November, 2011
To: Vital Ground Supporters
From: Doug and Lynne Seus, Founders
Dear Friends,
Time marches on, as they say. Some memories begin to fade but others are forever bright. It has been nearly 12 years since Bart the Bear left us, but thoughts of our precious time with him and memories going back 35 years—when he first came into our lives—are golden.
As Vital Ground moves into its third decade of work on behalf of Bart’s wild cousins, we ask you to join us in honoring him by joining our Twelfth Annual Bart the Bear™ Memorial Campaign.
From a humble beginning 21 years ago when we founded the organization, it has grown into a “vital” force in using science to locate very specific parcels of land that are the key pieces of the habitat puzzle—both imperiled “in-holdings” within core grizzly habitat and fragile linkages connecting isolated grizzly bear populations. In its history, Vital Ground has helped enhance and protect nearly 600,000 acres of crucial wildlife habitat.
Vital Ground is keenly aware that not every remaining acre of wildlife habitat can be saved. Our more realistic goal is to protect tens or hundreds of choice acres that are most important for ensuring the grizzly’s future—the right places.
The support of friends like you has allowed us to make dramatic strides. This summer we acquired the 71-acre Yaak Mountain property—a parcel which helps connect habitat bisected by a major highway and rail line. This key purchase was the result of several years of planning and analysis and its selection was the result of focal species research and computer modeling.
This is our first purchase within the Cabinet-Yaak Grizzly Bear Recovery Ecosystem—a 2,600 square-mile area where the threatened grizzly bear population is estimated to be no more than 40 animals south of the Canada border! Maintaining a viable grizzly population in the Cabinet-Yaak is crucial to connecting the more genetically and demographically robust grizzly bear populations north of the border with those of the lower 48 states. It is a stepping-stone to currently unoccupied grizzly habitat in the Bitterroot Grizzly Bear Recovery Ecosystem.
The stage is set to use the Yaak Mountain project as a springboard to more key acquisitions in the area. We have almost two million dollars worth of exciting projects on the drawing board for 2012 to protect and maintain more vital habitat linkages; and we recently expanded our work internationally by launching the Gobi Bear Initiative. This is a departure from Vital Ground’s traditional mission of conserving grizzly bear habitat in North America, but is such a significant opportunity to make a contribution toward protecting an entire breed of grizzly—one at great risk of extinction—that we feel we must take action. This spring, Vital Ground trustee Doug Chadwick joined a scientific expedition to Mongolia to study the less than 50 remaining Gobi grizzlies. Read about Vital Ground’s emerging program to help protect the grizzlies of the Gobi Desert in the fall issue of Vital News.
Who would have thought that the mighty grizzly—the top of the food chain—would need the help of mere humans to 
survive? But that is the reality. Please use the enclosed response piece to sustain our organization and its programs as we do this critical work—from conserving crucial habitats and linkages in North America to protecting the thirstiest, hungriest, rarest grizzlies on Earth.
With its dedication, talent and focused approach, The Vital Ground Foundation and YOU can make “extinct” an obsolete term in the world of the grizzly bear—both in North America and abroad.
Warmest regards,
Doug and Lynne Seus
Vital Ground Founders
P.S. With a gift of $10 or more, you’ll receive a 5”x7” glossy print of Bart challenging Doug to wrestle.
If you contribute $100 or more, you’ll receive the photo plus a 3”x3” laser engraved crystal ornament, designed from Amy Shapira’s photo of Tank the Bear.
At the $250 level, you’ll also get a super soft 62”x48” chenille blanket sporting the Vital Ground logo.
P.P.S. Save time and a stamp by making your donation online. Simply visit www.vitalground.org and select the Bart the Bear™ Memorial Campaign link on the home page.