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Outside the Interior Alaska community of Delta Junction, firefighters have been working to contain wildfires for weeks. And as if that job wasn’t hard enough, some crews are having trouble with bears.

Ben Gage, a spokesperson for the crews working around Delta Junction, says he’s gotten reports of bears wandering through camps and even into one unlucky firefighter’s tent. So far, nobody has gotten hurt.

“It’s sometimes hard to completely get the smell off you when you’re working outside,” Gage said. “Even the smell of bar oil or fire on you, the smell of your clothes from working in the day.”

That’s right. Bears like bar oil — the stuff firefighters use to lubricate their chainsaws.

Sometimes, big, furry problems call for big, furry solutions.

Enter Mardy and Sky, a mother-daughter team of Karelian bear dogs. Late last month, the two big, fluffy, black-and-white dogs joined about 50 firefighters at a camp near the roughly 23,000 acre Twelvemile Fire, southeast of Delta Junction.

Their handler, Nils Pedersen, says the dogs’ passing resemblance to real bears isn’t what gives the breed its name.

“These are big game hunting dogs from Finland that were traditionally used to hunt brown bear and moose,” he said.

Pedersen directs the Wind River Bear Institute, a nonprofit that offers non-lethal solutions to complicated human-wildlife conflicts. The organization advises on strategies like hiding bear attractants and using electric fences and bear spray.

Nils Pedersen / Wind River Bear Institute, Wind River Bear Institute, Sky and Mardy patrol a campsite on July 3, 2025.

Pedersen has been bringing bear dogs out to fire camps for the last five years. A video from July 11 shows Mardy and Sky at work. Pedersen leads them around the camp until the dogs see something behind a line of trees and start to bark at it.

“We can find bears, the dogs will then bark at them,” Pedersen said. “They behave very aggressively towards bears, and communicate to the bear that we know it’s there and that it can leave, and it has to leave, and this is the way out.”

Gage, the spokesperson, says they also have harsher bear control methods at their disposal.

“One of them is using chainsaws and loud noises to scare away bears,” Gage said. “And as a last resort, getting qualified shooters out on incidents.”

But Pedersen, the handler, says having barky bear dogs on guard reduces the likelihood of having to use that last resort. And he says the dogs provide some peace of mind for folks who are trying to get a good night’s rest.

“Even though the barking in the middle of the night may not be everyone’s favorite thing, it’s preferable than hearing a bear trashing your camp,” Pedersen said.

And he said the dogs are as friendly to people as they are ferocious to bears, which can be a morale boost for tired firefighters.

“These people are away from their family, away from their friends, usually working long hours,” said Pedersen. “To visit with the dogs and pet a dog, and especially a dog that’s helping keep you safe out here, is really pleasant.”

Nils Pedersen / Wind River Institute, Firefighters rest with one of the Wind River Institute’s Karelian bear dogs on July 6, 2025.

Pedersen says Mardy and Sky are equally grateful for all the bellyrubs and treats they get from firefighters.

Firefighters are still mopping up some of the state’s highest priority wildfires on the outskirts of Fairbanks. They’re also reporting steady progress on fires near Healy, where dozens of homes and structures have burned this summer. They say more rain in the first half of the week could bring some relief, but that could be cancelled out by hotter, windier weather in the second half.
Copyright 2025 KUAC

FULL ARTICLE: Karelian bear dogs are protecting crews and lifting spirits at Interior Alaska fire camps

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Photos by @jhadleyphoto

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Read More at:   https://www.wildlife-picchio.com/news/rela-do-your-best-the-great-work-that-will-leave-behind-the-next-generation-of-bear-dogs-begins/

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Reyes being congratulated by Jamie Jonkel MFWP

We are very proud to announce that Jessica Reyes is the recipient of the 2022-23 International Association for Bear Research and Management (IBA) Special Grants Committee – Chuck Jonkel Scholarship Award!

Reyes has served as a Wind River Bear Institute (WRBI) Program Biologist since October 2019. Her work with WRBI has included Bear Safety education and outreach events at public schools, local events, the Bitterroot National Forest, libraries, and Homeowner Associations in the Bitterroot and Missoula Valleys, assisting Montana Fish Wildlife & Parks (MFWP) with human-bear conflict responses and risk-assessments, helping local communities and businesses secure bear attractants in the Bitterroot Ecosystem and surrounding areas. Jessica received the 2021-2022 fRI Bear Research and Fellowship IBA Special Grant award of $1,500.00, which enabled her to obtain the necessary equipment and software to begin to map the human-bear conflict “hot spots” of the Bitterroot Valley of Montana.

