Date: June 15, 2019

Time: 10:30 a.m.

Location: Anne Elizabeth Suratt Nature Center at Walnut Creek Preserve

Speaker: Colleen Olfenbuttel, NC Wildlife Resources Commission Black Bear Biologist

North Carolina’s black bear population was almost extirpated from North Carolina, but due to conservation and management efforts by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC), black bears have been restored to North Carolina. However, while black bears are a wildlife success story, their increasing abundance has resulted in increased human-bear interactions. In response, the NCWRC, in partnership with 14 other state wildlife agencies, as well as local partners, is promoting BearWise, a southeast regional program to help people live responsibly with black bears. Come learn how black bears recovered in North Carolina, the research the state agency conducts to monitor bear populations, and how you and your neighbors can prevent conflicts with bears.

Colleen Olfenbuttel, a Certified Wildlife Biologist®, is the Black Bear and Furbearer Biologist for North Carolina. She received her Bachelor’s degree in wildlife biology from Ohio University and her Masters of Science in Wildlife Management from Virginia Tech. Colleen has had a career in wildlife for over 20 years and has worked with brown bears, black bears, island foxes, gray wolves, coyotes, river otters, deer, goshawks, and other species throughout the United States. She has been the Black Bear and Furbearer Biologist for the NC Wildlife Resources Commission since 2007.