North American Bears Expert Team Co-chair

Chris was the Grizzly Bear Recovery Coordinator for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for 35 years until retiring in 2016. He coordinated grizzly recovery actions for grizzly bears in Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, and Washington and cooperated with Canadian researchers and managers in adjacent areas of British Columbia and Alberta. He was Research Associate Professor at the University of Montana where he taught International Wildlife Conservation for 18 years. He advised 21 graduate students at the University of Montana who worked bears and various research projects in the US and in 7 foreign countries. He was co-chair with Steve Herrero of the BSG for 12 years. He has chaired 8 interagency Boards of Review on human fatalities due to grizzly bear attacks in the lower 48 states. These Boards of Review produced detailed reports on how and why each fatality occurred, and in four cases produced detailed recommendations on ways to minimize such human fatalities in the future. His specialization is pragmatic applied conservation to improve the status of bear populations using science and public involvement. Previously, he completed is M.S. degree on Bald Eagle winter ecology (University of Washington) and his Ph.D. on grizzly bears in the Mission Mountains, Montana (University of Montana). His current interests include minimizing human-bear conflicts, teaching bear safety, and advising bear conservation efforts using science to balance the needs of bears with the needs and interests of local people. In addition to co-chairing NABET he is the President and Board Chair of the Montana Wildlife Federation.