Bart, Honey Bump, and Tank
Photo: Kevin Rhoades

Vital Ground’s Grizzly Conservation Ambassadors

You just met Bart the Bear II, Honey Bump and Tank on Discovery’s Man vs. Bear. Did you know that their stardom extends far beyond the big screen?

For all of their lives, Bart, Bump and Tank have been conservation ambassadors for The Vital Ground Foundation. Inspired by the original Bart the Bear, animal trainers Doug and Lynne Seus founded Vital Ground in 1990 to protect grizzly bear habitat in the northern Rocky Mountains. Bart’s larger-than-life personality helped Vital Ground become a conservation leader. While living and working with Doug and Lynne, Bart II, Honey Bump and Tank have continued Bart’s legacy. With their help, Vital Ground has protected or enhanced more than 620,000 acres of habitat.

North Idaho's Bismark Meadows in Selkirk Mountains
Vital Ground has protected nearly 1,000 acres of grizzly habitat at Bismark Meadows in the Selkirk Mountains of northern Idaho. These rare wetlands see some of the area’s first spring plant growth, making them a key food source for grizzly mothers with newborn cubs, as well as a home for moose, trout, river otters and much more.

As Lynne Seus says, “Bart, Bump and Tank aren’t just actors. The lives of these bears has mattered so much more because of what they’ve done for Vital Ground.”

Right now, Vital Ground is working to protect grizzly bear habitat in the most important places across the northern Rocky Mountains. We’re also partnering in communities to help keep bears out of trouble when they cross paths with people.

We believe that every grizzly cub born in the wild deserves a chance to grow up big and strong like Bart, Honey Bump and Tank. But as the human population continues to grow in the American West, the grizzly’s homelands dwindle and separate. Vital Ground’s habitat projects connect and conserve the most crucial wild places before it’s too late. With your help, we can make sure these magnificent animals thrive for generations to come!

Grizzly bears in the northern Rocky Mountains need protected habitat in order to survive. Vital Ground purchases key pieces of threatened habitat on private lands and partners with landowners on conservation agreements that permanently protect open space and wildlife habitat where grizzlies need it most. (Photo by Jamie Scarrow)

Want to help Bart, Bump and Tank protect grizzly habitat? Join the Vital Ground family today!