Pullman, Wash. – Paradise Creek Brewery, Pullman’s newest brewery, has slated April 16 for Beers for Bears, a fundraising event to benefit the Washington State University Bear Research, Education and Conservation Center. The brewery will be releasing their seasonal Grizzly Brown Ale at the fundraiser. For every pint of Grizzly Brown Ale sold, Paradise Creek Brewery will donate $1 to the WSU Bear Center, as well as $3 from the sale of every Grizzly Brown Ale To-Go Growler.
The Beers for Bears fund raising party will start at 2 p.m. at the brewery, located at 245 SE Paradise St. in Pullman. Scott Mackey, creative director for Paradise Creek Brewery, said that attendees should expect a parking lot BBQ, music, t-shirts, special-edition Grizzly Brown Ale To-Go Growlers, and plenty of Grizzly Brown Ale to go around. Also, many of the scientists and staff of the Bear Center will be on hand to talk about the bears. Mackey said he is anticipating that at least a few hundred people will attend the bear benefit.
“Already about 80 people have said they are planning to come,” Mackey said. “We could potentially have perhaps up to 400 people show up.”
Currently, WSU is raising funds to build a new Arboretum and Wildlife Conservation Center just east of the Bear Center’s current location. According to Charles T. Robbins, director of the Bear Center, $11 million is needed to complete a new facility.
“It would triple the amount of space that we would have for the bears,” Robbins said. “So they would enjoy their increased freedom, the public would enjoy seeing the bears have more room, and the researchers would enjoy having happier bears.”
“Considering the financial matters of the state and the university, the Beers for Bears party is a great opportunity to create awareness for this cause and raise some of the money needed to build a new bear facility,” Mackey said.
Robbins said researchers are currently working on a wide range of physiological and ecological studies involving grizzly and polar bears.
“The grizzly bear work ranges from asking how bears maintain healthy hearts, muscles, and bones while resting for five months during hibernation, to investigating how we maintain a healthy population of wild bears,” Robbins said. “We also have field studies going on in such diverse locations as Yellowstone and the arctic ice north of Alaska.”
According to Mackey, the Bear Center will have a table set up at the Beer for Bears party, where scientists and staff will discuss their research with the bears and sell their t-shirts. Dan Bernardo, dean of the College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resources Sciences, will also be attending and will be speaking on behalf of the Bear Center.
Robbins said, “I hope students and all who have enjoyed having the bears in Pullman over the past 25 years will attend to show their support for this unique program.” For more information about research at the WSU Bear Center, please visit their web site at http://nrs.wsu.edu/Research/Bear-Center/index.html.
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Written by Chelsea Low
CAHNRS Marketing and News Services