Linda Masterson's award-winning work has appeared in the New York Times Sunday Magazine, Animal Kingdom, Ranger Rick, Log Homes Illustrated, Countryside, Back Home Magazine and many others. She's a member of the International Association for Bear Research and Management, and a lead volunteer with the Colorado Division of Wildlife's Bear Aware Team. Linda has been a guest speaker and panelist at the IBA's Western Black Bear Workshop and the International Human Bear Conflict Prevention Workshop. She writes a column on Living with Wildlife, and speaks to and consults with community groups, educators and wildlife managers, outdoor adventurers, home owners' associations and other groups interested in learning more about how to coexist with bears. She's an experienced outdoorswoman and has hiked in more than a hundred national parks and forests in the U.S. and Canada. Linda is a partner in Phillips Group, a marketing and communications firm, and lives in bear country west of Fort Collins, Colorado with her husband and Bear Aware partner Cory Phillips.
In Her Own Words
My first "book" was a 90-page narrative written in long hand in the loopy cursive of a thirteen-year-old dreamer. I penned a tale of a lost dog that after many misadventures was finally rescued and lived happily ever after. Throughout high school and college my term papers and reports were returned with notes scribbled in the margins urging me to consider a career in whatever I'd been writing about. Apparently I was not that quick of a study when it came to my own future; it took me several more years to figure out that the passion my teachers mistook for interest in a field was a passion to communicate. When the light bulb finally went off I took an abrupt left turn out of the insurance industry and into the world of advertising, where I got to put my ability to write enthusiastically and convincingly about anything to good use. Along the way I also wrote a couple of small mystery novels, several children's books and umpteen million articles. Fast forward a couple of decades, as my husband and I decide to abandon our corporate careers in the big city before we need to consider assisted living, and turn our dream of living on a mountaintop out West into reality. Lifelong hikers, adventurers and lovers of wild things and wild places, one of the first things we did was volunteer for the Colorado Division of Wildlife's newly formed Bear Aware team, which was dedicated to improving human-bear relations. We quickly learned that not everyone is comfortable having four footed neighbors that could theoretically eat you. We also learned that the vast majority of problems people have with bears are caused by people, not bears. And that inspiring people to be more responsible could save millions of dollars in property damage - and the lives of thousands of bears each year who are routinely put to death for the crime of trying to make a living in people country. Passion and ability fused, I decided my new job was going to be creating a handbook for safe, smart living and playing in bear country. Something that would give people the information, inspiration and motivation they needed to prevent problems with bears. I wanted it to be fun to thumb through, easy to read and hard to forget. Or ignore.
Today Living With Bears: A Practical Guide to Bear Country has become the essential getting-along-with-bears bible. It's been favorably reviewed and endorsed by countless bear experts. And it's used by hundreds of communities, organizations, parks, forests and wildlife management agencies across North America. It has dispelled myths and made life easier for homeowners and outdoor enthusiasts. And bears. There's nothing I love more than walking into a park office and having the staff reach for their well-thumbed, dog-eared, beaten up copy and ask for an autograph. Or having someone come up to me at a presentation and say "I used to be afraid of bears, but then I read your book. Now I yell at my neighbors about their garbage and bird feeders." After all these years, I'm still a sucker for a happy ending.
Linda Masterson, a popular and lively speaker, does presentations and workshops on all aspects of living and recreating in bear country. She has also worked with agencies, communities, citizen's groups and others on creating programs designed to reduce human-bear conflicts.
"I teach a lot of classes down here and I love your approach. Your presentation was very user-friendly and just perfect for what we needed." Jena Sanchez, Colorado Division of Wildlife
Tom Beck is an internationally recognized, highly respected bear biologist; U.S.A. Today refers to him as "One of America's leading authorities on black bears."In his twenty-five years with the Colorado Division of Wildlife, Beck authored the statewide management plan and conducted widely cited field research studies that advanced our understanding of bears. He served as both scientific and real-world advisor on Living with Bears, and is the author of the Foreword, as well as numerous "Beck's Bits" scattered throughout.
Dr. Steve Herrero, researcher and author of Bear Attacks: Their Cause and Avoidance. The world's leading authority on bear encounters and attacks,Steve patiently reviewed and helped refine and perfect those critical chapters in my book.
Sylvia Dolson, Get Bear Smart Society, and author of Bear-Ology: Fascinating Bear Facts, Tales and Trivia. Sylvia is a bottomless reservoir of passion, compassion and information on every facet of living with bears, both in Canada and the U.S.
Patti Sowka, Living with Wildlife Foundation, who was a wealth of information on the available means of preventing problems with bears, and dealing with problems that already exist.
Chuck Bartlebaugh, The Center for Wildlife Information, who provided a wealth of data on bears in the media, and made me fine-tune the chapter on bear spray approximately twenty-three billion times.
Sean Mathews, Wildlife Conservation Society, who provided thorough reviews and much help.
Lisa Evans, Colorado Division of Wildlife, who spearheaded the formation of Colorado's Bear Aware Team, and gave tirelessly to the cause of educating, motivating and inspiring team members, wildlife officers, educators and her fellow Coloradoans.
Ann Bryant, The BEAR League, and Bryan Peterson, Bear Smart Durango, who were great resources for citizen-driven, community-based programs, and practical tips and ideas that work in the real world.
Providing invaluable input and review for specific chapters and case histories: Bill Stiver, bear biologist, Great Smoky Mountains National Park; Victoria Seher, bear biologist, Yosemite National Park; Carrie Sekarek, NFS biologist, Florida; Anne Braaten and Rocky Spencer, bear biologists, NPS, North Cascades; Carrie Hunt, Wind River Bear Institute; Laurie Smith and Tina White, The Town of Snowmass Village; Kevin Wright, the Colorado Division of Wildlife.
Today Living With Bears: A Practical Guide to Bear Country has become the essential getting-along-with-bears bible. It's been favorably reviewed and endorsed by countless bear experts. And it's used by hundreds of communities, organizations, parks, forests and wildlife management agencies across North America. It has dispelled myths and made life easier for homeowners and outdoor enthusiasts. And bears.