This grant and first stage of data analysis and mapping enabled her to present her initial findings at the IBA International Human-Bear Conflict Workshop in October 2022. This project also guided her master’s thesis proposal in progress and on-going work with WRBI and MFWP to identify the spatial and temporal nature of human-bear conflicts in Missoula and the Bitterroot Valleys for communities and agencies to target their resources and information more effectively. This on-going work uses Karelian Bear Dog “Wildlife K-9s” to facilitate communication between agencies and communities, and to verify conflict reports and predicted conflict hot spots.

Reyes with KBD Wildlife K-9 “Joni”

Reyes is currently a graduate student candidate at the University of Montana in the Geography Community and Environmental Planning master’s Program to foster safe human-bear interactions in the wildland-urban interface, with geographical and planning tools intertwined with conflict mitigation strategies. Simultaneously, she is pursuing two certificates in Geosciences & Technologies and Natural Resources Conflict Resolution, to improve the communication and relationships between agencies and communities. The IBA Chuck Jonkel Scholarship will enable her to continue this work in conjunction with MFWP and inform the Bear Smart Missoula Working Group as they prepare to implement the Missoula Bear Smart Community Plan.

A big THANK YOU to the IBA for helping support our work in Montana! GOOD JOB ON THE BEAR JESS!!!

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On December 12, 2022, Inka gave birth to 15 beautiful puppies. This is a record number of pups for our Program and perhaps the whole breed! We are very happy to report that all 15 pups are healthy and developing into very nice looking pups despite serious challenges associated with having such a large litter. Their names are as follows:

Females: Nivea, Yoshi, Hallie, Sigma, Ivy, Dolly, and Prom.

Males: Jack, Lefty, Egypt, Angelo, Half Pint, Ringo, Squiggle, and R-Dot.

Please follow our Instagram (@windriverbearinstitute) or Facebook page (@Wind River Bear Institute) for more pup-dates!

or    

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We conducted 19 Information, Education, and Outreach (IEO) public presentations for schools, communities, and Home-Owner Associations (HOAs), 2 U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Bitterroot National Forest (BNF) Campground Presentations; and 4 field trips with Corvallis, Victor and Stevensville High School students organized by Michele Dietrich (former Governor’s Grizzly Bear Advisory Council member). One of the presentations resulted in an entire HOA of 94 homes, the Kootenai Creek Village in Stevensville, MT, committing to be our first “Bear Aware HOA” in the BV! This HOA has experienced chronic conflicts with black bears accessing garbage, bird feeders and fruit trees near the Bitterroot drainage riparian corridors. We conducted a total of 73 on-site responses to conflict calls assigned by FWP Wardens & Bear Managers, for IEO and assistance in securing bear attractants on private lands in the BV. We also assisted FWP in responding to reports of possible grizzly bear sightings in the BV by conducting site investigating with WK9s to find and verify evidence of grizzly bear activity.

As part of our scope of work this year, we assisted FWP’s new Bitterroot Bear Technician, Bruce Montgomery transition into his new role. We introduced Montgomery to the communities and partners we have been assisting, and helped him follow up on resource needs identified through our work in 2021. We trained the USFS BNF campground hosts how to report bear activity quickly and accurately, and how to educate campers on Bear Awareness, including secure storage of bear attractants and how to interpret bear behavior and respond accordingly. We continued to patrol BNF campgrounds, day use picnic areas, and trailheads, talking to visitors about recreating safely in bear country. We completed 9 presentations on Homeowner Bear Awareness at local schools, community centers, retirement centers, and events to teach people about the ways in which bears learn “bad behaviors” from obtaining human-associated foods and how that can lead to bears to entering barns and garages. We completed 1 campground presentation on the BNF to teach people about how bears can learn to enter tents and campground areas from obtaining human-associated foods at picnic areas and campgrounds. We hosted booths at 4 Bear Awareness events to teach kids and adults about how we use WK9s and other tools to assist BV communities reduce conflicts and how to live and recreate responsibly and safely in bear country. We distributed 9 Bear-resistant Kodiak brand, 95 gallon curbside garbage containers to our neighbors on East Carlton Creek Road in an effort to reduce future conflicts with black and grizzly bears active in the northern BV. We will continue to assist FWP Bear Managers and Wardens as conflict incidents continue to increase into the fall season.

