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Hello and welcome!
Thanks for dropping in to the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center, a not-for-profit, AZA-accredited wildlife park and educational facility, with a diverse crew of staff and volunteers. We're glad you're here with us. Happy New Year!
As usual, there's a lot going on in this issue. Enjoy the photos and the news. Get to know our amazing cast of characters, and share us with your friends. We hope to see you soon, right here in West Yellowstone, relaxing and watching the animals, or participating in one of our interactive programs and displays, but until then we wish you all the best. We hope we can bring a little discovery and excitement your way. See you soon!
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Around The Center
What's Happening at the GWDC
What's happening? We're business as usual (while we plan and execute vacations to warm places). We are getting lots done, seeing some great visitors and community members here at the Center, and planning lots of outreach programs and summer opportunities. We are also, we must confess, sneaking off to sunny places for days and weeks (and even longer for the real pansies among us) while the snow falls and the bears and wolves keep themselves warm. We had an interesting visit mid-month from three British gents who somehow convinced American Airlines to send them to all 50 states in 30 days. What a plan! West Yellowstone was their stop in Montana, and we had a great time showing them around, answering questions about wildlife and our wildlife corridor, and hearing some of their travel stories. They have a blog and some great videos, but we couldn't get the link to work. We'll keep you posted, and share that link when we get it up and running. We are proud to be part of all sorts of travel stories, learning opportunities, and fantastic vacation plans. Many of you are making summer plans now. Let us know how we can help you organize and make the most of your visit. The Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center in West Yellowstone Montana has an opening for a full-time, year-round Chief Financial and Administrative Officer position. We are looking for a senior financial and administrative executive for a non-profit organization with a staff of 25 to 35. Duties include planning and directing multiple institution-wide functions including financial reporting and analysis, staff administration, human resources, information technology, budgeting, cash management, and inventory controls. For more information or to apply, or to send a friend our direction, click here. We'd love to find the right person to join our crew. Remember if you have any questions, or just want to know more about any aspect of the Center, you can always give us a call at 406.646.7001, reply to this newsletter, or email info@grizzlydiscoveryctr.com. We will try to keep you informed and up to date in as many ways as we can. Your involvement and interest in what we do keeps us doing it! Thanks again for tuning in. |
 | | Three Tails (Grant, Coram, and Roosevelt) |
Bears, Wolves, and Birds
(Oh My!)
Animal Updates
These guys don't care a bit about snow and cold weather. In fact, sometimes it seems they prefer it. If you haven't seen our recent video of Grant rolling in the snow, you can click here for a good chuckle. Keeping up with us on Facebook is a great way to see what all the animals are up to on a regular basis. Our two newest eagles were featured recently in the West Yellowstone News. We were very proud to see Zack and Josh in the headlines. Read the article and check out the News here. Thanks to Abbie and Mike for all their hard work. Small town newspapers are a treasure. Thanks for including us in your coverage of West Yellowstone! Every issue of our email newsletter will have updates on our animals, and we will still be sending quarterly newsletters through the mail. We know it's not the people who draw you to the GWDC, as cool as we are, so we'll keep you posted on the reason we're all here: the bears, wolves, and birds. Remember to check out our webcams when you're sitting at your desk or your kitchen table. It'll make you feel a little bit closer.
Read about our bears...
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Coram
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Education
Knowledge Is a Powerful Tool
Well, change is coming. Again. The only constant, as they say. Andreina is leaving in March and we will have a new naturalist starting at that time. All our best wishes go with Andreina, though we're not ready to say goodbye. Caelan Colyer was an intern with us over the summer and will be taking over the summer recreation program and after school program for us. If you haven't met her already, we're sure you'll enjoy spending time with her this summer. We will miss you Andreina, and welcome back Caelen.
Speaking of summer and summer rec, we will have several new programs this summer for kids. Current programs are "Animal Senses" where kids will learn about animal and human senses; "What are you wearing" which discusses fur, feathers and clothing of animals and humans; and a self-guided Scavenger Hunt where kids will need to find bears, maps, radio collars, antlers and more in the Bears: Imagination and Reality Exhibit. All programs are designed for kids K-6 and will be offered throughout the week. If you're interested in visiting the GWDC with your family or with your students, or if you'd like to sponsor a Teaching Trunk or outreach program, let us know. One of the Center's naturalists can visit your school for special assemblies, programs or activities. As you know, some of our birds-of-prey can travel for such programs as can our large collection of wolf and bear artifacts. We will customize the program or the Teaching Trunk for your group and areas of special interest.
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Developments
New and Exciting Opportunities to Support the GWDC
If you haven't seen it yet, we are offering a new framed print of a mind-blowing piece of art. "Rocky Camp - Cougar Family" by Carl Brenders is a 16 x 20 numbered Limited Edition. We matted and framed it to work in any decor, using the colors of the piece and natural textures as a guide, and it is prominently displayed right now in the Naturalist Cabin. We are going to print a raffle ticket with a QR code on the back page of the next Howls & Growls newsletter, and you can use the Donate Now tab on our website to purchase tickets as well. Tickets are $10.00 each. The raffle ends on April 30, 2013 and you do not have to be present to win. We will ship this gorgeous work of art straight to you!
We just want to take a moment here to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your kind, compassionate, generous response to our last email newsletter. We were touched by so many thoughtful emails and notes about Joseph, and astounded by the sympathy you extended. Thank you for sharing our loss and for all of your support through the seasons.
Thanks again for all you do. We look forward to hearing from you soon!
Keep reading about other ways to support the GWDC...
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 | Bruce Funk, Spirit
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Eye Candy
Photographs and Artwork from the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center
We are honored to have many artists and photographers visit and support the GWDC. Their vision and talents inspire and enliven our work here, so we thought it would be nice to feature some of their work in every issue of our newsletter. If you'd like to see your artwork here, send us an image! Paintings, sculptures, and mixed media are welcome too. "Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life." Pablo Picasso |
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We hope you enjoyed this issue, learned a little something, and felt like you were here with us for just a few minutes. It's a pretty special place to be. We hope your New Year is off to a fabulous start. Have a great couple of weeks, and make plans to come see us soon.
We are truly thankful for you this season and throughout the year. We wish all of you a wonderful and peaceful 2013! Can we still say this on the last day of January?
Sincerely,
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 | New GWDC Water Bottles!
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The GWDC Staff
Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center |
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