Background Information
on Each Service or  Product
to Assure Great Viewing Adventures
 
 
 
The webpages listed at the bottom of this page:
  1. ★    provide background information on services (e.g., guides) and products (e.g., pepper spray)
          that are important aides to safe bear viewing.
  1. ★    explain how each service or product can help you.  
  2. ★    advise you on how to select brands of each product and vendors for each service or product
         that will give you full value for your money -- i.e., how to avoid being ripped off.
  1. ★    list major nationwide or statewide sources of certain products (e.g., bear-resistant food
          containers) that you might not be able to buy locally.  
  1. ★    list any local sources of each essential service or product.
 
Indeed, certain items  may be best obtained locally -- such as boats or pepper spray.  (Spray cannot be transported even in your luggage by commercial aircraft or sent through the mail).  
 
Local sources of services and products available in each gateway community are are listed on the website for that community.  For example, guides and tour companies based in Soldotna are listed on the Soldotna site.  
 
To find any given community, click on the green “Regions & Communities” tab on the above menu bar.  On that page, the upper map shows major regions of Alaska.  On the lower map each region is linked to a brown button.  Click the appropriate button to see a list of gateway communities in that region.  It also lists the viewing sites readily reached from each community.  
 
Or, if you don’t know which gateway community to look under to find a given viewing site (e.g., McNeil Falls), start by clicking the yellow “Viewing Sites List” tab on the above menu bar.  Scroll down the alphabetical list until you find the site you want, then look in the next column to find the gateway communities that access the site.
 
Meanwhile, we will now consider background information on each service or product.
 
SERVICES
     Viewing Guides
     Tour companies
     Lodging or camping
     Transportation in the vicinity of a viewing site
     Travel to and from a viewing area (e.g., air or boat taxi)
 
PRODUCTS
     Bear deterrents
     Bear-resistant food storage
     Protective clothing
     Photo gear & supplies
     Telecommunications (satphones, ELTs, etc.)
     Camping gear & supplies
     Miscellaneous gear & supplies
     Food appropriate for viewers (e.g., low-odor, perhaps dehydrated)
     Books and videos
     Alaskan or bear memorabilia
     Legal services
 
 
 
Businesses Catering to  Bear Viewers   (c) 2006  WildWatch
REGIONS & COMMUNITIES MAP VIEWING SITES LIST VENDORS HOMEPAGE Viewing Vendors BVA Home Bear Safety Viewing Sites Bear Whispering Bear Ecology & Behavior WildWatch Home Bear Conservation