Author: Jessica Reyes, Program Biologist, Wind River Bear Institute with WK9 “Joni

A big THANK YOU to our Project Supporters: Defenders of Wildlife, Vital Ground, American Bear Foundation, Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks, US Forest Service, International Association for Bear Research and Management, and the Missoula Conservation District!

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To help support this endeavor, we created 2 “Karelian Bear Dogs Help Protect Bears & People” fundraising stickers! These stickers are available in limited quantities as a fundraiser for Wind River Bear Institute Director, Nils Pedersen, to travel to Finland in October 2022 to learn about how Karelian Bear Dogs (KBD) are traditionally used to hunt big game. The methods that we use to evaluate and train our KBD pups and many of the ways that we use KBDs to reduce human-bear conflict are rooted in traditional hunting practices. To continue to do our work safely and effectively, it is important that we learn from people that know the dogs best!

These stickers are available in limited quantities in the “Shop” section of our Website so get yours now before they’re all sold out and help support our meaningful work for wildlife conservation and the amazing dogs that make it all possible! These stickers are a high-quality 3″ diameter vinyl, perfect as a bumper sticker, on your water bottle, or as a gift to a fellow KBD enthusiast. Thank you for your support!!!

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The dogs and their handler, Nils Pedersen, are a Wildlife K-9 team from Wind River Bear Institute. Wind River is a non-government organization that develops, teaches, and encourages successful non-lethal deterrence methods to prevent harmful encounters with wildlife. Wind River was founded 27 years ago by Carrie Hunt, the wildlife biologist and researcher who developed the widely used capsaisin bear spray formula.

Karelian bear dogs originated in eastern Finland, where they were traditionally used to locate and then hold game in place for hunters by barking. Characteristically quick, agile, and eager hunters, these intelligent dogs are also independent, brave, trustworthy, and protective. They are also not aggressive toward humans.

Part of the team’s job as human-bear conflict specialists is to patrol the fire camp several times a day to detect any bears, or other large wildlife, in the area. But their most important job is to prevent wildlife encounters in the first place by minimizing “rewards,” such as easy access to food. The team has also installed passive deterrents in the form of electric fences around attractive substances.

“A little bit of prevention is worth a large amount of response” to bear encounters, Nils said.

Nils starts by teaching firefighters about how to avoid attracting bears to camp. He checks the proposed campsite with them, making sure it’s not already frequented by bears or a travel corridor. Once a suitable campsite is found, a single, centralized location is designated for storing all attractants, like human foods and chainsaw bar oil. An electrified bear fence is then constructed around the storage area. The electrified bear fence consists of a solar battery (0.2 to 1.0 joules), a roll of heavy wire around 1/8-inch thick, four to eight posts pounded into the ground plus a few more for bracing, and flagging.

Keeping a clean camp is a must. In the Arctic Circle campground, special bear-proof trash containers have been installed. The pit toilets are constructed with cinder blocks and steel doors, and are maintained to minimize odors. The crews are told not to bring any attractants into their tents, including toothpaste. Bears have a sense of smell that is seven times as strong as a dog’s, so the crews have to do everything possible to minimize the odors they produce and wear. Nils suggests using lockable coolers such as a Coho cooler for cold storage if a tundra cooler isn’t being used. All attractants need to be kept within the electric fence compound.

Nils also instructs the crews on bear awareness and how to respond to a bear encounter, if one occurs, and how to properly use bear spray. He only uses the barking dogs and perhaps a slingshot and rubber pellets to drive a bear away when it isn’t dissuaded by the passive deterrents already in place.

Nils says his dogs are his most versatile tools for preventing bear problems and for teaching people the proper way to coexist with wildlife. They are more effective at detecting and locating wildlife than anything else and they are the most appealing ambassadors imaginable. Just ask the Black Hills, South Dakota, and Whisky Town, California, firefighters. Besides feeling safer with Mardy and Rio around, after a long day of work, the pair can bring a little comfort to the hard-working firefighters on the complex.

“I like petting them,” said Laura, a California crew member. “I like hanging out with dogs.”

Author: Karen Robinson, Idaho Team 1. Follow the link below for the original article!

Wildlife K-9 team Mardy and Rio work to keep firefighters safe and happy

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Karelian Bear Dogs: Hunter Turned Protector

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