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Show : Exploring the Wild and Woolly Book Cliffs Minutes later, an arrowhead-shaped syringe anchored in the bear's hind end. It panted, paced, popped its jaw and finally fell across nearby knolls and upland sagebrush, buckwheat and western wheatgrass spanned the plateau. Motoring down a southern Book Cliffs byway, the biologist from a local university told me to "focus on any faint footprints” reflecting in the early morning sun. I was distracted though, as blue grouse bolted from the brush, golden-mantled ground squirrels scurried in every direction, brightly colored western tanager flocked in shimmering aspen, and rough-legged hawks circled and soared overhead. Telltale tracks of mule deer, elk and ante- lope appeared in the roadway, which on the previous evening had been dragged and raked free of old tire and wildlife prints. Patiently we drove on, painstakingly surveying wildlife imprints, hoping to spot signs ofa shuffling, flat-footed, five-toed black bear, the most abundant and widely distributed of the three species of bear in the Americas. We knew they were in the area and were certain they'd crossed the plateau ridgeline since nightfall. Then the biologist hit the brakes and exclaimed: "There on the rise." I jumped from the vehicle, dropped to hands and knees and in utter amazement gazed at the soft, neat human-like hand prints in the dusty roadway. Dissimilar from other big game indentations, the paw and toe marks had been left by a large bear that had passed by just hours earlier. In the next hour, two other grad stu- cream-colored tummy. One of the grad students then told me to "Grab the muzzle," and in comic surprise, | shifted that elongated hose-like nose in all directions. I grabbed the flat of the paw and fingertips and realized how human-like the bears features were. After blood and tissue sampling was completed, I stroked the 200pound "young lady" on the forehead, glanced into those translucent pupils, gave a last paw shake, and after applying ointment, tied a Red Butte Garden & Arboretum Author's note: The Book Cliffs is a unique ecosystem which includes six wilderness study areas, but also an extensive network of unpaved roads and multiple oil and gas fields and a good deal of cattle ranching. The area pro-vides some of the best habitat - and hunting up the last incline, he hollered "Look inside." Standing even with the barreled trap, | dropped to my knees, gazed through the thick, wire mesh screen at the far end of the enclosure and then in sudden shock discovered a dark muzzle and a pair of gazing hazel eyes. the southeast Book Cliffs and you'll A co at the University of Utah SUMMER CONCERT SERIES JUNE CONCERT JOHN PARK CITY'S ONLY ORGANIC GROCERY STORE 9-7 MONDAY-FRIDAY 10-7 SATURDAY, 12-6 SUNDAY | op THE FRIENDLY FACES AT FAIRWEATHER 1270 IRONHORSE DRIVE - 649-4561 __GRAND OPENING Mountats Body PRINE An Herbal Body Boutique JUNE IST COME IN AND ENLIVEN YOUR SENSES JUNE 22 NeW PRODUCTS AND SERVICES More mineral salt glows, fresh hand-made soaps, scented massage oils, and great massage! All at our new location 608 Main Street (Next to Taminah Gallery) humans," one of the students explained. scrambled of share the neighborhood with gray fox, kit fox, swift fox, bobcat and badger. Blue grouse, sage grouse, chuckar or prairie falcon may whiz by and red-tailed or ferruginous hawk, or golden eagle soar above. Tread quietly in a canyon and if luck leans your way, you may spot a rambling black bear, clawing at ant larvae - in some of Utah's wildest country. @ E aN ey dents and myself found three more sets of tracks crossing the southern spiny Seep Ridge Road. "Bears are plantigrade, walking with the entire lower surface of their five-toed foot on the ground - like us I also learned that black bears are secretive animals, preferring to live in the dense cover of forests and woodlands, and their longrange survival is primarily dependent on preservation of critical habitat and wild areas. Padded paws resemble the underside of human hands and feet - and their propensity for solitude and wildness is similar to many other wild species. Later that afternoon the biologist and I rambled down another dusty valley road, circled into an aspen grove and climbed a bench to a waiting metal enclosure. As I opportunities - though for black bear and mountain lion. Hike and explore in the roadless region RELAX WHEN YOU GET HERE * Seated massages 5-10-IS minutes ¢ Hand treatments with our natural products ¢ Full Body Massage Tickets on sale now thru ArtTix (355-ARTS). pores \epeen? Gates open at 5:00 p.m. Shows begin at 6:30 p.m. Save $2, buy tickets in advance. Concert Hotline: 581-IRIS (4747) Picnics and treats will be available at the Cuisine Unlimited booth at the concert or order by phone, 2682332, for pick-up at concert. UNIQUE GIFTS * * ° * * Herbal eye cream Kiwi-Honey bath gel Eye & Travel pillows Chocolate massage oil Strawberry cheesecake soap SMOOTH OUT SKIN BLEMISHES ¢ Dead Sea mud & honey mask * Papaya & Grape seed scrubs * Rosemary & Fennel soaps ¢ Wheat germ treatments ¢ Cleansing milk AND MUCH, MUCH MORE... WE ARE STILL OPEN FOR MAIL ORDER FOR THE ITEMS YOU CANT LIVE WITHOUT Li J9Vd ° SAWIL NIVLNNOW stone, dissected by drainage channels and deep valley woodlands. Rocky Mountain juniper, pinion pine and gambel oak spread to sleep. I slid the catch door open, crawled into the narrow metal cavern, grabbed the critter with both hands, and then pulled until the beast rolled onto the bare ground. As | tipped the animal over, I noted the fine dark hair on its underside and its clean, handkerchief over the bear's open eyes. Some 30 minutes later, the cinnamon bear rose, groaned, wiped her eyelids and then rambled into the aspen and oak and disappeared. oN aFAy By Steve Lewis The old Ford pickup lumbered down the dusty, high plains road into the glow of the early morning sunrise. South-facing hillsides gently sloped to barren areas of weathered shale and sand- |