frequently sighted in avalanche paths adjacent to the highway or while feeding along the roadsides in the early morning. Be sure to pull over and park with consideration to other traffic.

For a more detailed article, see Bear Ecology for Safe Hiking at the Columbia Mountains Institute website (www.cmiae.org).