# Bears up Logan Canyon



## hunting777

I've heard from a few people including rangers that there has been a number of bear sightings up logan canyon. I've seen only two up there my whole life and that was many years ago. Has anyone seen any recently and where?


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## apollosmith

I haven't spotted any yet, but I've heard of a few reliable reports. I did come across some very fresh scat and tracks near Steam Mill Peak last fall while scouting for elk.


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## GoAggies

I am new to the site. I also talked to a ranger and he said they are seeing a lot of cats in temple fork this year. He said a couple of weeks ago he had one walk across the road in front of his truck while driving through temple. He then went on to add that he was called out on a suspicious sheep kill and they found very large dog tracks aroung the kill area. He suspects a lone wolf that has wondered down from up north.


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## Stellarmike

Welcome Aggies!


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## soules2007

With cache valley history this does not suprise, Unless my old age leads me astray the biggest bear in the lower 48 was taken up logan canyon near a place called sheep camp? by a sheep herder with a 30/30 the bears skull is now in the smithsonian (called old Efriam). This was in the late 50s early 60s? Not for sure.


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## TCSSPRO204

My mom and dad were camped up Temple Fork last summer and seen a bear just north of the poleline dugway up on the hill!

Old Ephraim was killed in August of 1923 by a man from Malad Id. Frank Clark he shot him 7 times with his trusty .25/35!! His skull is up at the Merrill Library at usu.


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## soules2007

A yeah, yeah that was my next guess, wow i was really on the mark. thanks for the schooling!


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## Kevin D

Bear population densities on the Cache are about as low as they can get and still be considered a bear area. Dennis Austin, the long time DWR biologist on the Cache, estimated the bear population in the area at less than 15 animals. So bear sightings anywhere on the Cache is a rarity. 

I got into hounds in the early 80's and one of my goals was to catch a bear on the Cache. Over the years, I've spent countless days looking and investigating trying to get my dogs on a local bear.......without any success. That all changed last year when I got a report of a sighting on the Baxter sawmill road northeast of Hardware Ranch. A couple other houndsmen and myself went up there, found the tracks, and dumped on it. We ran it for about three hours before it finally climbed a tree on Johnson's ranch on the south side of Strawberry Valley. 

It turned out to be a nice boar......the biggest I ended up catching last season (I also hunt other areas in Utah as well as Idaho). So that bear is still wandering around up there somewhere.

The summer hound pursuit season is about to open up again, so if anybody sees something or finds some fresh sign on the Cache, I'd love to hear about it. Give me a call on my cell at (435) 994-0571.

Kevin


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## hunting777

Just to give a update I have now heard a positive sighting up steam mill this year.


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## Kevin D

YUK! Steam Mill?? I can't think of a worse place on the Cache to try to start a bear race with dogs. Steep, remote, surrounded by wilderness area, a guy would have to be a **** fool to turn loose in there. When we going?? :wink:


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## bigdaddyx4

Has anybody heard anything about bear sightings up near Tony Grove/White Pine Lake? I have heard from 2 different people that there have been some sightings up there in the last couple of weeks. Just wondering if it is true?


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## Packfish

Saw no signs anywhere in that area camping in the White Pine area for 3 days last week. I have seen a bear back a few years ago east of there. Above Porcupine there was a Bear spotted a few weeks ago at the Church camp.


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## Kevin D

Here's what Dennis Austin, the former Cache biologist, said about bear on the Cache: He said if you draw a line on a map between the Curtis Creek guard station and Tony Grove, most of the bear on the Cache will be within 5 miles of that line. With a few exceptions, I too have generally found that to be the case. Right now, the summer berries (wild raspberries, wild strawberries, currant berries, etc.) are on so to find a bear I would look for a berry patch within that corridor.

The church camp above Porcupine is in the Ogden unit so it wouldn't be included in the Curtis Creek/Tony Grove corridor. I suspect that there are a lot of overactive imaginations among the campers above Porcupine, so I would have to look carefully at the source of the sightings. That being said, I have heard from reliable sources about a bear hanging out the last couple years up Second Fork in Paradise Dry Canyon, only a couple miles or so north of the camp. I've often thought that a bear would do well feeding on the spawning kokanee in the camp come September, but I've not seen any sign of it yet.

BTW, anybody know who has the fall bear tags for the Cache/Ogden/East Canyon area??


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## lehi

Hey Kevin, 

Any pics of that Bear you treed? That would be awesome!! :mrgreen: 

Btw, Is there anything that could be done to boost the populations of bear on the cache unit? Or is it pretty much "maxed out" ?


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## Kevin D

Unfortunately Lehi, none of the pictures we took turned out. We started the bear at about 7:00 p.m. and never got him treed until after dark. We took a bunch of pictures but aparently the bear was just outside the flash range because all you see are dark spots. Broke my heart.  

Best I can show you are pictures of his tracks, including some from this year. Little Stevie from Hyrum captured a picture of a sow on his trail cam a couple of weeks ago somewhere up Blacksmith.


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## apollosmith

My buddy has loads of pictures of a bear up Blacksmith as recently as 3 days ago. It's been in the same spot for a couple weeks.


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## Kevin D

Here you go Lehi. I have lots of bear pictures but this is the only one I have from one on the Cache:










Like I said, my heart is broken......and trust me, that's a nice bear. 

The problem with the Cache for bear habitat is that we lack the diversity of feed compared to other areas of the state. Oakbrush acorns are a major food staple for most Utah bear, but we don't have them here on the Cache. Bear up here depend primarily on berries and grubs, and on a bad berry year, things get pretty slim.

That being said, I know the bear population is slowly expanding here. It'll never reach what it is down on the La Sal's or San Juan, but it is growing.


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## lehi

That would be really cool to see more Black bears on the Cache unit. If only there were something they could plant that bears loved to eat, that would flourish well up there. :roll:


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## pkred

Damit i thought this thred was called Beer's up Logan canyon. :lol:


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## stillhunterman

-_O- -_O- -_O- :rotfl:


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## hunting777

That is a pretty cool pic. I have seen that in real life, but not on purpose. I had no idea what it was and i didn't want to find out.


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